KALAMAZOO – Heading into the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division 4 Team Wrestling semifinals, Lenawee County had two teams still alive in No. 1 Hudson and No. 3 Clinton. As it turns out, fate just will not let these two teams stay apart.
In the Division 4 semifinals Hudson rolled past Decatur 65-9 and Clinton hit on a mild upset, taking down the No. 2 seeded St. Louis Sharks by the score of 46-27. What does that mean? That means that it will be two teams very familiar to The Daily Telegram and to each other battling for the Division 4 state finals as No. 1 Hudson will toe the line versus No. 3 Clinton with the MHSAA Division 4 state championship on the line.
No. 1 Hudson 65, No. 4 Decatur 9
The state semifinals kicked off at 190 pounds, a solid starting spot for the Tigers. Hudson took pins in the first two matches as Devon Brigman won via pin at 190 pounds followed by Malachi Marshall winning via pin at 215 pounds.
After a Decatur win at 285 pounds, the Tigers rattled off eight straight wins to put away the semifinal win. Taking wins for Hudson was Jaxton Kimling by pin at 106 pounds; Royce Beal via pin fall at 113 pounds; Liam McClain with a hard fought 9-1 Major Decision at 120 pounds; Jace Kimling with a pin at 126 pounds; Ethan Rising with a 15-0 tech fall at 132 pounds; Nick Sorrow with a pin at 138 pounds; Chase Clark with a 20-1 tech fall at 144 pounds; Colt Perry with a pin at 150 pounds; Beckett Campbell with a pin at 165 pounds; and Owen Loop with an exciting 4-3 decision at 175 pounds.
“That right there is a product of years and years and years of hard work and dedication, I have guys on this team who have been wrestling with me since they were 4 years old,” Hudson coach Scott Marry said. “We always talk about how much time they have put in so when they put that foot on that line, all that accumulation of time and love, you just have to let it flow.”
No. 3 Clinton 46, No. 2 St. Louis 27
The Clinton Redwolves pulled off a minor upset at the state finals on Saturday, taking down the No. 2 seeded St. Louis Sharks 46-27.
Things kicked off at 190 pounds for all the teams in the state semifinals, a great starting spot for the Redwolves.
“The kids just came out firing today, the weight class was very favorable for us to start and on top of that we won the flip and the guys started us out right with three straight pins,” said Clinton coach Casey Randolph.
Those three pins came from Bryce Randolph at 190 pounds, Owen Wright at 215 pounds, and Gradyn Whelan at 285 ponds.
The Redwolves rattled off two more bonus-point wins as Hudson Miller secured a 9-0 major decision at 106 pounds followed by Zach Taylor with a 13-5 major decision at 113 pounds.
St. Louis came back in the smaller to middle weights, taking pins at 120 and 126, followed by a tech fall at 132 pounds and a 15-6 major decision at 138 pounds.
Clinton put the semifinal away with four straight extra-point wins starting at 144 pounds as Jaxon Phillip took a win via pin, followed by a 11-3 major decision for Tanner Bolton at 150 pounds. Braxton Randolph took a pin fall at 157 pounds followed by Clifford Jones with a 11-3 major decision at 165 pounds.
St. Louis ended the dual with a win at 175 pounds via pin fall, but it was far too little too late as Clinton took the win 46-27.
What Comes Next?
Now, two of Lenawee County’s best get to figure out who rules Division 4 wrestling. The Hudson Tigers (34-3) will face off with Clinton (28-8) for the Division 4 championship beginning at 3:45 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Hudson and Clinton to meet for D4 state wrestling championship
Reporting by Troy Tennyson, The Daily Telegram / The Daily Telegram
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
