Hudson Remains Team to Beat in D4

February 23, 2019

By Jeff Chaney
Special for Second Half

KALAMAZOO – When Scott Marry took over the wrestling duties at Hudson High School 31 years ago, he knew he had to build a foundation to make his program a success. 

He had to get his Tigers young and prepare them for the demands of wrestling, knowing that someday they would perform on the state's largest stage. 

So when he was handed his team’s eighth – and third straight – Division 4 championship trophy Saturday after Hudson beat Clinton 45-19 in the Final at Wings Event Center, he made sure one of the championship photos had two rows of young Tigers in it, with smiles wide and raising their index finger high in the air claiming victory. 

"There is definitely a climate going on right now, from the youth program all the way up through Hudson," said Marry, whose team ended the year with a 20-7 record. "We don't worry about how many kids we have; the kids work hard. You get them, then season them, get them tough and callus them. A meet like today’s is no different than our practice room. Our room is really tough."

Carson Price was one of those young Tigers who felt the excitement when Hudson was winning five straight titles from 2008-13. 

He wanted to be part of the winning, and played a big part in the victory over Clinton when he earned a pin in 3 minutes, 23 seconds at 171 pounds. 

That was one of six pins Hudson had over the Redskins. 

"We peak at the right time," Price said. "Our guys love each other, and this is a tradition. I have been wrestling since I was a 4-year-old little kid and dreaming about this stuff since I was 6. Today we had all those little kids sitting up there, dreaming with us, and now they are the next wave."

All the seasoning does pay off at the most important times for Hudson. 

Of the six pins, four came in a row between 215 pounds and 112. During that stretch, Kyle Moll, Isiah Krizek, Payton Rogers and Bronson Marry all secured falls that turned a 14-9 Clinton lead into a 33-14 advantage for the Tigers. 

From there, who was going to win the title was a formality. 

“The coin flip was big, and that is a great team," said Clinton coach Jeff Rolland, whose team ended its year with a 30-5 record. "When they get going, they get going, and that (the four pins in a row by Hudson) was a tough stretch for us. We got wins at 140, 145, 160 and 189 and it was close and we felt good. I don't feel like we underperformed today. We got beat."

Starting at 140 pounds, the Redskins did jump out to a 14-9 lead thanks to wins from Kent McCombs at 140, Riley Jeffrey at 145, Braydon Randolph at 160 and Logan Badge at 189. 

That's when the Tigers flexed their muscles and showed the Wings Event Center crowd how well they can pin from the cradle.

"We didn't know we were going to get pins, but we knew those rubber matches would be in those places," Marry said. "So we knew there would be a shift in the scoring. This is not like football; you can't get caught up in a 14-point deficit, knowing that you have four weight classes in a row where you can score 24 points."

And that is what Hudson did to show everyone it remains the team to beat in Division 4, even though the Tigers came into the weekend as the third seed. Clinton was seeded number one. 

"Everyone keeps asking about the seeds," Rolland said. "Until someone beats them, they are the one everyone is chasing." 

Click for full results.

PHOTOS: (Top) Hudson's Carson Price works toward a win at 171 pounds during the Division 4 championship match. (Middle) Another Tigers wrestler controls his opponent Saturday. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Dundee Ends Richmond Streak in D3

February 23, 2013

By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half

BATTLE CREEK – A few minutes after winning the MHSAA Division 3 championship on Saturday, some members of the Dundee wrestling team picked up Sean Keilitz and put him on their shoulders.

Was Keilitz an unlikely hero? Certainly. A junior, he came into his match at 119 pounds with an 18-16 record, including a loss earlier in the day in the Semifinals and another Friday in the Quarterfinals.

Keilitz, however, was deserving of being hoisted on the shoulders of his teammates. He scored a key 12-8 decision in the 119-pound match – the second-to-last match of the meet – as Dundee defeated three-time defending MHSAA champion Richmond 35-26 at Kellogg Arena.

Dundee (23-2) had finished runner-up four of the last five years since winning the title in 2007. Two of those runner-up finishes came against Richmond.

