MUSKEGON TWP. - Reeths-Puffer senior Cory Judd never lets anything get him down for very long, particularly in high school sports.
His secret to success has always been to move on quickly when things go wrong and battle like crazy the next time.
That philosophy was really put to the test last Saturday, when a lot of things went really wrong for Judd.
He was competing in the Division 1 individual district wrestling tournament at Grand Haven High School, with a final chance to finally break through and qualify for regionals for the first time in his career.
The day started on a rough note when Judd threw up before his first match, and before every match after that. R-P head coach Brad Cowles thinks he might have drank too much water too fast, but Judd thinks it was probably nerves.
R-P's Cory Judd
“I would get a sick feeling 5 to 10 minutes before every match and I would just throw up,” he said. “I have never experienced that in any other matches.”
Judd was still determined to have a successful tournament, and started out strong, dominating Wyoming’s Andres Bernal in his first match and winning 17-2.
Judd was also doing great in his second match, beating Jenison’s Joe Leija 9-7 with less than a minute to go.
Then he heard a whistle, thought it signaled the end of the match, and stopped wrestling. He didn’t realize that the whistle had come from a referee on a neighboring mat who was officiating a different match.
Leija was not fooled by the whistle. He continued to wrestle, got a three-point takedown in the final seconds and beat Judd 10-9.
“That was embarrassing,” Judd said. “The guys to the right of us went out of bounds, the ref blew the whistle and I thought it was our match. Then with five seconds left, he took me down.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t come down to luck. You wrestle until you hear the whistle. I just heard the wrong whistle.
“After that match, I went up in the bleachers and just sat there with my head down low, but then I realized that was no way to end my season, and I had to battle back.”
That’s exactly what Judd did, moving on to the consolation bracket and gutting out a grueling 2-1 victory over Muskegon’s Carson Hunter.
That took him to the “blood round, where a victory would have secured fourth place in his weight class and allowed him to finally qualify for regionals.
Unfortunately Judd was pinned by Forest Hills Northern’s Phil Chamberlain in just over four minutes, shooting down his last chance to be a regional qualifier.
“That was only the third time I was pinned this season,” he said.
Even that final letdown has not killed Judd’s determination, because the season is not quite over.
The Rockets still have at least one more team match to go, in the Division 1 team regionals in their home gym on Wednesday night, and Judd is now laser-focused on that.
They will start out the night with a big challenge, wrestling state-ranked Rockford. A victory would put them in the regional finals later in the evening, against Byron Center or Grandville.
A loss in either round would end the Rockets’ season and Judd’s varsity sports career.
“Maybe my individual season is done, but I still have the team to think about,” said Judd, who has a 27-18 record this season. “Just helping us get through to state is a pretty big goal, and that would be a huge accomplishment.
"Obviously we are facing a very good team in Rockford, but I think we have what it takes to take them down."
Overcoming obstacles
Judd has been plagued by some pretty bothersome physical issues throughout his career, in both of his varsity sports.
In wrestling, he has always suffered frequent nosebleeds, which are a huge distraction that stop matches and make it difficult to compete.
“I probably get a nosebleed at least every other practice, and in almost every match,” Judd said. “I think I’ve broken my nose three times this season, and as many as seven times by now. If it gets bumped in any weird way, it bleeds out of the right nostril.
“I don’t really understand what’s wrong. I just have a super sensitive sniffer, I guess.”
In tennis, the problem was frequent and very painful cramping. During one big tournament, he was seen rolling around in the grass in pain before his next match.
“That was really tough,” he said. “I never forfeited a match because of it, but it was definitely hard, running around and suddenly getting a calf cramp. It always seemed to happen in the biggest tournaments.”
Despite all of that, Judd has had his share of success, just because he keeps grinding until he finds it.
His senior wrestling season has been a good example. He had his ups and downs over the first few months, with roughly an equal number of wins and losses.
But Judd has really turned it on over the past few weeks, helped the Rockets achieve two big team goals.
He won his match by technical fall in the final team dual of the season, helping the Rockets beat Mona Shores and remain in the race for the O-K Green conference championship.
He posted a 3-1 record at the O-K Green tournament and finished in third place in his weight class, helping the Rockets win the tournament and finish in a tie with Byron Center for the overall conference title.
Judd also had a big day at Division 2 team districts, winning both of his matches – one by pin and one by major decision – helping the Rockets capture the district championship and advance to team regionals.
“He really has stepped up, especially in conference and districts,” Coach Cowles said about Judd. “He’s had some tough matches, but he’s definitely improved throughout the season, and he's really stepped up as a team leader.
“I think the thing I like best about Cory is that he always comes out of matches looking like a wrestler. He always has a bruised-up nose or a bruised eye. He wrestles like a wrestler is supposed to, and comes out of it looking like he went out there and battled.
“He is one of my hardest workers, for sure. He just always seems to get a bloody nose every practice!”
Judd also had his moments of success with the R-P boys tennis team.
Last fall, in his senior season, he won the No. 2 singles title at the Fruitport Invitational, and was the runner-up in No. 2 singles at the GMAA tournament.
He had a great day at a tournament in Traverse City, beating two very good players, one from Traverse City Central and one from Maple City Glen Lake.
He also had a victory in regionals on his final day of varsity tennis.
He lost quite a few matches, as well, but just like in wrestling, that never kept him down for long.
“He’s like a human super ball,” said R-P tennis coach Ryan Hankinson. “He would lose and be angry, but as soon as he got a chance to compete again, he would bounce back out there with the same ferocious approach.
“Sometimes he would get cramps to the point where he was dragging himself around the court by one leg, and he still wouldn’t give up.
“Cory is just a great kid, and a kid who really needed high school sports. He wouldn’t be the person he is today if he hadn’t played.”
Judd, an easygoing kid who is popular with teammates, understands how much prep sports have meant to him.
He’s not the most gifted athlete, and will not be playing college sports, but he’s very happy that he competed in high school, for a lot of different reasons.
“I’m just happy I was able to experience the things that I experienced,” he said. “The relationships you have with your teammates and the memories you create are enough for me.”