By Mike Whaley
mwhaley@fosters.com |
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SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — If you think that three-time Foster’s wrestler of the year Cody Hughes is sitting fat and happy and resting on his laurels — well then guess again, my friend.
The Marshwood High School junior is coming off a season that saw him go 54-1, which included leading the Hawks to their third straight Class A title. Hughes won his third consecutive state individual crown, this one at 160 pounds, and suffered his only loss in the New England 160 final, 2-1, in overtime.
“With me in wrestling, I try to walk in and make sure I get better every day,” Hughes said. “I want to make sure I improve every time I step on the mat. If I start to fall behind, that’s when people start to catch up. I don’t want people to catch up. I don’t want to fall behind. I want to stay on top. It’s not an easy thing to do.”
Not easy, but Hughes has managed to do it for three years because he trains relentlessly and will not settle for second. He has a career record of 142-5 and is unbeaten in Maine. He has a shot of breaking the school record for career wins of 194 held by 2007 graduate Jon Hussey, and has an outside chance at becoming the first Marshwood wrestler to crest 200 career wins.
Hughes has been at the forefront of Marshwood’s rise to supremacy in Maine high school wrestling. The Hawks entered last season minus a strong graduating senior class, but they had three returning state champs in Hughes, Jackson Howarth and Brett Gerry.
That trio, along with a group of former JVs who made the best of their varsity chance, plus the addition of talented freshman Bradley Beaulieu, added up to another Class A crown with 179 points to 127 for runner-up Massabesic.
Five Marshwood wrestlers won state titles. Including Hughes, four will return next season, making Marshwood’s shot at a fourth straight title well within the realm of possibility.
Hughes was so dominant in Maine, that coach Matt Rix said, “I was just trying to keep him motivated and not bored.”
While Hughes was having his way with his in-state competition, he found that his toughest competition, outside of the New Englands, was right at home.
“The toughest competition was in our own room really,” he said. “Every day I’m wrestling with the 152 state champ and the 182 state champ. ... We just all wrestled with each other. It really helps. By the end of the year we all gained from it.”
Expectations were high for Hughes and for the Hawks. Hughes felt they kept it in the proper perspective.
“If you surround yourself with good people who are going to make you work hard, then good things are going to happen,” he said. “Coach Rix kind of sets the mood. He makes sure everyone is in a good place at that time. You don’t want to go into the regional tournament, the state tournament or the New England tournament worrying about other things. You just want to be worried about yourself.”
For Hughes the mind-set is a relentless attack to break down his opponent as quickly as possible.
“I’m going to score points,” he said. “I’m going to get a takedown. I’m going to turn him. I’m going to turn him. I’m going to pin him. If I get on bottom, I’m going to get an escape. I’ll get a reversal. You go in to score points; create the opportunities to score points.”
As much as Hughes has accomplished, he has not reached one of his major goals, which is to win a New England title. In the 160-pound final in March against long-time nemesis Jonathan Viruet of Springfield (Mass.) Cathedral High School, Hughes lost painfully in the final four seconds of overtime.
Viruet and Hughes have been wrestling each other since they were in middle school and Hughes contends they are as close to even as two wrestlers can be record-wise, but very different when it comes to style.
“He’s pretty strong and he likes to plan stuff a little bit and slow things down,” Hughes said. “I’m an on-the-go type. I like to go, go, go.”
Viruet was able to slow the match down to his liking and it was tied at 1-1 after regulation.
“I really couldn’t get my offense going in neutral,” Hughes said. “I wasn’t able to hold him down.”
Each wrestler in overtime was given 30 seconds on the bottom. In the first OT, Viruet held Hughes for 30 seconds.
With the roles reversed, Viruet was on the bottom and Hughes rode him out of bounds with four seconds to play. In the restart in the middle, Viruet got a quick escape for the winning point — the first and only loss of the season for Hughes.
“It was just like that,” Hughes said. “It was fast — really fast. That was a tough one; knowing you’re right there.”
“I see that four seconds in my head a lot,” coach Rix said. “(Cody) took his two hands and covered his face. He didn’t expect a move that quick off the whistle. It was one of those matches — it was that close.”
Winning a New England title remains a goal that keeps Hughes hungry and driven.
“It’s something I keep working for,” he said. “It’s been a goal for a while.”
At the NHSCA High School National Wrestling Championships in Virginia Beach, Va., in late March, Hughes was third in the junior division (national tournaments are not counted on the Marshwood records) at 152 pounds. He lost in the semis, 3-1, to a two-time state champ from New Mexico.
“Same deal, I know what I need to improve on,” Hughes said. “He caught me with one quick little move and that was a takedown. It feels good when you’re doing it. It doesn’t feel too good when it’s happening to you.”
Hughes wrestled back to take third.
With his senior season in sight, Hughes has some unfinished business to settle, and a potential college career in sight. Already some colleges are starting to show some interest.
