Scott Swanson
Junior Jacob Sieminski wore a vintage Sweet Home wrestling singlet when he won his first state championship last year.
This year Sieminski’s season has gone pretty much like one would expect for a defending state champion. He moved up a weight class and he took a 43-6 record into the district tournament, where things went awry in the final, as he lost in an upset to Philomath’s Blake Niemann.
Sieminski said he didn’t remember much about that match Saturday, Feb. 26, as he celebrated his second state championship, this time at 126 pounds, at the OSAA 4A Tournament hosted by Cascade.
Yep, and he wore the same singlet – but this time he didn’t have to pin the shoulders.
“It was a little too big last year,” Sieminski said, noting that he plans to keep wearing that jersey in future finals.
He was one of four individual champions as the Huskies rolled to a second-place team finish behind La Grande.
Also winning titles were sophomore Kyle Sieminski, repeating at 106 pounds, freshman Jacob Landtroop at 113 pounds, and senior Colby Gazeley at 220 pounds.
The Huskies got more big points from senior Kyle Watkins, who was second at 120 pounds; junior Kaden Zajic, third at 152; sophomore Ryker Hartsook, fourth at 145; junior Ethan Spencer, fourth at 160; junior Trenton Smith, fifth at 138; sophomore Jayce Miller, sixth at 113; and senior Christian Gregory, sixth at 132.
Other scorers for Sweet Home were Daniel Goodwin at 145, Ashton Swanson at 152, Charlie Crawford and Evan Jensen at 182, and David Steagal at 195.
Sweet Home finished with 250.5 points, behind La Grande (275.5) and ahead of Tillamook (187) and Philomath (118) on the trophy stand.
” I wish I had more blues, but I’m going to celebrate these kids and what they did,” said Coach Steve Thorpe. It’s something else when you’re in a program that gets a lot of condolences and you have some disappointment over a runner-up trophy.
“I would have liked to have had a couple more people place. That would have been helpful. But hats off to La Grande. They placed 14 and we only placed 11. When we score 250 points in that tournament, have five finalists, four champs, and still took second, I can’t be disappointed with how we did. This group has been through an incredible amount of adversity this year.
“When you lose a kid like (senior) Jesse Jamison (a state runner-up last year) to a knee injury, there’s a lot of points right there. That kid, he maintained and stayed with us.
“I told someone the other day, ‘That kid holds my heart.’ I wish we could have got a state title, but more so I wish that boy could have wrestled his senior year. It wasn’t his points that cost us the state title.”
The Huskies rolled up points for most of the day, but in the end they didn’t have enough bodies.
They had the Sieminski brothers, though, who set the tone for the day.
“Jake put a stamp on it,” Thorpe said. “Kyle scored the most points for us. He pinned his way through the tournament and that’s the maximum number of points he could score.”
Jacob Sieminski faced off in the 126-pound final with Niemann, the Philomath senior who had pinned him in the district final two weeks before.
This time Sieminski finished things off with a 16-0 technical fall 4:27 into the match.
“It was definitely a lot better than two weeks ago,” he said. “Obviously, I got stuck in a pin, but I was having stuff going on. I couldn’t tell where I was, which way was up. I was a little confused.
“This is the worst I’ve ever beaten him. I’ve never really pinned him. He’s good at not getting pinned.”
Sieminski said he’s shooting for a third title next year, as a senior, in what is shaping up to be a family tradition – the Sieminskis’ father Clint was a three-time champion for the Huskies.
“That’s what me and Kyle are going for right now, because if we both win next year, I’ll be the third state three-timer in Sweet Home history (behind his dad and current fellow-Assistant Coach Colton Schilling) and then Kyle will be the fourth. And most likely, how I view it going, Kyle could be the first four-timer in Sweet Home history, which would be really cool.”
“Jake demonstrated how much he dominated the 12 -pound weight class,” Thorpe said.
“He showed that what happened two weeks before at regionals, he was off, physically. He had some issues going on that prevented him from being able to wrestle the way he can.”
Kyle Sieminski opened the night for Sweet Home at 106 pounds, facing off with fellow sophomore Mason Wolcott of La Grande, who scored the first takedown, which made Sieminski “kind of nervous,” he said.
But then Sieminski got back on top and took over to pin his opponent in 3:28 to clinch his second championship.
“When I got on top I was pretty confident,” Sieminski said.
He said he’s shooting for four titles.
“That’d be nice.”
Thorpe noted that Sieminski is a “dangerous” wrestler when he’s on top.
“He ends up on top in multiple situations. He doesn’t lose focus.”
Landtroop, who was an off-and-on starter as a freshman during the regular season, threw Molalla senior Maxam Salvetti for a takedown in the first period of the 113-pound final, and then played his cards right to engineer an 8-4 win.
Landtroop said as he progressed through the year he started thinking he might have a chance at the state tournament.
“It started with me just walking into the season, thinking I was just gonna come to practice, get through some tournaments. And then, like a month and a half in, I realized I was actually good enough to do great things.”