“Winning state is always great, I can tell you,” Dundee coach Tim Roberts said. “I’ve done it a few times, and it doesn’t get old and it doesn’t get any less great. But to beat a team the quality of that team and as well as they wrestled against us, that was a great win.

“Winning at 119 was huge. Their kid is a state qualifier, and our kid – I wasn’t able to enter him in the District because he wasn’t healthy. That was two kids just battling right there, and Sean stepped up and won that match.”

Richmond, which held a 19-4 lead after five matches (the meet started at 130 pounds), had a 26-25 lead after freshman Aaron Kilburn won a 10-2 major decision at 103. But Richmond would not win again.

Dundee freshman Zach Blevins stepped in and won with a major decision, giving the Vikings a 29-26 lead and setting the stage for the match between Keilitz and Richmond freshman Graham Barton.

“I knew I had to win,” said Blevins, who had a 5-0 lead after the first period and nearly picked up a pin late in that period en route to a 15-2 victory. “I was really nervous, but I knew we would be able to finish it out.”

Keilitz and Barton had a closer battle. Keilitz had a 7-4 lead going into the third period, but Barton, who came into the match with a 21-21 record, cut it to 9-8 before Keilitz scored the last three points.

“It’s just unreal,” Keilitz said. “I was looking up at the scoreboard, and I honestly wasn’t even nervous for once in my life. I was just so pumped up. It was so exciting.

“It was scary, but I was so pumped up that I wasn’t even worried about it. I just went out there and did my job.”

The victory left Dundee with a 32-26 lead going into the final match. All Dundee junior Brendan O’Connor had to do was avoid a pin to secure the MHSAA title. However, a pin would have tied the match and caused it to be decided by the sixth tie-breaking criteria.

But O’Connor was never in danger of being pinned and went on to post a 14-8 decision.

Richmond (26-5) won four of the first five matches to build the 19-4 lead. Alex Muzljakovich (130) and Nate Henke (145) each won by fall, while defending individual MHSAA champion Devin Skatzka won by major decision at 152 to improve to 48-2. Senior Austin Cattera (135) also won by decision for the Blue Devils.

The lone victory in the first five matches for Dundee was by junior Doug Rojem, whose major decision at 140 improved his season record to 46-1.

Dundee junior Todd Olson grabbed some momentum for the Vikings with a first-period fall at 160 to improve to 46-3.

“I had to get it going,” Olson said. “I really wanted to wrestle Richmond in the Finals because they’ve beat us so many times. Really, there is no better feeling – no better feeling – this is the best I’ve ever felt in my entire life.”

Tye Thompson’s decision at 171 cut Richmond’s lead to 19-13, and junior Teddy Warren followed with a first-period fall at 189 to make it a 19-19 match and improve his record to 46-2. After Jack McKiernan won by decision over Dundee senior Jay Sroufe to improve to 48-5, Richmond had a 22-19 lead with five matches remaining.

Dundee senior John Marogen took the mat on a mission at 285 and registered a first-period pin to give the Vikings a 25-22 lead. Marogen had won seven consecutive matches in the Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals, dating back to the 2010 Finals when he won a majority decision against Richmond.

“This is just amazing,” Marogen said. “It’s the best feeling in the world. I knew I had to go out and get a pin.”

Marogen used the word “scared” twice; one while talking about his feelings when Dundee was down by 15 and again when he described his feelings as the meet went into its final matches.

“I was really scared,” he said of when the team was down, “and I was scared (late in the meet), but those kids are tough. I’m really proud of them.”

Marogen wasn’t the only one who was scared when Richmond threatened to win its fourth consecutive MHSAA title.

“It was kind of scary at first, I’m not going to lie,” Keilitz said, “but once we got those pins, we got rolling.”

Nine of the 14 Dundee wrestlers who had a match in the Final wrestled in last year’s as well against Richmond. Keilitz is the only one who lost last year and won this year. Meanwhile, Blevins, Rojem, Olson and Marogen each went 3-0 this year in the Quarterfinal, Semifinal and Final.

“This is amazing,” Sroufe said. “We’ve been working for it for four years, and it feels awesome. It’s the best thing that has ever happened to me right now.

“I knew our team was going to push it to the end, and I knew we could beat them.”

Click for full results.