By Bill Mullaly

It was quite an exciting year for sports in the Hudson area for 2006 so we will take a look back at what occurred on the courts and playing fields around town. This will be a month-by-month look at some of the past highlights of the past 12 months for the high school and recreation teams and individuals around the city of Hudson. The first installment will feature a look at the first six months from January through June of the year that is about to end this weekend.

January 2006

• There were 22 participants in the third annual Polar Bear Splash that took care on New Year's Day at Posey Lake. The youngest swimmer was six-year old Mary Pat Wollet, while the oldest was Jane Tucker at age 64. Pat "Hugger" Wollet organizes the annual rite of passage that kicks in the New Year with a nice healthy swim.

• The annual Hudson Booster Volleyball tournament saw local powerhouse Freedom Farm take second place to Ottawa Lake Whiteford. The Freedom Farm team is coached by Hudsonite Rick Milligan.

• The Hudson competitive cheerleading team won its first invitational of the year at Morenci. The team would go on to its best season ever during the 2006 campaign.

• Wayne Perry gets his first win as a varsity head coach as his Tigers beat Erie Mason on the road 37-30 for the first win of the season for the Hudson squad. February 2006:

• In a controversial competitive cheer event held at Clinton the Hudson squad finishes second to the Lady Wildcats of Onsted. There were only two judges not the required three, thus the defeat was full of questions about just how fair the results were.

• The Hudson wrestlers take second in the LCAA to perennial power Dundee but the Tigers do have three individual champions as Duane Hoffman, Kyle Williams and Josh Butts claim titles for Hudson.

• The struggling girls volleyball team won its first match of the season beating Reading at the Jonesville Invite.

• Nine Tiger wrestlers qualify for the regional meet, as Hoffman and Dan Hartman are district champs.

• The annual Hudson Youth Floor Hockey Tournament was held the first week of February and Chris Bloomer had 42 teams in the town for the annual extravaganza. The new format called for a one-day tourney and it worked well Bloomer noted.

March 2006

• Five Hudson wrestlers qualified for the state meet and Dan Hartman went as a regional champion. At the state meet it was Hartman and Hoffman taking fourth and Taylor Smith was sixth.

• The Hudson hoop squad did something it hadn't done in a while and that was win a game in district play as they beat Addison 53-47. Then the Tigers almost stunned the Alex Garr-led Jonesville team but the Tigers lost as a shot at the buzzer by Matt Aguirre just missed.

• The Hudson competitive cheerleading team finished as the state runner-up at the class C-D meet held in Grand Rapids. Hudson was just behind state title winner Breckenridge. This was the closest the team had ever come to winning it all for head coach Kelly Bailey. Lyndsi Bailey, Brittany Keene, Kaylene Chamberlain and Brittany Keene won all-state individual honors.

• The girl's softball team had its earliest start ever and won its season opener beating Pittsford by a mercy rule score.

• The annual youth wrestling tournament was held at Hudson high School with the largest turnout yet for the yearly event.

April 2006

• The girl's golf team won its first match of the season on its way to a record-setting season.

• The girl's track team opened its season winning a three-way meet led by the running of senior sensation Rachel Ham. Then they later had a huge win beating LCAA power Blissfield at the Royals track by a score of 76-60.

• The Hudson youth soccer program was well underway with a large turnout for its spring season played down at Memorial Park

• John Koser continues to run well for the boy's track team in the 1600 and 3200-meter events.

• The baseball team now has three wins and even took state power Homer tied at 2-2 to the fifth inning before falling. The team had a big 1-0 win over Ida in LCAA play.

May 2006

• The biggest news of the month was the shocking Hudson upset over at Blissfield as the Tiger baseball team won 7-5 in the second game of a DH. Jon Busscher got the pitching win for the first Hudson win perhaps ever at Blissfield and its first win over the Royals since 1993.

• Several wins by the girl's softball team puts them over the .500 mark at 12-11 for coach John Redding. *With its fourth win the girl's golf team ties a school mark for most wins in a season led by first year coach Drew Gambill.

• Hudson sixth-grader Devan Marry wins the prestigious Triple Crown event for youth wrestling. This was the first Triple Crown winner ever for Hudson youth wrestling.

• Several runners qualify for the state meet for both the boys and girls track teams. Six boys and five girls will head to Grand Rapids on the first Saturday of June.

June 2006

• The boy's baseball team comes out of nowhere to win its first District crown in nine years led by head coach Jeremy Beal. Hudson beats Onsted and then edges host Sand Creek 3-2 in the final game to take the District crown.

• The girl's softball team makes it to the district final but falls to perennial power Clinton in the title game.

• Rachel Ham earns three all-state finishes at the state meet. She places high in the 1600 and 800-meter runs as well as the 3200-meter relay team with Chelsey Berlin, Krissy McCaskey and Samantha Tennis.

• The boy's team is led at the state meet by John Monahan who was fourth in the pole vault and John Koser who was fourth in the 3200-meter race.

• The boy's baseball team fell in the first game of the regional 10-0 to Michigan Center to finish 15-24 overall.

• Rachel Ham and Jon Busscher are named female and male athletes of the year at Hudson High School at the annual spring sports banquet.

                        Continued next week
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