When it comes to wrestling, the Weil family out of Burns is a tough one to crack, which was on display Thursday at the Oregon high school state wrestling championships at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.
Joe Weil, a senior, is a returning state champion for the Hilanders and now 34-1 on the year after getting a bye in round one and a fall in 2 minutes, 30 seconds in the 3A boys 285-pound quarterfinals.
However, his little sister in Megan Weil, a sophomore who is also a returning state champion, has done him one better this season at 35-0. She had a first-round bye as well in the 4A/3A/2A/1A girls 190 bracket and picked up a pin at 1:04 in the quarterfinals.
It’s one extra win, but it’s one that Joe won’t hear the end of.
“She always makes fun of me because I lost one and she’s undefeated still,” Joe Weil said. “I lost that one match at the (Oregon) Classic. She likes to rag me a bit.”
Of course that’s just the normal sibling teasing coming from Megan Weil, who said her brother is the better wrestler between the two when asked who the better grappler is.
Megan has had the chance to watch her brother succeed for a couple years before she got to high school, which is when she got back into the sport after taking a break in eighth grade.
Now she’s a state champion looking for more hardware this weekend.
“I started my seventh grade year, took an off season eighth grade year and then came back freshman year,” Megan Weil said. “It’s fun to learn new things, get better and test my skills on the mat.”
The two don’t spar with each other in the practice room for real, but head coach George Swartzlender has certainly seen the two take a playful run at each other from time to time.
“They do wrestle around a little bit but Joe is protective of her, make sure no other guys wrestle with her,” Swartzlender said. “It’s been awesome (to have them).”
For Joe, he made the big leap up to 285 this season after winning the 3A state title at 215 in 2025.
That transition is never an easy one to make, but he’s earned the No. 1 seed and will be the favorite still once semifinals begin Friday.
“It’s a jump from 215 to 285, gotta wrestle big,” Joe Weil said. “It’s kind of hard with a big guy, really big. They might be a couple pounds bigger than ya, it’s just different.”
“I just feel like the way he trains and goes about his business working and the hard work he puts in in the offseason just makes him tough all around,” Swartzlender said. “He’s won some big tournaments this year, we travel well for a small school. Try to get him into situations where he can thrive in situations (like state).”
Megan Weil pulled off one of the harder feats in the sport by winning a state title as a freshman at 190.
She stuck with that weight class this year and has continued to learn more about the sport and of course learn from big brother Joe.
“Just more technique, getting used to wrestling,” Megan Weil said. “I love having my older brother on the team, I’m sad it’s his senior year. Just to talk to him about my mindset most days, just how to stay tough in your mind.”
“She’s another one that just works hard and leaves it all out on the mat,” Swartzlender said. “Hope she can get through and wrestle tough through the state tournament too. She’s won some big tournaments again this year.”
The Weils are far from alone in Portland representing Burns as junior Cannon Kemper is working on his possible third state title.
Kemper is the No. 1 seed at 165 and is through to the semifinals after a fall at 1:44 in round one and a 16-1 tech fall in the quarterfinals.
“We spent a lot of time in the weight room, I think that’s a big key thing we all do a lot,” Swartzlender, who was a three-time champ himself from 2001-2003, said of Kemper’s improvements. “Just working on fine tuning some of his skills so he can try to wrestle at the next level.”
Burns sits in fourth place in the 3A boys team standings after the first day of action with 82.5 points. Banks currently leads with 109 points, followed by Harrisburg in second with 92 and Nyssa is third with 87. The girls team is in ninth place in 4A/3A/2A/1A with 28 points.
Joining the Weils and Kemper in the semifinals is sophomore Daniel Simpson at 126, senior Thomas Winn also at 126 and senior Lucian Miller at 157. For the girls, sophomore Hadley Gunderson, who is also a reigning state champion, is through to the 4A/3A/2A/1A 115 semifinals, along with sophomore Coral Averett at 135.
The Hilanders have more wrestlers still alive and through to the 3A boys consolation semifinals, which includes freshman Ethan Stampke at 106, junior Hayden Cornell at 132, junior Jasper Skunkcap at 150 and sophomore Colter Handley at 165.
“The whole team dynamic starts with the parents and the backing we have from the parents,” Swartzlender said. “The support for Burns high school and the wrestling team, we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the parents and the support they give us. I appreciate them and the community.”
Wrestling for the small schools is slated to resume at 2:45 p.m. Friday after the big schools get through their first few rounds in the morning session. The finals for small schools will begin with the parade of champions at 7 p.m.
Joe and Megan Weil will certainly be favorites when wrestling resumes, and both will be there to cheer and teach anyway they can.
“I think that’s why she’s so good, because I taught her,” Joe Weil said with a grin.
austinw@osaa.org
Subscribe
