Freshman Hudson Zufelt grew up in the world of wrestling, so joining the wrestling team in high school was always his plan. As a child, his dad was a wrestling coach, so he started practicing when he was only 6 years old.

His older brother Bryson Zufelt also competed in wrestling here at Melissa and his two younger brothers hope to follow in their big brothers’ footsteps.

This past February, Hudson qualified for state and managed to place 8th. Even though he didn’t finish how he wanted at the state meet, he is still incredibly proud of himself for how far he went as a freshman in high school.

“To make it to state was awesome and it felt really good to do something big,” Hudson said.

He worked towards qualifying for state by training with his coach and teammates six days a week for three hours a day.

“Wrestling has changed my character by being tough,” Hudson said. “Wrestling is the hardest sport.”

Hudson has a lot of people advocating for him who have never faltered to show him their support for his endeavors.

“I’m proud of Hudson for accomplishing this as a freshman,” his older sister and senior Brynn Zufelt said. “I’ve seen him push himself more this year than he ever has. He knew what he wanted to accomplish and he did what it took to get there.”

Hudson aspires to win state in the future and to win out-of-state tournaments. This year, he made school history by being the first freshman district champion and the first-ever regional champion along with his teammate Jadyn Johnson.

“Wrestling has helped me know the difference between something difficult and hard,” Hudson said. “Making it to state humbled me as an athlete. It also reminds me to finish through the match.”