Finals Experience, Expertise Shine Through as Hudson Extends Title Streak
By
Jeff Chaney
Special for MHSAA.com
February 24, 2024
KALAMAZOO – When searching for adjectives to describe what the Hudson wrestling team has built itself into over the years, wrestling fans in Michigan might say “prepared.”
The mammoth program from the small community south of Jackson comes to the MHSAA Division 4 Team Finals every year ready to go.
That was once again evident this weekend at Wings Event Center, as the Tigers cruised to their third-straight championship, and sixth over the past eight years, with a 41-17 victory over St. Louis in the deciding match Saturday evening.
Hudson has won three straight D4 titles, six of the last eight and 11 overall.
"We are who we are because of family," Hudson coach Scott Marry said. "We break our huddle on 'family' every time, because this is a continuation of what's up there."
Marry then pointed to the stands at all the Hudson fans, parents and Hudson youth wrestlers who made the trek to Kalamazoo to watch their beloved Tigers.
"It's not hard to coach, because all of these guys are awesome," Marry added. "You also have to give all the glory to God, because this is a God-loving community. And every person in these stands feels the same way I do – God first, then family, and then the rest is easy."
Hudson made it look easy all weekend, as the Tigers won 34 of 42 matches they wrestled during the two-day event.
They opened with a 72-3 Quarterfinal win over Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary on Friday, then defeated Manchester 52-13 in Saturday morning's Semifinal before downing the Sharks in the championship match.
In the Final, super sophomore Nicholas Sorrow got things going with a hard-fought 6-5 win over St Louis' Colin Kuhn.
From there, Hudson won five matches in a row and were never threatened the rest of the way.
Sorrow said the wins keep coming because of a simple formula.
"It's just nice to continue the tradition," said Sorrow, who will be going for his second straight individual title next weekend at Ford Field. "This is just one percent of what we do; 99 percent of what we do is working hard in the (practice room), every day, five days a week. We work on technique, work on our grip and just get better."
St Louis coach Kevin Kuhn was impressed with his opponent, but he knew what his team was getting into when it stepped on the mat – a Hudson team that is relentless, a trait he picked up when he wrestled for Coach Marry and Hudson during the mid-1990s.
Kuhn, whose St. Louis team was making its first Finals appearance, hopes his wrestlers took away some lessons from facing a program used to getting to the championship match.
"Our goal was to be wrestling on Saturday night (in the Final) ," said Kuhn, whose team ended with a 26-3 record. "You are not in position to win a state final if you're not winning a Semifinal match (Saturday morning)."
St Louis reached Saturday with a win over Climax-Scotts/Martin in the Quarterfinal, 39-26. The Sharks then beat Benzie Central in their Semifinal match 37-22.
Hudson finished with a 27-4 record.
PHOTOS (Top) Hudson’s Barron Mansfield celebrates his pin at 190 pounds during Saturday’s Division 4 Final. (Middle) St. Louis’ Ramon Anguiano, left, and Hudson’s Cameron Miller lock up at 215 pounds. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Performance of the Week: Dundee's Blake Cosby
December 12, 2024
Blake Cosby ♦ Dundee
Junior ♦ Wrestling
Cosby finished 3-0 and was named outstanding wrestler for the upper weights at the Grappler Gold Invitational after claiming the championship at 150 pounds and leading Dundee to the team title. The 150-pound bracket included the top-ranked wrestlers at that weight by Michigan Grappler in all four divisions, and the Division 3 top-ranked Vikings finished ahead of Division 2 No. 1 Lowell and Division 4 No. 1 Hudson among others in a field that included multiple Division 1 contenders as well.
Last season’s Division 3 individual champion at 144 pounds, Cosby clinched last weekend’s bracket title with an 8-3 decision against Hartland junior Dallas Korponic, the reigning Division 1 champion at 132 pounds. Cosby also finished Division 3 runner-up at 144 as a freshman and brought a combined 81-2 career record into this season. Dundee as a team will be pursuing an eighth-straight Division 3 team championship. Just a junior, Cosby already has committed to sign with Michigan.
@mhsaasports 🤼POW: Blake Cosby #wrestling #Dundee #invitational #champion #part1 #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
@mhsaasports 🤼POW: Blake Cosby #tiktalk #questiontime #outerbanks #payday #timetravel #pepperoni #steak #chocolatemilk #part2 #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
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Previous 2024-25 honorees
Dec. 4: Keaton Hendricks, Zeeland West football - Report
Nov. 29: Kate Simon, East Grand Rapids swimming - Report
Nov. 22: Ella Kokaly, Essexville Garber softball - Report
Nov. 15: Caroline Bryan, Grosse Pointe South swimming - Report
Nov. 8: Kaylie Livingston, Whitmore Lake cross country - Report
Oct. 25: Oliver Caldwell, Grand Rapids West Catholic tennis - Report
Oct. 18: Alex Graham, Detroit Cass Tech football - Report
Oct. 11: Victoria Garces, Midland Dow cross country - Report
Oct. 4: Asher Clark, Bay City John Glenn soccer - Report
Sept. 26: Campbell Flynn, Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball - Report
Sept. 19: TJ Hansen, Freeland cross country - Report
Sept. 12: Jordan Peters, Grayling soccer - Report
Sept. 6: Gabe Litzner, Sault Ste. Marie cross country - Report
Aug. 30: Grace Slocum, Traverse City St. Francis golf - Report
(Photos courtesy of the Cosby family.)