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."

St. Louis’ Ramon Anguiano, left, and Hudson’s Cameron Miller lock up at 215 pounds. 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.

Click for full results.

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.)

Be the Referee: Wrestling Technology

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

January 24, 2024

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Wrestling Technology - Listen

You see the use of technology in football quite frequently. A quarterback throws an incomplete pass on third down and when he comes to the sidelines, coaches are able to show him on a tablet or TV screen what went wrong.

But can that same technology be used in wrestling? It can.

Current National Federation playing rules allow coaches in the wrestler’s corner to use video or still photographs to instruct wrestlers during any timeout or dead clock situations. Just like in the football example, a wrestler could view footage from earlier in their match during a timeout and use that information going forward. However, that video cannot be used to dispute a call.

One thing coaches can’t do is transmit audio to a wrestler through an earpiece.

Previous Editions

Jan. 9: 3 Seconds - Listen
Dec. 19: Unsuspecting Hockey Hits - Listen
Dec. 12: No More One-And-Ones - Listen
Nov. 21: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 14: Volleyball Unplayable Areas - Listen
Nov. 7: Pass/Kick Off Crossbar - Listen
Oct. 31: Cross Country Interference - Listen
Oct. 24: Soccer Overtime - Listen
Oct. 17: Tennis Spin - Listen
Oct. 10: Blocked Kick - Listen
Oct. 3: Volleyball Double & Lift - Listen
Sept. 26: Registration Process - Listen
Sept. 20: Animal Interference - Listen
Sept. 13: Feet Rule on Soccer Throw-In - Listen
Sept. 6: Volleyball Jewelry - Listen
Aug. 30: Football Rules Similarities - Listen
Aug. 23: Football Rules Differences - Listen