32 | FEBRUARY 17 • 2022 

HAROLD ALARCON

J

ack Chudler is a soph-
omore, 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 sec-
ond-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 aca-
demics and athletics,
” Jack said.
It’s not unusual for a Jewish 
student, especially a student-ath-
lete, 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 class-
es.
“Jack is a good student. He 
comes into the classroom ready 
to learn every day,
” Fenzel said. 
“He really knows his world his-
tory because he’s done a lot of 
traveling with his family.
” 

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stevestein502004@yahoo.com.

Jack of 
All Trades

sports HIGHlights

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

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

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

