Bryson Hughes: ‘I was so happy’

REED CITY – It was the most exciting moment of Bryson Hughes’ very impressive high school sports career.
Hughes had to admit winning the 190-pound Davidson 3 class at Saturday’s Ford Field in Detroit ranks on top of his sports highlight list at No. 1.
It was a 5-3 overtime victory on Saturday, March 4, at Ford Field for Hughes against Troy Demas of Constatine.
Hughes took four overall wins to finish his season at 50-2 and was a state champion.
Hughes started out with a pin in 1: 35 over Elijah Murphy and then pinned Lloyd Ruesink of Three Rivers in 2:36. He decisioned Jack Ware of Belding 6-2 in the semifinals to take on Demas who, like Hughes, ended his season at 50-2, but didn’t get the win he wanted.
”It was tough., really tough,” Hughes said. “It was tied at the end of it and we went into overtime. We both were tired. We were standing, he got behind me and I made a switch. I took him for two.
“I was ecstatic. I was so happy. I didn’t even know what I had done.”
Hughes said the win against Ward was perhaps his second hardest match, if not the hardest match he had.
The key to the weekend, Hughes said, “was the will to win and how bad I wanted it.”
Hughes was a key player for a Reed City football team which was a state semifinalist. But Saturday’s achievement was a special thrill for the Coyote senior.
“It’s probably No. 1, for now,” he said. “Overall, it was an amazing season, an amazing coaching staff, an amazing team. This is what I wanted to do from the start of the season.”
Hughes has committed to playing football at Olivet College, but said he hasn’t decided yet whether or not he will wrestled for the Division II school.
Two other Coyotes were at the state tournament at Ford Field, including sophomore heavyweight Wyatt Spalo, who took seventh place and finished with a 47-9 record. He pinned Logan Russell of Adrian Madison in 58 seconds to open the weekend but lost to Shane Cook of Whitehall 17-2. He went into the consolation bracket against Ray VanDyke of Kingsley and won 2-1. He lost 3-1 to Matthew Mischi of Richmond 3-1. In a match for seventh place against Jacob Reynolds of Three Rivers, Spalo won 10-4.
Carter Johnson at 106 wrestled for Reed City and was 0-2. He finished the season at 42-14.
“We had an outstanding weekend,” Reed City coach Roger Steig said. “Bryson was on top of his game all weekend long. Winning a championship was his goal after he was here last year that he wanted to come back next year and win it. He lived up to that. Wyatt had an outstanding tournament. We’re excited about his future. Carter did a great job getting to the state tournament.”
Reed City athletic director Ryan Hansen announced the Reed City community will have a welcome home parade for the wrestling team at noon on Sunday, March 5.
The entire community is invited to come out and line the streets, Hansen said, with the path to start from the east, go from U.S. 10 to Church Avenue, then to Chestnut Street, to Upton Ave., to Higbee St. and then to the high school gym.