‘I wasn’t going to do something stupid.’ Newberg’s Hudson Davis keeps head straight to win rematch of June wrestling final

By René Ferrán | Photos by Taylor Balkom 

Newberg junior Hudson Davis knows he’ll eventually have a decision to make.

The Pacific Conference defensive player of the year in football won his second consecutive 6A state wrestling title Sunday night at Sandy High School, beating Reynolds senior Robert Plympton 3-1 in the 195-pound championship match in a rematch of their state final from June. 

The two rivals got together following that June bout to train for Fargo Nationals later that summer, where Davis won a sixth-place medal in the 16U Greco-Roman 182-pound division to earn All-American status.

“The guy’s a competitor, and he grinded a lot in the offseason, so I’ve got a lot of respect for Robert,” Davis said. “This is kind of what this sport’s all about: getting guys to push each other to become better.” 

Plympton nearly got the better of Davis in Sunday’s final. He nearly scored a takedown as the first round ended but was ruled to have gained control just after the whistle. After Davis scored an escape to open the third, Plympton pushed the final minute to get the tying takedown, but Davis relied on that Greco-Roman background to hold him off.

“When we were in upper-body positions, I felt comfortable,” Davis said. “I wasn’t going to do something stupid. I just had to keep my head on straight.”

For now, Davis awaits seeing what college offers might come his way in both sports he loves. In the meantime, he’ll follow up on football coach Jeremy Johnson’s request to talk up the sport with his fellow wrestlers and get them to try out — just as he did in the football locker room after Neil Russo asked him to talk to his teammates about coming out for wrestling. 

“I truly think both of them make me better at each of them,” Davis said. “And, it gives me a break from both of them.” 

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