Jack of All Trades

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Jack Chudler has Carter Mlynarek of Macomb Lutheran North in trouble during a 130pound semifinal match at the Catholic League wrestling tournament. Chudler pinned Mlynarek in 1:39.

Jack of All Trades

Sophomore athlete is making a name for himself at his high school.

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jack Chudler is a sophomore, but he’s an elder statesman on his high school wrestling team.

“Jack came here with a lot of club wrestling experience. That isn’t the case with many of our guys,” said Tyler Fenzel, the wrestling coach at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.

“He’s willing to help anyone on our team who wants it, both in wrestling itself and what it’s like to be a wrestler,” Fenzel said.

Chudler is definitely happy to help his teammates.

“I like teaching guys the right moves to make during a match, and it’s great to see them get better,” he said. “Wrestling is a tough sport. You have to have a lot of mental strength to be out there all by yourself.”

Like many of his teammates, Chudler has gotten better this season.

He went 10-6 wrestling at 119 pounds last season. He was 19-9 this season following his second-place finish at 130 pounds Feb. 5 in the Catholic League tournament at Novi Detroit Catholic Central.

Chudler won his first two tournament matches, then he was pinned in the weight class championship match by Catholic Central’s Clayton Jones, who is ranked No. 2 in the state at 130 pounds.

“Clayton is a better wrestler than I am right now. More skilled,” Chudler said. “I did my best against him, and I’ll learn from that match.”

Chudler, 16, also plays football and lacrosse at St. Mary’s. He said he likes playing those sports, but wrestling is his favorite sport.

His older brother Nick Chudler was a football player and wrestler at St. Mary’s before joining the Michigan State University football team in 2017 as a preferred walk-on long snapper.

Nick was on the St. Mary’s wrestling team that won a team district championship in 2017, Fenzel’s first season as coach.

“My brother (Nick) loved going to St. Mary’s. That was a big reason why I decided to go there, along with the good academics and athletics,” Jack said.

It’s not unusual for a Jewish student, especially a student-athlete, to attend a Catholic high school.

Jack said he feels comfortable at St. Mary’s and is enjoying playing sports there. He’s doing well academically. He has a 3.8 grade-point average.

Fenzel is Jack’s teacher in world history and religion classes.

“Jack is a good student. He comes into the classroom ready to learn every day,” Fenzel said. “He really knows his world history because he’s done a lot of traveling with his family.”

HAROLD ALARCON

Please send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.