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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Jack of
All Trades
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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.