Davison Breaks DCC's Hold on Division 1 Supremacy
By
Dan Stickradt
Special for Second Half
March 30, 2021
KALAMAZOO — Cameron Freeman tweaked his knee last weekend and admittedly was in a lot of pain the past couple of days.
The Davison junior still stepped in and gutted out perhaps the biggest win of the season for the Cardinals.
With his team up 26-21 with two matches remaining against four-time reigning Division 1 champion Detroit Catholic Central, the junior 130-pounder went out on the mat and held off his opponent for a 3-2 victory, clinching the Division 1 title for Davison by an eventual 29-24 score.
It marked Davison’s first Finals win since 2006, as the Cardinals lost in the championship matches five times since then, including last year’s 34-23 defeat to Catholic Central.
“For him to go out there with his knee hurting is amazing. He stepped up for us,” said Davison coach Roy Hall. “He has a meniscus issue and I know he’s in a lot of pain. But he wanted to go out there and win for us.”
Freeman staved off DCC’s Anthony Walker in the third period. Walker recorded a takedown and was trying for a second takedown in the waning seconds before time expired.
“This is for the seniors,” said Freeman. “Earlier in the week, I was suffering from a knee injury. I came back and just did this for the seniors. This is the best team I’ve ever been on.”
The Cardinals now own nine Finals team titles and six runner-up trophies. Of those five championship match losses over the last eight years, four were to DCC.
“How sweet it is — it’s awesome for these kids,” added Hall. “We came close last year and maybe we could have won that match but came up short. I’m pretty accomplished as a coach, but these kids have never accomplished this before.”
Both teams won seven matches on the day. Davison recorded three decisions, two technical fall victories, one major decision and one pin to record the narrow five-point victory over the Shamrocks.
Catholic Central (21-2) had won 15 Finals team titles dating back to 1969 — eight during the previous decade — and finished in the runner-up slot only twice before this year. The Shamrocks were trying to become just the second Division 1 school to win five team titles in a row.
Previously, Davison captured five straight from 2002-2006.
Earlier this month, Davison won a match between the contenders 36-9.
“We lost 12 matches out of 14,” said Catholic Central coach Mitch Hancock, referring to that first defeat. “So for our guys to come out today and respond and wrestle the way we did to put ourselves into position to win that dual – that’s a great team, and we took them right to the wire. This time we battled them and were right there with them. We split matches with them 7-7; they just scored more bonus points.
“This stings — look at the faces on our team. Anthony Walker feels a little dejected right now, but he’s got nothing to be ashamed of,” continued Hancock. “He was right there against a great opponent. Hats off to Davison and Roy Hall. They are a great team this year.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Davison celebrates its Division 1 championship Tuesday at Wings Event Center. (Middle) Davison and Detroit Catholic Central faced off for the second-straight season in the Final. (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.)