He started cutting weight, to 120 and then to 113 – “that was just recently, kind of, and then I just won some matches and I realized I could win it and I went out there and did.”
Thorpe described Landtroop, who’s wrestled since he was a kindergartener, and Gazley, who started as a freshman in high school, as “identical” in one important factor: “They listen to their coaches. They trust the coaching staff. They make match adjustments because they trust us and believe and do what we ask.”
He said coaches told Landtroop that if he could get his weight down, he could be a state champion.
Gazley said he didn’t see himself winning a state title at the start of this season – “not at all” – after an injury-riddled junior season at heavyweight.
“But as the season progressed, I was, like, ‘Hey, maybe I could do this.'”
Being healthy has made “a huge difference,” he said, and then he started cutting weight.
“I just kind of showed up every day and eventually my weight kept going down and going down.”
Coaches decided he should wrestle at 220 pounds, which was a much better match-up for him, Thorpe said.
“I knew I was going to be outweighed at heavyweight and I wasn’t gonna do very well,” Gazeley said, noting that he’s wrestled both of the finalists at 285, along with third-placer Joseph Choi of Philomath, and “they can beat me.”
In the 220 final, he said, opponent Tanner Wells of McLoughlin repeatedly head-butt him, which left Gazeley “kind of frustrated.”
“He kept grabbing my head and grinding against it,” Gazeley said. “And the refs weren’t not doing much about it.”
Neither wrestler could score a takedown until the final period, when Gazeley took a 4-2 lead.
“I was thinking, ‘Ah, I think I can stall this out long enough to win.'”
Thorpe said Gazeley “believed what we were selling” when he started wrestling.
“Even in the last fleeting seconds of the finals match, we told him what to do, he gave us thumbs up and said, ‘OK.’
“This is another guy who doesn’t sleep in. These are guys who don’t miss morning workouts. Those are the ones you want to hire. We’re trying to teach more here than just wrestling.”
At 120 pounds, Watkins said he was happy to have a chance to wrestled in the championship final after three years of consolation finishes, though he lost a 7-1 decision to La Grande sophomore Kai Carson.
“It’s been a much bigger success than usual, getting fourth and fifth. Yeah, it sucks to end my senior season getting to finals and losing, but it’s the best I’ve done so far, so I’m not too disappointed.”
Seeded No. 2, and with three seasons of state appearances behind him, Watson said he knew he could pin “everybody else in the bracket,” though he knew Carson would be “tough.”
“Kyle Watkins put himself in an elite fraternity of four-time state placers,” Thorpe said. “There are not many of them. To have his last place be a finalist was absolutely incredible. Kyle has come through a lot of adversity himself and he’s worked at making himself better.”
Zajic was in a “loaded” weight class at 152 pounds and lost 10-4 in the semis to eventual runner-up Landen Wing of North Marion.
“He came through the back and the very best he could do was third and he did that,” Thorpe said, noting that Zajic was wrestling with and injured wrist and elbow. “He’s not 100 percent riht now. He came through for us. He gave me some excitement.”
He credited sophomores Miller and Hartsook with finishing on the podium and noted that Gregory finished as a three-time state placer.
“He’s one of the most unselfish kids I’ve known,” Thorpe said. “He will do whatever he needs to do. I know he didn’t want sixth place, but he’d better be proud of it. He earned the right to stand on that podium.”
Smith placed for the second time, as did Spencer, who finished third last year. He was headed for third again this year after losing 14-11 to Mason Buss of Siuslaw in the 160-pound semifinals. Leading 15-2 in the final period of the consolation final against Seaside’s Everett Rollins, Spencer slammed his opponent to the mat after a lift and the match ended in an injury default, as Rollins landed on his head. Officials awarded him the victory.
Thorpe and his assistants were named Coaches of the Year.
“I’m proud of my coaches,” he said. “It’s not been an easy year, to say the least. We started off with people who left our program. We had injuries. What has been great is to see younger kids rally and watch seniors try to step up and lead.
“They set the table for next year. We have guys who didn’t place who have already done another workout, trying to fix what they need to. These are guys who have a plan.
“One of my old teachers, Don Arndt, would tell us in our personal financial management class: ‘People don’t plant to fail. They fail to plan.’
“If they don’t have a plan and execute that plan, they will fail again.
“I’m incredibly pleased and proud of what they accomplished this year.”
OSAA 4A State Wrestling
Championships Results
Team Scores (top 20): (1) La Grande 275.5; (2) Sweet Home 250.5; (3) Tillamook 187; (4) Philomath 118; (5) Baker/Powder Valley 100; (6) Stayton 96; (7) Mazama 81.5; (8) Banks 81; (9) Cascade 77; (10) Estacada 64; (11) Junction City 55.5; (12-tie) Marshfield, Siuslaw 47; (14-tie) Elmira/Crow, Seaside 39; (16) Ontario 37; (17) Madras 36; (18) McLoughlin/Weston McEwen 28; (19) Hidden Valley 27; (20) Molalla 26.
