Hudson Starts Saturday Celebrating Record-Setting Coach, Ends with Testament to His Work
By
Jeff Chaney
Special for MHSAA.com
February 28, 2026
KALAMAZOO – Scott Marry always likes to spread the praise.
The longtime Hudson wrestling coach always points to his wrestlers, school administration and Hudson community when talking about the successes of his program.
But he has been the constant in the dynasty.
This weekend at the MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals at Wings Event Center, Marry's Tigers won their fifth-straight Division 4 championship with a 50-15 victory over rival Clinton in Saturday afternoon’s championship match.
That made 13 Division 4 championships and 17 appearances in championship matches for Hudson during Marry's 38 years leading the program.
And to boot, with his team's 65-9 win over Decatur in the Semifinals, Marry became the all-time winningest coach in MHSAA wrestling history with a 983-216 record.
"I came back (to Hudson) from Michigan State in 1986 – I wrestled for (former Michigan State wrestling coach) Grady Penninger," said Marry, a 1983 Hudson graduate. "I spent three years up there, and I came back on unwanted terms. I did not want to be home, but I had to be home because I wasn't focused. I was wasting my time and my money and when I got home, basically my dad is an old-school conservative and he said get your butt to work – you are not going to school, so you are going to get a job."
So Marry leaned back on his love of wrestling.
"I started working construction and helping out with the wrestling room," Marry said. "Low and behold, the next year the wrestling coach resigned and they gave it to me. I wasn't even ready. I just started teaching like Grady taught us in the room at Michigan State, and now 38 years later here we are."
Here we are, all the titles and wins, let alone mentoring hundreds of boys and girls to push themselves through a difficult sport to become men and women.
"I owe a lot to Grady Penninger, and I owe a lot to my parents and I owe a lot to this community," Marry said. "Honestly, putting up with me. This is a longevity award, and there are a lot of places that wouldn't have put up with me and Hudson still loves me even after all the mistakes I've made."
You don't have to look far to see that love.
Senior 132-pounder Nick Sorrow, who will be looking to win his fourth individual championship next weekend at Ford Field to go with his now four team titles, points that out.
"He gives 100 percent every day," Sorrow said. "He focuses on bringing the energy up, and when energy is up good things happen. He is a positive light in our lives. It just goes to show how much he loves and cares for this team. He is with us every day, extra hours, early mornings. He is there for us and cares so much about Hudson, I just wish everyone knew just how much."
The Tigers won 11 of 14 matches Saturday against Clinton, which wrestles in the Lenawee County Athletic Association with Hudson and also Division 3 champion Dundee. Four wins came by pin, three by technical fall and four by decision.
Total, the Tigers gave up only 24 match points all weekend. That dominance in Division 4 has been the theme for the past decade, as Hudson has won eight of the past 10 titles.
The Tigers also won five in a row from 2009-2013.
"We are trying to make a new mark next year," Marry said. "We are looking for six in a row; we have never won six in a row.
“This team is very special. These seniors have led this team in a really spectacular way throughout the season. Off the mat, in the classroom, every which way. These leaders have really shown their leadership skills, and I am so proud of them."
PHOTOS (Top) Hudson’s Colt Perry works toward a decision at 150 pounds under the watchful eye of coach Scott Marry, far left. (Middle) Marry monitors the action Saturday afternoon after becoming the state’s all-time winningest wrestling coach during the Semifinals earlier that day. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Rising Cadillac Dreaming Bigger Entering 5th Season Back on Varsity Mat
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
December 20, 2024
When Luke Phillips was a seventh grader, Cadillac High School did not have a wrestling team.
Cadillac Middle School didn’t either. Phillips, now a senior at Cadillac, started wrestling in a community youth program started by his father, Chad, and Eli Hoffert, Paul Hanus and Mark Cronkhite.
The youth program grew from 34 to 93 participants after its inception in 2016. Today there is not yet an official middle school team, but there sure is a high school team. Hoffert is now the head coach of Vikings, and he’s assisted by Hanus and Chad Phillips. Cronkhite was also on the Vikings’ coaching staff two seasons.
Cadillac returned to the mats with Hoffert at the helm five years ago — after last offering the sport in 2007. And now the Vikings are rolling along after capturing the school’s first District team wresting championship last season.
“It was a big year for us,” said Hoffert, a former Vikings wrestler himself. “It’s amazing. I want to train these kids so they can be as good as they can be and be better than I ever was and break school records and keep progressing, not just obviously in wresting, but with life.”
The Vikings graduated key seniors last year but have strong underclassman this winter including key freshman. They are 10-0 heading into this weekend’s tournament at Sault Ste. Marie.
Luke Phillips and sophomore Payton Sampson have hopes and dreams of getting on the podium at this year’s Division 2 Individual Finals. They also have hopes of bringing their team along with them through District and Regional competitions.
Phillips already has made school history. He became the first Cadillac wrestler to place at the Individual Finals, finishing eighth last season at 165 pounds. He wants much more this time around. He’s currently wresting at 190 after bulking up for football purposes but is planning to get down to 175 soon.
“It’s really special to me,” he said of earning Cadillac’s first Finals placing. “Obviously, I couldn’t have done it by myself. It took a lot of extra time and hard work from my coaches and teammates and the community that supported me.”
Phillips, a team captain for the third-straight year, is shooting to top the 150-win career mark long before the championship meet in March and rack up 160 or more total career victories. He’s at 122 now.
“I want to go and win a state championship, and winning Regionals with the team would be nice as well,” Phillips said. “It’s what I’ve been working for since I was 5 when I started wrestling.”
The Vikings’ team bond is growing with each day, the captain and coach pointed out.
“We have a lot of hard-working guys, and we’re one tight-knit group,” Phillips said. “It has been really important to our success not just as our team but in the community and our social lives and we have each other at all times – we all want what is best for our team.”
Phillips won both his matches this week as Cadillac knocked off Division 2 No. 9 Cedar Springs 41-33 and Charlevoix 69-4. Last weekend, the Vikings captured first place in a tournament at Montague. Earlier this year, they won a tournament at East Kentwood.
Hoffert is striving to grow a winning culture while helping kids get better at wrestling and health and fitness.
“When it’s wrestling season, it’s all wrestling,” said Hoffert, whose first coaching job was an eight-year run at Lake City. “It consumes us, and that’s the way it’s got to be to be a top-level program.”
The Vikings have postseason success on their minds but hope to claim the Big North Conference title first. Perennial champion Gaylord could be an obstacle.
The Vikings’ locker room board reads “Beat Gaylord” at the top.
It’s something Hoffert and Phillips have yet to do.
“Gaylord has always had a solid program that has won the majority of Big North championships and a lot of District championships and even Regional championships,” Hoffert said. “They are the hammers in the north.”
Topping Gaylord for conference and District titles this year would please the senior captain.
“I want to go out with a bang,” Phillips said. “It means a lot.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) An official raises Luke Phillips' arm in victory after his match this season against Charlevoix. (Middle) Cadillac coach Eli Hoffert, left, stands with Phillips. (Below) The Vikings' Payton Sampson works toward a takedown in his match against the Rayders. (Photos by Kristi Hoffert.)