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.)
Dundee Runs Title Total to 14, Championship Streak to 5 in D3
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
February 26, 2022
KALAMAZOO – It had to be Casey Swiderski.
The best way to cap off another dominant season for Division 3’s dominant wrestling program was by having its most dominant wrestler on the mat for the final match.
Swiderski, who will compete for a fourth straight individual title in a week, won by pin Saturday to close out Dundee’s 55-12 Division 3 Final victory against Alma at Wings Event Center. It was the fifth-straight Finals title for the Vikings.
“Nothing beats that, man,” Swiderski said. “It’s crazy that’s the weight that was drawn. I weighed in above 160 by a pound, and I knew I was going to go 171. It’s just crazy that was drawn. It’s awesome. No better feeling than this right here.”
The Vikings (17-4) have now won eight of the past 10 Division 3 Finals titles, and 14 total. They’ve made at least the Final in each of the past 11 seasons.
“It’s the first time in our school’s history that we’ve won five in a row,” Dundee coach Tim Roberts said. “Where this team was when we started the year, I knew we had a lot of good guys coming back, but when we started, everybody was 152 and below, and we had a bunch of guys at 145. Some guys had to just wrestle over their heads. Connor Collins, he’s a 152-pounder is what he should be. We had him wrestle 160 all year then had him get heavy so he could wrestle 189. Then this weekend, he’s wrestling 189, winning matches, and that Jacob Munger (of Alma) is the No. 1-ranked kid in the state right now, and he kept it to a regular decision. So you’ve got guys giving efforts like and fighting like that.”
As Saturday’s match ended, Roberts and Swiderski shared an embrace on the edge of the mat.
“When we drew that weight, we’d weighed him in at (160) this weekend for a purpose, but we just decided that no matter what, he’s wrestling last,” Roberts said. “He’s been special to this program with all the things he’s accomplished. The level he wrestles, it’s just really fun to watch. All the things he’s done, I’m really proud of him.”
Swiderski is one of multiple returning individual champions and top-ranked wrestlers for the Vikings, who actually fell behind 9-0 in the dual.
Munger opened with the decision for Alma, and Adam Garcia won by pin at 215 to get the Panthers’ crowd on its feet.
It only took 45 seconds, however, for Dundee to take a lead it wouldn’t relinquish, as Kaiden Hubbell (285) and Ashton Viers (103) each won with first-period pins.
That was the beginning of 10 straight victories for the Vikings. Kyle Smith (119), Braeden Davis (125), Logan Sander (140) and Aiden Davis (152) won by pin, Kaden Chinavare (135) won by major decision, and Kade Kluce (112), Cameron Chinavare (130) and Trey Parker (145) each won by decision.
“I thought we had a better chance,” Alma coach Randy Miniard said. “I thought we could take the four top weight classes by pin, so I thought if we could sneak in two or three other matches, we might be able to sneak it in there. But we had a hell of a run. At the beginning of the season, we wanted to make the Finals. This year, we thought we had a chance. Knowing that you have a chance and getting here is really, really special. Even though we didn’t get the job done, there’s no shame in losing to Dundee.”
The trip to the Final was the first for Alma (28-2). The Panthers had qualified for the Semifinals the previous two seasons, and its large senior class had finished every season at Kalamazoo.
“I’ve got 10 seniors that put the work in ever since they were in youth wrestling until now, and they deserve every bit of it,” Miniard said. “There’s so many people that it takes to be a championship-quality team. The tradition of Alma wrestling, for five years in a row being here, is unbelievable, and it took a lot of people and a lot of effort. It takes a community of people to win championships, and we’ve got a community of people in Alma that love their wrestling program.”
Cole O’Boyle (160) also picked up a victory for Alma in the Final.
Dundee defeated Imlay City 74-5 in the Semifinals. Both Chinavares, both Davises, Sander, Swiderski, Hubbell, Viers and Kluce all had three wins on the weekend for Dundee.
Alma knocked off Clinton – the 2020 and 2021 Division 4 champion – 33-29 in the Semifinals. The match was sealed by a Fabian Facundo decision, but turned on its head when Munger defeated three-time individual champion Logan Badge at 189. Munger and Garcia each finished with three wins on the weekend for Alma.
PHOTOS (Top) Dundee’s wrestlers celebrate their fifth-straight Division 3 championship Saturday. (Middle) Alma’s Jacob Munger works toward a decision at 189 pounds. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)