44 | APRIL 6 • 2023 

J

ack Chudler finished 33-7 this 
season as a member of the Orchard 
Lake St. Mary’s High School 
wrestling team.
Sounds good, doesn’t it? Not good 
enough, in Chudler’s estimation. But 
it set him up for what could be a 
memorable senior season next year.
Chudler wrestled in the Division 2 
individual state meet last season as a 
sophomore.
He lost both of his matches in the 135-
pound division and finished the year 
with a 24-10 record, but he didn’t expect 
to make it to state, and he thought he 
wrestled well there. He also thought the 
experience would help him.
He was very happy about his district 
championship. Besides winning the 
title, it set him up with a favorable draw 
at sectionals, which helped him finish 
fourth and qualify for the state meet.
He didn’t make it to state this year, in 
his junior season. He got to the regionals 

at 126 pounds, but that was it.
“That was tough,” he said. “Losing at 
regionals really gave me motivation for 
next year. I don’t want to fall short again.
“Looking back, dropping down to 126 
pounds wasn’t a good idea. Cutting that 
weight hurt me.”
While cutting weight didn’t help him, 
the biggest problem Chudler faced 
this season was who was in his weight 
classes.
He wrestled at 132 and 138 pounds 
during the regular season, and 126 
pounds during the Division 2 state 
tournament.
The competition was fierce in those 
classes. Even on his own team.
Cornell University-bound and 
nationally ranked senior Marcello 
Milani, wrestling for the first time in 
high school, was the 126-pound state 
champion. His twin brother Luca was 
fourth in the state at 132 pounds. 
Freshman Ayden Tatum was a state 

qualifier at 138 pounds.
“I felt like I hung with those guys at 
practice, except for Marcello,” Chudler 
said. “He’s at a different level. We’ve been 
wrestling together since we were little. 
He puts in a lot of time wrestling. He 
goes year-round.”
Chudler finished third at districts to 
qualify for regionals. That was a feat in 
itself. The district winner and runner-up 
were Milani and Birmingham Brother 
Rice’s Ricardo Saenz, ranked No. 1 and 
No. 3 in the state.
Even though Chudler didn’t get to 
compete in the Oakland County or 
Catholic League meets — only one 
wrestler per team can wrestle — St. 
Mary’s coach Sean Kolodge feels he’ll 
benefit from battling with his tough 
teammates in practice.
“Jack learned a lot this year. He’s a 
better wrestler than he was last year,” 
Kolodge said. “He just happened to be in 
extremely tough weight classes, even on 
our team. We were loaded.
“If he works as hard in the off-season 
as he says he’s doing to do, he’ll have a 

Learning Experience 

SPORTS

LOREN CHUDLER 

ANTHONY CHUDLER

Jack Chudler didn’t have the wrestling season 
he wanted, but his future is bright.

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

LEFT TO RIGHT: A pensive Jack Chudler 
contemplates his strategy for his next 
match. Jack Chudler (right) locks up with an 
opponent during a match this season.

