In one sentence, Alec Fuhs affirmed for me that the next few years were going to be interesting.

Let’s set the scene – it was a water-logged, miserably cold late May afternoon in 2013 and I was about to interview the then Webster City freshman for the first time following the second round of the Class 3A state golf tournament at the Ames Golf and Country Club.

Fuhs had just spent the previous five hours battling the elements, his swing and his nerves, the result being a 39th-place finish. Not terrible, but not exactly anything to write home about either.

Twin brother Avery Fuhs, who had to suffer the sting of his sibling qualifying for state while he could only watch, was in the gallery for part of the day. And so I wondered, as I hit record on my phone and stuck it in Alec Fuhs’ face, did Avery say anything after the round?

I wish I still had the exact quote (I chose not to use it then, it not being PC and all), but the moment still makes me laugh. In a nutshell, Alec said his brother knew better. One word and he would’ve punched him in the jaw.

Yep, I liked him immediately and, by extension, the kid that looked exactly like him.

It’s now three years later and, finally, I can tell them apart without help from one of their parents. Saturday was a great day, maybe the most enjoyable I’ve had in my 16-plus years on the job, but as I walked to my car in the now empty Spring Valley Golf Course parking lot, it suddenly hit me – my days of being entertained by the twins’ immense talents and competitive personalities are now, for the most part, over.

But what a ride it was.

The conundrum I have now is do I rehash all of the statistics – numbers that prove Alec and Avery Fuhs will go down as two of the greatest athletes in the long and rich history of Webster City High School – or do I tell the stories that I will remember for as long as I’m on the job?

Let’s try both.

The numbers speak for themselves – 1,368 career passing yards, 1,304 on the ground and a combined 23 touchdowns for Avery on the gridiron. Of his 15 passing TD’s, 10 went to Alec, who accrued 926 career receiving yards. Both were all-district players on the Lynx 11-1 football team this past fall.

They were even better on the hardwood with 1,580 career points between them and a .647 win percentage in their three years in the starting lineup. Avery scored 860 points, Alec 720. Avery had the edge in steals (102-91), but Alec owned the advantage in rebounds (210-170) and assists (235-165). They led WCHS to the North Central Conference championship and a substate berth this past winter and both were first-team all-league selections. Alec also garnered all-district and second-team all-state accolades.

And on the course, just … wow. They were the leaders of two state championship teams and also claimed a pair of NCC titles. Avery was the 2015 NCC individual champion, while Alec has the distinction of being one of the rare individuals to play in four state meets. Both medaled in back-to-back state meets in 2015 and 2016; Alec placed third and second, Avery sixth and seventh. Don’t forget the third-place trophy they brought home from the 2014 state meet when they, of course, shared 15th place individually.

Go ahead, try to find former Lynx athletes with those resumes. Outside of perhaps classmate Gavin Dinsdale – a genetic anomaly if there ever was one – and WCHS Hall of Fame member (and four-sport freak) Matt Tharp, I can’t think of another athlete I’ve covered that was as diversified and successful as the Fuhs twins.

I’m sure I’ll go back and reference their numbers countless times over the next decade, but it’s the stories that will never be erased from my memory.

Like in 2015 during an April dual meet at Briggs Woods Golf Course when the twins stood on the ninth green tied. Avery tapped in for par and then watched Alec address a five-foot birdie putt for the win. It slid right on by, which immediately brought a snicker and a “nice putt” dig from Avery.

Or the interview I did with Alec this past February following the Lynx district final hoops win over Algona. Avery, the team’s leading scorer, had fouled out in a close game with 3:22 remaining, leaving the spotlight squarely on his brother. WCHS won, but that didn’t help to ease the tension between the two. I believe the words “idiot” and “just dumb” were used by Alec when referencing his brother’s exit from the game. Did Alec really mean it? At the time, absolutely. The fire both displayed night after night is what made them better than most.

But I’ll leave you with this story, the most recent and most telling. It happened on Saturday as the final round of the 3A state tournament was nearing its conclusion.

Avery finished up his round on the third green, some 250 yards down a hill and back up a slope from the second fairway where his brother was so close to achieving the dream of both brothers – an individual state crown.

It came as no surprise when I saw Avery jogging down that first hill and back up the second fairway to catch the end of Alec’s round. He stood in the middle of the fairway and crouched as he watched his brother get ready to hit the most important chip of his life from just off the green.

They’ll always be competitors, but they’re brothers first. They may not act like it and they’d never admit it, but when one wins, the other wins. And when one hurts, like Alec did after coming up one stroke short on Saturday, the other aches as well.

And so they walked away from that second green together, Alec in front, but Avery only a few steps behind. No words were spoken. Maybe Alec had that same thought he did three years ago when I first interviewed him, but I doubt it. The truth is they’re as talented as they are because of one another and they’ll always have one another to lean on.

We’ve all been lucky to be able to watch them.

We should all be so lucky in life.