PORTLAND — Kyle Sieminski might have described it best.
“Kind of like a family business,” the Sweet Home junior said.
Wrestling, that is.
He had just won his third 4A title, this time at 113 pounds, at the OSAA state tournament at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. About an hour later, his brother Jacob, a senior with the Huskies, did the same at 132.
Friday night, they both joined father Clint in winning three state championships in the sport at Sweet Home.
That achievement, and Kyle and Jacob’s pursuit of it, have been the talk of the Sieminski household for a long time.
What has made it more special for the family is Clint is a Sweet Home assistant coach.
“It’s great being mat side, being in the (practice) room with them every day, coaching them, working out with them,” Clint Sieminski said after Jacob’s first-round pin of Crook County’s Cash Wells. "And just seeing them progress and get to the level they’re at now has just been awesome. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but a great experience. I’m proud of them.”
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Along with Ethan Spencer’s title at 182 and Kaden Zajic’s runner-up finish at 170 among 11 total placers, the Sieminski brothers helped lead the Huskies to a second-place 4A team finish.
La Grande won the team title with 299 points, 43.5 ahead of the Huskies (253.5). Philomath was ninth with 67.
Kyle and Jacob Sieminski are the third and fourth Sweet Home wrestlers to finish on top three times at state. Clint Sieminski did it in 1997-99 and Colton Schilling, another current Huskies assistant coach, was second in school history, with titles in 2010, 2011 and 2013. All achieved it under current head coach Steve Thorpe.
“There’s not a kid in the program that works as hard as Jake Sieminski,” Thorpe said. “He’s very special, and Kyle’s got himself set up to be a four-timer, which those don’t happen very often. I’m pretty proud of them.”
After Wednesday’s snow storm postponed the start of the state tournament, the 4A, 3A, 2A/1A and 4A/3A/2A/1A girls divisions were reduced from two days to one. The 6A, 5A and 6A/5A girls divisions will compete Saturday and Sunday.
Thorpe shared an emotional embrace with Spencer after the senior’s second-round pin of La Grande’s Wyatt Livingston in their final.
Spencer lost his father to cancer several years ago. Thorpe also coached Spencer’s older brother Tristan to a state title.
“There’s a lot of life and a lot of history with Ethan and his family and myself,” Thorpe said, adding that he used to be concerned for Ethan. “He’s grown into kind of a man that I’m proud of and I don’t worry about that situation. That win was huge but it was more about a journey than it was just about a match.”
Jayce Miller (113) and Trenton Smith (145) aided in the Huskies’ success with third-place finishes. Teammate Jacob Landtroop (132) was fourth while Tytus Hardee (106), Daniel Goodwin (145), Ryker Hartsook (152) and David Steagall were fifth.
Porter Compton led Philomath with third place at 138. Riley Barrett (126) was fourth and River Sandstrom (106) and David Griffith (170) sixth for the Warriors. Philomath senior Ben Hernandez, a 2021 state champion, withdrew from the tournament due to injury.
Kyle Sieminski controlled his match with Crook County’s Alberto Flores, but it wasn’t easy. The two had a close match earlier in the season, which made Sieminski a little nervous about Friday’s outcome.
He led 2-0 on a first-round takedown but wasn’t able to extend the advantage to 4-0 until the second round. He eventually led 6-1 and won 9-4.
“Winning three is awesome but I’m on the road to four. That’s what I’m shooting for,” Kyle Sieminski said.
Jacob Sieminski he was disappointed when he finished fourth at state as a freshman, realizing he couldn’t surpass his dad in state titles. But he could tie it, so that’s what he set out to do.
So the Sieminskis left the Coliseum on Friday night each with three state titles, and Clint Sieminski sat in one of two designated coaches seats in both his sons’ matches to help them achieve their goals.
“They’ve been doing this a long time, they’ve put in the work and it paid off,” Clint Sieminski said. “To be here and see them three times together is a pretty big deal.”
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct Porter Compton's name.
