D2 Preview: Eager to Finish Business
March 1, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Many of Division 2’s contenders this weekend hope it’s an MHSAA Finals filled with second chances.
Six of 10 favorites highlighted below were runners-up a year ago, two losing by a mere point in their championship matches.
Follow all matches beginning with Thursday's first round on a subscription basis live on MHSAA.tv, and click here for results at MHSAA.com. And come back to Second Half this weekend as we’ll interview all 14 title winners.
The MHSAA Wrestling Finals are presented by the Michigan Army National Guard. College choices below are based on reporting by Michigan Grappler.
112: Corey Gamet, Parma Western sophomore (46-0) – Gamet defeated another then-freshman, Chaise Mayer of Warren Woods Tower, 3-2 to win last year's title at 103 and is now 61-1 over two high school seasons after losing most of last winter to a knee injury.
119: Branson Proudlock, Gibraltar Carlson junior (49-0) – After falling by just a point in last season’s 112 championship match, Proudlock enters as the top seed at 119 and a combined 100-2 over the last two seasons.
119: Elijuh Weaver, Warren Woods Tower senior (51-4) – Coming off last season’s championship at 112, he’s not seeded at this weight despite beating top seed Proudlock in last year’s Final; he also finished as an individual runner-up as a sophomore.
125: Dominic LaJoie, Gaylord junior (48-0) – An individual champion as both a freshman and sophomore, he missed a third title last year by just a point losing a 4-3 decision in the 119 Final; he’s seeded first this winter and will continue next season at Cornell University.
130: Drew Marten, Tecumseh senior (51-1) – The champion a year ago at 125 pulled off one of the day’s most unexpected triumphs, downing two-time champion Lucas Hall; it shouldn’t have been a huge surprise though since Marten entered that match 52-1, and now he’s a top seed with a two-year record of 104-2 and a future set at Central Michigan.
140: Trent Lashuay, St. Johns senior (29-6) – Last season’s runner-up at 135 enters this weekend as the top seed at this weight; he fell only 5-2 in last year’s Final and made that run despite entering the weekend with 10 losses.
152: Dustin Gross, Dearborn Heights Annapolis junior (51-0) – He’s seeded second behind also-undefeated Bret Fedewa of St. Johns, but Gross finished runner-up last season at 145 and handed reigning Division 1 145 champion Nathan Atienza of Livonia Franklin his only loss this winter.
171: Connor Charping, Trenton senior (54-1) – After just missing last year’s championship at 160 losing a 3-1 decision on a takedown with 10 seconds remaining, Charping is the top seed at 171 and looking to go out on top.
189: Jelani Embree, Warren Lincoln senior (32-0) – The champion at 171 last season hasn’t lost over the last two, moving to a combined 79-0 as an upperclassmen; he’ll continue his career after this at Michigan.
215: Eli Boulton, Lowell senior (37-3) – He lost by a 9-2 decision in the championship match at this weight last season, but enters his last Finals as the top seed and fresh off a team title last weekend.
Other 2016 runners-up: Warren Woods Tower sophomore Chaise Mayer (112, 48-1, 103 in 2016), Mason senior Brad Wilton (189, 38-3).
Also undefeated: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s freshman Joshua Edmond (135, 49-0), Sparta sophomore Alec Reese (145, 45-0), St. Johns senior Bret Fedewa (152, 49-0), Dexter senior Will Feldkamp (189, 48-0), Cedar Springs senior Patrick DePiazza (285, 44-0).
No. 1 seeds: Gaylord freshman Chayse LaJoie (103, 48-3), Parma Western’s Gamet (112), Gibraltar Carlson’s Proudlock (119), Gaylord’s Dominic LaJoie (125), Tecumseh’s Marten (130), Lowell freshman Austin Boone (135, 36-3), St. Johns’ Lashuay (140), Sparta’s Rees (145), St. Johns’ Fedewa (152), DeWitt senior Lucas McFarland (160, 50-2), Trenton’s Carping (171), Warren Lincoln’s Embree (189), Lowell’s Boulton (215), Cedar Springs' DePiazza (285).
PHOTO: Warren Woods Tower’s Elijuh Weaver (top) works toward a win during the Division 2 championship match against Lowell on Saturday. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Hudson Makes Another Memory, Pulling Away for 4th-Straight Finals Victory
By
Jeff Chaney
Special for MHSAA.com
February 22, 2025
KALAMAZOO – As the Hudson wrestling team turned away from the post-dual handshake, the Tigers pivoted and raced back to their fans at Wings Event Center on Saturday with four fingers extended in the air.
On many of those wrestlers' fingers, three rings proudly took their spots, leaving one finger without.
Not anymore, as Hudson won its fourth-straight Division 4 championship with a 45-25 victory over Climax-Scotts/Mason in the title match.
"This is an unreal feeling,” 138-pound senior Julien Kimling said. "I remember my first one with that great group of seniors. We just strived to be like that group. They were great leaders, they started us off with number one, and now we are here with number four. It's an unreal feeling.”
Longtime Hudson coach Scott Marry, who has won more championship rings than fingers during his tenure leading the Tigers, said it's a joy every year to watch his wrestlers enjoy their successes after a long season.
"It is so fun to coach the spirit that these boys have," said Marry, who now has led Hudson to 12 team titles. "They have a farmer's mentality. They get up with the chickens and don't go to bed until the crickets are out. They don't stop."
And like he says year after year, Hudson wrestling is community and generational.
"It's hard to describe the community we have back at Hudson," Marry said. “It's like a little slice of paradise. God takes good care of us."
Whatever they are doing in Hudson as far as wrestling, it's working.
Led by Kimling, the Tigers won nine of the 14 matches against a very game CSM team.
Kimling had one of eight wins that ended with bonus team points for the Tigers. He won by major decision over a talented Seth Toris 10-2.
Bonus points is how Hudson made its way to the Finals, scoring wins over Roscommon in the Quarterfinals 75-3 and Clinton in the Semifinals 47-18.
"There is just a family feeling here, the love for each other," Kimling said. "We talked about this all weekend, the love for each other, the love for the sport and the love for God and everything all above us."
Climax-Scotts/Martin coach Mike Reitz saw the camaraderie of Hudson up close, and was impressed. But he was still happy that his team hung so tough with the premier program in Division 4.
"Who would have thought with two matches left to go we were still in it,” said Reitz, whose team ended its year with a 26-2 record. "We came in ranked number three, battled in the Semifinals, and then the boys showed up and battled in the Finals. I couldn't ask for any more. A couple of matches didn't go our way, but credit to them."
CSM defeated second-seeded St. Louis in the Semifinals 30-25 and Union City in the Quarterfinals 47-28.
With the three wins his team picked up this weekend in Kalamazoo, Marry now sits at 946 over his 37 years leading the Tigers.
But he doesn't want to hear that.
"We don't care about wins,” Marry said. “We care about kids."
Click for this weekend’s Division 4 meet summaries.
PHOTOS (Top) Hudson’s Julian Kimling, left, has his arm raised in victory Saturday afternoon at Wings Event Center. (Middle) CSM’s Logan Gilbert, right, faces off against Hudson’s Chase Clark at 120 pounds. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)