David Cook
Sports Scene
While they may not have 12 state titles consecutively like Division 2 Lowell, the Hudson Tigers did rack up their 12th team state wrestling title since 2009 as the Tigers defeated the combined team from Martin/Climax-Scotts 45-25 to win the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division 4 team wrestling title at Kalamazoo.
For Hudson, the title was the fourth D4 state title in a row. Hudson also won three consecutive Division 4 titles from 20-17 through 2019 and reeled off five consecutive D4 state titles from 2009 through 2013.
This year’s title was a hard-earned win as the Martin/Climax-Scotts squad put up a tough fight.
The Martin squad took the initial lead in the match when Urijah Joostberns opened the match with a pin at 113 pounds giving Martin/Climax-Scotts an early 6-0 lead.
Th Martin lead grew to 12-0 when Logan Gilbert followed with a win by injury default at 120 pounds.
Trailing by a dozen points early, the Tigers came roaring back with four consecutive wins. Colt Perry put the first Hudson points on the scoreboard when he needed just 37 seconds to record at fall at 126 pounds.
Hudson then trimmed the deficit to one point as Nicholas Sorrow won by technical fall at 132 pounds.
The Tigers then took the lead at 138 pounds when Beckett Campbell on by fall at 138 pounds. The Hudson lead then grew to 21-12 when Julien Kimling won by major decision at 144 pounds.
Martin, however, refused to fold and battled back in a big way. At 150 pounds, Haylen Buell of Martin came up with a win by major decision to trim the margin to 21-16. The Martin/Climax-Scotts squad then tied the match at 157 pounds where Jack Bagwell won by technical fall to tie the contest at 21-21.
As the dual went into the upper weights, the Tigers began to take control of the match. At 165 pounds, Jacob Pickford turned in a first-period fall to put Hudson up 27-21. That pin was followed by a technical fall from Devon Brigman at 175 pounds that put the Tigers up 32-21. At 190 pounds, Hudson’s Barron Mansfield and Martin’s Malcolm Smith hooked up in the best bout of the dual. Mansfield came up the winner as the Tiger claimed a 2-0 win to give Hudson a 35-21 lead heading into the final three matches of the dual.
The Martin/Climax-Scotts team remained alive in the dual when at 215 pounds Sam Bleeker won by a major decision cutting the Hudson lead to 35-25.
Hudson, however, clinched the match in the next bout. That was where Malachi Marshall won by pin at heavyweight putting the Tigers up 41-25. Jaxton Kimling added a major decision for Hudson at 106 pounds making the final score 45-25 for Hudson.
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