Lucky to be alive, Reedsport wrestling twins Aaron and Adam Solomon now writing remarkable story on the wrestling mat

By Bob Lundeberg | Photos by Michele Bunch

Aaron and Adam Solomon are lucky to be alive. 

The twin brothers overcame serious health issues as infants and turned themselves into elite wrestlers at Reedsport Community Charter School. Later this month, the Solomons will try to wrap up their remarkable high school careers with matching gold medals at the 2A/1A state championships. 

“I definitely want to see both of us standing on top of the podium this year,” said Aaron, a two-time state champion. Adam placed fourth at 120 pounds in 2020 and was a state qualifier last year. 

“I think we’ve both stepped up our game a lot, and I believe we can do it.”

The Solomons’ achievements on and off the wrestling mat are nothing short of miraculous. 

Born weighing two pounds, nine ounces apiece, the mirror twins spent three months in a neonatal unit fighting for their lives. Both were born with porphyria; Aaron has a heart arrhythmia and also suffered seizures as a baby. 

Neither was supposed to live a regular life.

“They’ve had to overcome so many things,” said Kim Solomon, who adopted the twins at birth with her late husband, Doug. The couple had already adopted Aaron and Adam’s older brother, Christian, 13 months prior. 

“The boys are very humble, and they are normal. They make good choices, bad choices. They love to volunteer and help people. … We celebrate them every day.”

The three natural brothers were the youngest of seven adopted siblings in the Solomon household. Doug, a police officer, did many outdoor activities with the kids before dying from kidney cancer in 2013. 

Riding the central Oregon coast’s world-renowned sand dunes was always a popular choice. 

“It was definitely really fun growing up with a big family,” Aaron said. “There was a lot of playing around and a lot of wrestling.”

Added Adam: “We learned a lot from our older brothers. We always wrestled with them and watched a bunch of WWE growing up.” 

Christian, who won the 145-pound state title last June as a senior, was the first of the Solomons to get into organized wrestling. He joined the Reedsport program as a freshman under then-head coach Bo Hampton. Hampton, who is now at Marshfield, also began working with Aaron and Adam at the middle school level.

All three brothers found immediate success on the mat. 

“They were hard workers and very motivated kids,” Hampton said. “They all had a goal in mind from the beginning to be state champions — you saw that right away. They are just good athletes and good kids who work really hard. You don’t see that as much these days.” 

In the summer of 2019, the Solomons were among nine Reedsport wrestlers who traveled to Fargo, North Dakota, for the Junior National Championships. They were able to hone their skills against some of the nation’s top junior wrestlers. 

“Bo had a plan for all of us that we would wrestle in the offseason, year-round,” Aaron said. “We had a great time in Spokane and Fargo and really learned a lot.”

Added Hampton: “Those are the best kids in the country practicing against each other. Just learning how to drill, that’s something a lot of kids don’t know how to do. So, when they go through a week-long camp and see that from those kids, it just makes you a better wrestler.

“They are getting to wrestle on the biggest stage there is for our country, so when they wrestle at a district or state tournament, it’s something that’s not too big for them. That goes a long way.” 

The out-of-state trips paid off for the Solomons at the 2020 state championships. 

Aaron took home the 106-pound state title while Adam and Christian also placed. Underdog Reedsport finished atop the team points standings, snapping Culver’s streak of team titles at six. Jeff Cleveland, the Solomon brothers’ stepfather, was one of Hampton’s assistants. 

The COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the United States just a few weeks later, forcing the Solomons to alter their training regimen. They wrestled against each other at home and finally returned to high school competition last May. Aaron and Christian both won individual titles while Adam was a state qualifier. 

Wrestling has provided invaluable stability for the brothers during the pandemic. 

“It’s been really important for me,” Adam said. “When we weren’t able to compete, we bought our own wrestling mat that we could use. It helped us keep our sanity.”

Kim said the community of Reedsport has been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic. 

“COVID has just killed the way of life in an area that was already financially crippled,” she said. “And you can watch the impact it’s had on the kids. As a parent, you have to stay involved and be the big boulder that stops the train. … The kids have really lost a way of life and they have had to dig deep and support each other, and the wrestling community here has just gone above and beyond.” 

Numbers have dwindled within the Reedsport wrestling room, but the Solomons are still dominating on the mat. The twins opened the season with matching first-place finishes at the North Bend Coast Classic — Adam’s first individual tournament title — and are looking to peak this month. 

Aaron and Adam, who are competing at 132 and 138 pounds, respectively, have both battled COVID during the season. Adam is fully recovered but Aaron is still feeling the effects of the virus. He hopes to be at 100 percent lung capacity by the state tournament. 

COVID is just the latest hurdle for the Solomon twins to overcome. Already playing with house money, they have a strong desire to close their extraordinary high school careers with state titles. 

“Aaron has already been on top of the podium, and I think I have a good shot to be on top of the podium this year,” Adam said. “That’s one of the most important things for me, and what I’ve been working for this whole wrestling season.”