Hudson Wins D4 Rematch, 6th Team Title
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
February 25, 2017
MOUNT PLEASANT – Scott Marry’s emotional celebrations had become a staple at the MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals.
The Hudson coach had nervously watched his team win a handful of Division 4 titles, each time exploding with energy after a clinching late victory. On Saturday, however, Marry was able to reflect a bit as his team locked up the championship a little more than halfway through its title match against rival New Lothrop.
“It is so fun to win them at the last second, but it’s also fun to watch these kids as they came off the mat one at a time to get to experience them experiencing a state title as a team,” said Marry, who was still plenty excited. “So I slowed it down, and I got to take in some really cool moments with some kids one on one. It was kind of neat.”
Hudson defeated New Lothrop 51-13 at McGuirk Arena on the campus of Central Michigan University, claiming the school’s sixth Division 4 wrestling title, and first since 2013. The Tigers had finished runners-up to New Lothrop in each of the previous three seasons after winning five straight titles from 2009-13.
“It’s great. It’s amazing. It’s breathtaking,” Hudson senior 215-pounder Zack Bailey said. “It’s hard to explain unless you do it. We wanted it to be (New Lothrop). We wanted a little bit of revenge.”
Bailey and Tylor Grames are the only two seniors on the Hudson roster. While they’re certainly key pieces, they know they’re leaving behind a team that’s capable of making a 10th straight appearance in an MHSAA Finals title match.
“It makes me feel like the next couple years are going to be very strong,” Grames said. “Very strong.”
It was Grames and Bailey who started out the dual with a bang for the Tigers, staking their team to a 9-0 lead.
Grames, who is ranked No. 2 at 189 pounds in Division 4 by Michigan Grappler, opened the match with a 5-1 win against the top-ranked wrestler at his weight, Erik Birchmeier. Takedowns in the second and third periods were enough to give him the mini upset and give his team momentum early on.
“I think the tone set us up for victory, I honestly do,” Grames said. “I was No. 2, he was No. 1; I had to stay focused. I came out on top and the team kept it up. It was positive.”
Bailey wasted little time in building on the momentum, getting a pin in 19 seconds at 215 pounds.
“I felt really good about (starting the dual at 189 pounds),” Marry said. “With my Grames kid being ranked second in the state wrestling their No. 1 kid, we knew it was going to be close enough for us to win. We had a really good matchup at 215 and heavy, and we were really solid from 112 to 135. I thought that could be almost too much for their lineup to come back from. I think that kind of did them in. I think we got the momentum, and I think you start losing doubt.”
It indeed was too much for New Lothrop to come back from, as Hudson won six of the next seven matches after their seniors set the tone, building a 36-4 lead and clinching the title with five matches remaining.
“I felt like I’m on top of the world,” Grames said. “For the last half hour, I’ve been sitting here happy.”
Isiah Krizek won a 7-0 decision at 285 for Hudson, and after Logan Wolford put New Lothrop on the board with a 9-1 major decision at 103 pounds, Hudson got three straight pins from Tucker Sholl (112), Tyler Curtis (119) and Jordan Hamdan (125). Scotty Torres won 4-0 at 130 pounds for the Tigers, and Carson Price clinched the team victory with an 8-6 decision over second-ranked Austin Wolford at 135.
Malik Ray won 7-2 at 152 for Hudson, while John Betz (160) and Spencer Blanco (171) closed out the dual with back-to-back pins.
Justin Carnahan won by pin at 140 pounds for New Lothrop, while Zack Riley won a 5-2 decision at 152.
“Part of coaching at New Lothrop is that’s our goal – to get here each year and give ourselves a chance to win it,” New Lothrop coach Jeff Campbell said. “I absolutely think we’ll have a shot in the future, we’ll be stronger and we’ll learn something from what happened today.”
Like Hudson, New Lothrop is remarkably young. Twelve wrestlers who took the mat Saturday for the Hornets could be back next season, meaning the Division 4 titans who have claimed the last nine titles (six for Hudson, three for New Lothrop) will likely be the teams to beat again in 2018.
