‘Family business.’ Kyle Sieminski joins father as 3-time state champion: Oregon wrestling 113/105 small-school roundup
By René Ferrán | Photos by Leon Neuschwander
Make room, Dad. There’s another three-time state champion in the house now.
Sweet Home junior Kyle Sieminski matched father Clint’s feat accomplished 24 years ago in a Huskies singlet by earning his third Class 4A title Friday night in the 113-pound bracket at Portland’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum with a 6-3 decision against Crook County sophomore Alberto Flores.
With older brother Jacob winning his second title an hour later in the 132 final, that makes eight state championships in the Sieminski household.
“It’s pretty incredible,” Kyle said. “It’s kind of like a family business. It’s pretty awesome.”
Kyle already has bigger things on his mind.
“Three is pretty big, but I’m on the road to four,” he said. “That’s what I’m shooting for.”
If he were to accomplish it next February, he would become the first Sweet Home wrestler to join the four-timer club.
First, though, there was the matter of beating Flores, who’d also given Sieminski a battle in the Perry Burlison final in early December, with Sieminski pulling out an 8-5 decision.
“I knew that this was inevitable, that I’d have to wrestle him,” Sieminski said. “Having one less day gave me less time to prepare for it, but I still went out there and got it done.”
Sieminski took control in the second round, when he started in the down position before scoring a reversal and a takedown to grab a 6-1 lead.
Flores took Sieminski down with 12 seconds left in the match but could not turn him to get the near-fall points needed to force overtime.
4A/3A/2A/1A Girls: Siletz Valley senior Chelo Garcia became the first two-time champion in school history, building a big lead on Sweet Home’s Kendra Jamison in the 105-pound final before finally pinning her 41 seconds into the third period.
3A: Harrisburg sophomore Luke Cheek moved halfway to becoming a four-time champion, pinning Burns freshman Thomas Winn with 30 seconds left in the second period.
2A/1A: In a rematch of last year’s state final, Illinois Valley sophomore Micah Martinho again bested Culver’s Debren Sanabria, this time when Sanabria had to default after suffering a head injury late in the second period.
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