MHSA(Q&)A: Hudson wrestling coach Scott Marry

February 26, 2012

Although updating the records remains a work in progress, it’s fair to say few have accomplished in Michigan high school wrestling what Hudson coach Scott Marry has over the last 24 seasons.

He’s one of just a handful of coaches who have won more than 600 matches – he’s 630-135 after this Finals weekend – and Hudson is one of only three programs to win four or more consecutive team championships since 1988, the first season MHSAA team titles were decided by dual matches instead of the Individual Finals results. The Tigers beat Shelby 33-22 in Saturday’s Division 4 Final at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.

Marry is a Hudson alum, having graduated in 1983 before attending Adrian College. He also coached the junior varsity football team for 11 seasons.

Of roughly 270 students at Hudson High, 27 were on the wrestling team this season, including Marry’s son Devan – who has signed with Eastern Michigan for next season. We caught up with Scott Marry after Saturday’s championship match.

It’s four titles in a row.

I’m numb right now. I’m lost for words. I’m happy for these seniors. Most of these seniors were on that football team (in 2010) that was a state title also, so they’ve won five state titles. They have five championship rings. They were in another (football) Finals against Traverse City (St. Francis, in 2009). So they’ve been in seven Finals contests.

About 10 percent of your school’s enrollment is on the wrestling team. How were you able to create so much interest in the program?

They want to be part of something successful. The kids know that hard work pays off. They really do. This didn’t start this year. I’ve had these kids in the program for years. Every one of these seniors, I’ve known them seven or eight years. They’re my boy’s best friends. That’s a huge advantage.

And I don’t think that just because the senior class was so good that this is going to be the end of Hudson wrestling, by any means. But those seniors had a big part to do with what happened today.

Although you’ve won four straight titles, is this one more special because you know these seniors so well?

Definitely. We’ve been bawling all day. We’ve been hugging and crying and saying good-bye, and promising each other that no matter what – win, lose or draw – we were going to have these same feelings for each other when we were done. But this is a little bit sweeter. I get to say good-bye to six guys that I’ve shared a lot of time with. And in a good way – it’s a positive saying good-bye, not a negative one. I’m going to miss them all.

What keeps you coming back every year?

The student athletes. The community. … I think, to give these kids something to look forward to, something to work for, that’s the least I can do.

Moment: Richmond Gets Pin to Win

March 27, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Three matches remained in the Division 3 Wrestling Final on Feb. 28, 2015, and Dundee led 25-12 with a third-straight championship nearly in grasp.

But after his Richmond teammates Adam Boyd and Roy Costello fought back to pull their team within four points of the lead with only his 112-pound match left, senior Conor Behem found himself with an all-or-nothing title-deciding opportunity.

Behem’s pin in 1 minute, 7 seconds, gave Richmond a 27-25 win over Dundee and its first championship since 2012 – and after Richmond had fallen to Dundee in the Finals both of the previous two seasons.

Oh, and Behem finished off the victory despite wrestling with tears to a knee ligament and meniscus.

“I kind of broke down emotionally,” Behem said of the immediate aftermath. “It felt so good, words can’t even describe it.”

Click for coverage from Second Half – Richmond: Nothing Compares to This – and see below for coverage from the NFHS Network.