Davison Breaks DCC's Hold on Division 1 Supremacy
By
Dan Stickradt
Special for Second Half
March 30, 2021
KALAMAZOO — Cameron Freeman tweaked his knee last weekend and admittedly was in a lot of pain the past couple of days.
The Davison junior still stepped in and gutted out perhaps the biggest win of the season for the Cardinals.
With his team up 26-21 with two matches remaining against four-time reigning Division 1 champion Detroit Catholic Central, the junior 130-pounder went out on the mat and held off his opponent for a 3-2 victory, clinching the Division 1 title for Davison by an eventual 29-24 score.
It marked Davison’s first Finals win since 2006, as the Cardinals lost in the championship matches five times since then, including last year’s 34-23 defeat to Catholic Central.
“For him to go out there with his knee hurting is amazing. He stepped up for us,” said Davison coach Roy Hall. “He has a meniscus issue and I know he’s in a lot of pain. But he wanted to go out there and win for us.”
Freeman staved off DCC’s Anthony Walker in the third period. Walker recorded a takedown and was trying for a second takedown in the waning seconds before time expired.
“This is for the seniors,” said Freeman. “Earlier in the week, I was suffering from a knee injury. I came back and just did this for the seniors. This is the best team I’ve ever been on.”
The Cardinals now own nine Finals team titles and six runner-up trophies. Of those five championship match losses over the last eight years, four were to DCC.
“How sweet it is — it’s awesome for these kids,” added Hall. “We came close last year and maybe we could have won that match but came up short. I’m pretty accomplished as a coach, but these kids have never accomplished this before.”
Both teams won seven matches on the day. Davison recorded three decisions, two technical fall victories, one major decision and one pin to record the narrow five-point victory over the Shamrocks.
Catholic Central (21-2) had won 15 Finals team titles dating back to 1969 — eight during the previous decade — and finished in the runner-up slot only twice before this year. The Shamrocks were trying to become just the second Division 1 school to win five team titles in a row.
Previously, Davison captured five straight from 2002-2006.
Earlier this month, Davison won a match between the contenders 36-9.
“We lost 12 matches out of 14,” said Catholic Central coach Mitch Hancock, referring to that first defeat. “So for our guys to come out today and respond and wrestle the way we did to put ourselves into position to win that dual – that’s a great team, and we took them right to the wire. This time we battled them and were right there with them. We split matches with them 7-7; they just scored more bonus points.
“This stings — look at the faces on our team. Anthony Walker feels a little dejected right now, but he’s got nothing to be ashamed of,” continued Hancock. “He was right there against a great opponent. Hats off to Davison and Roy Hall. They are a great team this year.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Davison celebrates its Division 1 championship Tuesday at Wings Event Center. (Middle) Davison and Detroit Catholic Central faced off for the second-straight season in the Final. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Hudson Makes Big Stage Home Again in Division 4 Championship Repeat
By
Jeff Chaney
Special for MHSAA.com
February 25, 2023
KALAMAZOO – The Hudson wrestling team is never afraid of the big stage.
In fact, the Tigers thrive on it.
Hudson claimed its second-straight Division 4 team championship Saturday at Wings Event Center with an impressive 58-12 win over Bronson in the Final.
The Tigers have won 10 team titles in head coach Scott Marry's 35 years of leading the program.
Marry said aside from a lot of hard work, it's a simple formula for the small school and community in southern Michigan.
"We love each other – I love my kids, and they love me," Marry said. "I love my coaching staff, and when you wrestle out of the environment like that, it settles in and it's really powerful. Everyone calls it momentum, but it's really love."
The love and momentum were on full display Saturday in Kalamazoo, especially in the championship match against Bronson.
After falling behind 6-0 from a pin at 215 pounds, the Tigers ran off a string of nine straight wins. And among those nine straight wins, Hudson had seven pins.
Starting the streak was senior heavyweight Aidan Rackowski with a pin in 2 minutes, 44 seconds.
Pinning their opponents is a consistent theme for Hudson at the Finals.
During the Tigers’ 62-18 win over Iron Mountain in the Quarterfinal, 51-12 win over Martin/Climax-Scotts in the Semifinal and the championship victory over Bronson, Hudson had a total of 17 pins.
"We just work on a lot of subconscious brain work in the room," Marry said, "And visualization and creativity. And that manifests itself; it's powerful. Believe it or not, kids nowadays really do want to learn. They want to be loved, and they want to be taken care of."
The 17th and final pin of the weekend for Hudson came from senior Logan Sallows at 190 pounds.
Sallows a returning Individual Finals placer.
"We push hard at practice," said Sallows, who is the second-ranked 190-pounder in Division 4 by Michigan Grappler. "We always want to get better as a team, always. Everyone is family, and we continue to push ourselves until we hit our limits."
And those limits are high.
Although it ran up against one of, if not the best team in Division 4 year in and year out, Bronson coach Chad Butters was proud of his team's run this year.
The third-seeded Vikings defeated Manchester in the Quarterfinals 39-19, then second-seeded St. Louis in the Semifinals 38-29.
"We felt really good coming in here," said Butters, whose team ended with a 39-2 record. "I thought we wrestled really well against Manchester. Then against St. Louis, we showed a lot of toughness and grit.
"Against Hudson, we knew we would have to pull off some upsets; that just didn't happen," he added. "They overwhelmed us. They wrestled their match. They did what they do best."
Bronson got its wins in the Final from Matthew Blankenship at 215, Carson Norton at 157 and Jacob Britten at 175.
"I am so proud of my young men," Butters said. "I am proud of their heart. We just fell short."
PHOTOS (Top) Hudson’s Nicholas Sorrow works toward a pin in his 113-pound match during the Division 4 Final. (Middle) Bronson’s Matthew Blankenship, right, and St. Louis’ Ramon Anguiano lock up at 285 in a Semifinal. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)