Hudson entered the weekend as the top seed and top-ranked by Michigan Grappler. New Lothrop, unranked at the end of the regular season, was seeded sixth this weekend but downed third seed Carson City-Crystal and second seed Leroy Pine River to reach the Final.
“When you’re wrestling against Jeff Campbell’s group, it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose,” Marry said. “They’re going to bring it, we’re going to bring it; we’re not counting wins and losses against these guys. It’s really not that type of rivalry. It’s a classy rivalry; it’s a rivalry of respect. We just said to each other out there, we hope to see each other again next year out there.”
The MHSAA Wrestling Finals are presented by the Michigan Army National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Hudson's Isiah Krizek takes control against Cameron Dusenberry during their match at 285 pounds. (Middle) New Lothrop's Logan Wolford works toward his 9-1 major decision win at 103. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Manchester's Tobias Starts Recent Run of 4-Time Individual Finals Champs
By
John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director emeritus
February 26, 2025
The MHSAA Wrestling Tournament began in 1948. In the first 52 years of the tournament only six grapplers had achieved the ultimate – winning four individual titles. And the first to achieve that – Mike Mills of Mt. Pleasant – didn’t do it until 1979. Before that, there had only been nine three-time champs.
Flip the page to 2000 and a run of four-peat masters has occurred, and heading into the 2025 MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals this week, we celebrate here the 25th anniversary of the first of that group – Jeremiah Tobias of Manchester High School.
Tobias is the leader of a group of 30 wrestlers have captured four titles in their careers over the past 25 years. A career sweep has been claimed by at least one wrestler in each season since 2017, with 16 four-timers during that span. Two three-time champs – Jackson Blum of Lowell (Div. 2-132 pounds) and Sebastian Martinez of Riverview Gabriel Richard (Div. 4 at 175 pounds) — stand at the fore to join the club this year.
Tobias captured his fourth title in impressive style at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, pinning his four opponents in a stunningly-low combined time of 3:30 – an average of 52 seconds per match. Since then, only Derek Saari of Escanaba has spent less time in Finals combat with four pins at 2:58 (44.5 second average) to win the Upper Peninsula title at 119 pounds in 2007.
Over the last 25 years, 30 wrestlers on 32 occasions have pinned their four opponents en route to the title in the boys Finals – and since the girls division started in 2022, it’s happened nine times in those brackets. Achieving four-pin Finals titles twice were Zach Perrin of Corunna in 2005 and 2006 and Ira Jenkins of Whitehall in 2021 and 2022.
For Tobias, his championships came at 125, 130, 135 and 145 pounds. He finished his career with a 182-3 record, not losing a match after the District Final of his freshman year – a loss he avenged during the following weeks’ Regional and Final tournaments. He rang up a winning streak of 144 matches and did not have an opponent score a takedown on him over his last three seasons. Only a football injury his junior year, which caused him to miss 31 bouts, prevented him from compiling even more impressive numbers.
Following his final match to clinch the fourth title, a pin in 1:12 which brought the crowd at The Joe to a standing ovation, Tobias told The Detroit News, “I’m speechless. I knew this was the last match of my high school career and I wanted to make the most of it. This is the way I wanted to be remembered by.”
He went on to the University of Michigan and posted an 82-21 record in a reserve role from 2001-05 – pinning 57 of his opponents, which is still a school record. Seventeen of those pins came as a sophomore, another school record. He was honored three times with the Bill Shaw Award – recognizing the team’s top 11th man.
Tobias entered the college coaching ranks following graduation, which included 10 years at Alma College – five as its head coach. He is currently a fitness teacher at St. Mary’s School in Alma and remains active in youth wrestling circles.
FOX Sports Detroit featured Tobias during its coverage of the 2000 Individual Wrestling Finals, and we have video of that feature and his championship match with Jeremy Windsor of Fulton for your enjoyment. (His match follows the interview at 1:07.)
PHOTO Manchester's Jeremiah Tobias celebrates his fourth championship at the 2000 Individual Wrestling Finals.