“I’m just going to keep competing and proving to myself that I’m ready for the college level,” he said. “It really is just a different level from high school to college. It just is. The intensity is just that much more.”
The Marshwood High School junior is coming off a season that saw him go 54-1, which included leading the Hawks to their third straight Class A title. Hughes won his third consecutive state individual crown, this one at 160 pounds, and suffered his only loss in the New England 160 final, 2-1, in overtime.
“With me in wrestling, I try to walk in and make sure I get better every day,” Hughes said. “I want to make sure I improve every time I step on the mat. If I start to fall behind, that’s when people start to catch up. I don’t want people to catch up. I don’t want to fall behind. I want to stay on top. It’s not an easy thing to do.”
Not easy, but Hughes has managed to do it for three years because he trains relentlessly and will not settle for second. He has a career record of 142-5 and is unbeaten in Maine. He has a shot of breaking the school record for career wins of 194 held by 2007 graduate Jon Hussey, and has an outside chance at becoming the first Marshwood wrestler to crest 200 career wins.
Cody Hughes was unbeaten in Maine this past season and led Marshwood to its third straight Class A title. He has been named Foster’s wrestler of the year. (Whaley/Democrat photo)
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That trio, along with a group of former JVs who made the best of their varsity chance, plus the addition of talented freshman Bradley Beaulieu, added up to another Class A crown with 179 points to 127 for runner-up Massabesic.
Five Marshwood wrestlers won state titles. Including Hughes, four will return next season, making Marshwood’s shot at a fourth straight title well within the realm of possibility.
Hughes was so dominant in Maine, that coach Matt Rix said, “I was just trying to keep him motivated and not bored.”
While Hughes was having his way with his in-state competition, he found that his toughest competition, outside of the New Englands, was right at home.
“The toughest competition was in our own room really,” he said. “Every day I’m wrestling with the 152 state champ and the 182 state champ. ... We just all wrestled with each other. It really helps. By the end of the year we all gained from it.”
Expectations were high for Hughes and for the Hawks. Hughes felt they kept it in the proper perspective.
“If you surround yourself with good people who are going to make you work hard, then good things are going to happen,” he said. “Coach Rix kind of sets the mood. He makes sure everyone is in a good place at that time. You don’t want to go into the regional tournament, the state tournament or the New England tournament worrying about other things. You just want to be worried about yourself.”
For Hughes the mind-set is a relentless attack to break down his opponent as quickly as possible.
“I’m going to score points,” he said. “I’m going to get a takedown. I’m going to turn him. I’m going to turn him. I’m going to pin him. If I get on bottom, I’m going to get an escape. I’ll get a reversal. You go in to score points; create the opportunities to score points.”
As much as Hughes has accomplished, he has not reached one of his major goals, which is to win a New England title. In the 160-pound final in March against long-time nemesis Jonathan Viruet of Springfield (Mass.) Cathedral High School, Hughes lost painfully in the final four seconds of overtime.
Viruet and Hughes have been wrestling each other since they were in middle school and Hughes contends they are as close to even as two wrestlers can be record-wise, but very different when it comes to style.
“He’s pretty strong and he likes to plan stuff a little bit and slow things down,” Hughes said. “I’m an on-the-go type. I like to go, go, go.”
Viruet was able to slow the match down to his liking and it was tied at 1-1 after regulation.
“I really couldn’t get my offense going in neutral,” Hughes said. “I wasn’t able to hold him down.”
Each wrestler in overtime was given 30 seconds on the bottom. In the first OT, Viruet held Hughes for 30 seconds.
With the roles reversed, Viruet was on the bottom and Hughes rode him out of bounds with four seconds to play. In the restart in the middle, Viruet got a quick escape for the winning point — the first and only loss of the season for Hughes.
“It was just like that,” Hughes said. “It was fast — really fast. That was a tough one; knowing you’re right there.”
“I see that four seconds in my head a lot,” coach Rix said. “(Cody) took his two hands and covered his face. He didn’t expect a move that quick off the whistle. It was one of those matches — it was that close.”
Winning a New England title remains a goal that keeps Hughes hungry and driven.
“It’s something I keep working for,” he said. “It’s been a goal for a while.”
At the NHSCA High School National Wrestling Championships in Virginia Beach, Va., in late March, Hughes was third in the junior division (national tournaments are not counted on the Marshwood records) at 152 pounds. He lost in the semis, 3-1, to a two-time state champ from New Mexico.
“Same deal, I know what I need to improve on,” Hughes said. “He caught me with one quick little move and that was a takedown. It feels good when you’re doing it. It doesn’t feel too good when it’s happening to you.”
Hughes wrestled back to take third.
With his senior season in sight, Hughes has some unfinished business to settle, and a potential college career in sight. Already some colleges are starting to show some interest.
“I’m just going to keep competing and proving to myself that I’m ready for the college level,” he said. “It really is just a different level from high school to college. It just is. The intensity is just that much more.”