Sweet Home Individual Results
106 – Kyle Sieminski pinned Bobby Gulzow (La Grande) (0:38); pinned Jak Hopkes (Tillamook) (1:25); pinned Spencer Pederson (Marshfield) (0:39); pinned Mason Wolcott (La Grande) (3:28). Champion.
113 – Jacob Landtroop pinned David Bouska (Marshfield) (1:23); dec. Mason Warren (Banks) (6-5); dec. Aldo Duran (Baker/Powder Valley) (4-2); dec. Maxam Salvetti (Molalla) (8-4). Champion.
113 – Jayce Miller pinned Jake Lawrence (Madras) (1:15); dec. Hadyn Burk (Mazama) (6-4); lost by fall to Maxam Salvetti (Molalla) (4:27); lost 13-6 to Joshua Perdew (Tillamook); lost 4-1 to Hadyn Burk (Mazama). Finished sixth.
120 – Kyle Watkins pinned Jayvon Tovar (Madras) (0:31); pinned Joshua Knightlinger (North Valley) (0:28); pinned Wyatt Hooper (Stayton) (3:23); lost 7-1 to Kai Carson (La Grande). Finished second.
126 – Jacob Sieminski pinned Cole Hester (Baker/Powder Valley) (1:10); pinned Kyle Nichols (Henley) (1:59); pinned Cohen Schleich (Estacada) (3:50); won by tech fall over Blake Niemann (Philomath) (4:27, 16-0). Champion.
132 – Christian Gregory pinned Carter Bengtson (Cottage Grove) (1:54); lost 11-1 maj. dec. to Brysen Penaloza (La Grande); pinned Alex Mersino (North Valley) (0:56); pinned Caleb Blackburn (Philomath) (2:28); lost by fall to Bradley Rieger (Tillamook) (0:26); lost by fall to Brysen Penaloza (La Grande) (3:03). Finished sixth.
138 – Trenton Smith pinned Jackson Lyda (Banks) (1:17); lost 4-0 to Tanner Wood (Mazama); dec. Jack Vandehey (Banks) (4-0); pinned Enrico Cervantez (Elmira/Crow) (4:49); lost 9-5 to James Goddard (Tillamook); won by medical forfeit over Dominick Carratello (La Grande). Finished fifth.
145 – Ryker Hartsook pinned Luke Bozied (Banks) (1:35); won by tech fall over Jacob Hughes (Hidden Valley) (5:23, 15-0); lost 7-3 to Gavin Stone (Baker/Powder Valley); dec. Savien Burk (Mazama) (13-8); lost 4-0 to Parker McKibbin (Tillamook) 2. Finished fourth.
145 – Daniel Goodwin lost 9-3 to Gavin Stone (Baker/Powder Valley); pinned Enrique Rodriguez (Henley) (2:45); pinned Jacob Hughes (Hidden Valley) (1:39); lost 8-0 maj. dec. to Benito Roman (Woodburn). Did not place.
152 – Ashton Swanson lost by fall to Ridge Kehr (La Grande) (1:51); pinned Landon Mitchell (Tillamook) (1:54); lost 12-1 maj. dec. to Wyatt Maffey (Sisters). Did not place.
152 – Kaden Zajic pinned Landon Mitchell (Tillamook) (0:54); pinned Ridge Kehr (La Grande) (4:42); lost 10-4 to Landen Wing (North Marion); pinned David Griffith (Philomath) (1:47); dec. Ridge Kehr (La Grande) (10-8). Finished third.
160 – Ethan Spencer pinned Roberto Ibarra (North Marion) (2:24); pinned Eli Bisenius (La Grande) (2:30); lost 14-11 to Mason Buss (Siuslaw); won by tech fall over Jason Ritchie (Stayton) (4:48, 21-5); lost by injury default/disqualification to Everett Rollins (Seaside) (4:00). Finished fourth.
182 – Charlie Crawford pinned Dominic Schreiber (Mazama) (1:22); lost 17-8 maj. dec. to Daevon Vereen (Banks); pinned Logan Mckibbin (Tillamook) (3:18); lost 6-2 to Blake Perlichek (Cascade). Did not place.
182 – Evan Jensen lost by fall to Cameron Cordonnier (Klamath Union) (1:00); won by medical forfeit over Ricardo Ascencio (Woodburn); pinned Adrian Allen (Baker/Powder Valley) (0:52); lost by fall to Johnathan Gingerich (Tillamook) (1:59). Did not place.
195 – Tucker Weld lost by fall to James Durand (Estacada) (3:09); lost 8-3 to Alexander Sigrah (Ontario). Did not place.
195 – David Steagall pinned Bodie Norlock (Mazama) (1:34); lost by fall to Gauge Bloomer (Baker/Powder Valley) (3:24); dec. Alexander Sigrah (Ontario) (6-2); lost 8-6 to James Durand (Estacada). Did not place.
220 – Colby Gazeley pinned Cole Johns (Cottage Grove) (2:46); pinned Alex Ritter (Baker/Powder Valley) (1:47); won in overtime over Mishael Mauck (Banks) (11-9); dec. Tanner Wells (McLoughlin/Weston McEwen) (4-2). Champion.