Participating in the Lowell Wrestling Tournament for Northbridge High School Matt Dudley grabbed his 100th career victory on the mats. In addition to Northbridge there were another 84 schools taking part in the tournament, in which Dudley looked to surpass the milestone. In capturing his 100th victory Dudley became the first wrestler at Northbridge to accomplish the feat in over 20 years. 

In fact, Dudley was unaware of his approaching the 100-win mark until last year when his coach (Baird Lashley) brought it to his attention at the end of the season.

“One-hundred wins was not on my radar, and I didn’t even know that I was close until my coach told me that I ended the year with 96 career wins,” the Northbridge wrestler said. “Getting my 100th  win was a little crazy and a little emotional, but I was excited about it. I never expected to accomplish this when I began wrestling.”

Following the announcement from his coach last winter, the senior grappler didn’t think about needing only a handful of wins to get to the unheard-of milestone. As soon as the new season began this year, he was quickly reminded of it and the pressure and expectations weighed heavily on him as he entered the Lowell Tournament.

“To reach the 100-win mark at the tournament was tough, I was afraid that I wouldn’t make it and the weight would be on me,” he said. “I won my first match and then lost my second, only shows that you can’t win them all.”

When Dudley did secure his 100th win – it was announced over the loudspeakers at the tournament for all to hear. 

“Over his five years on the varsity team he has matured as a leader and the kids all respect his integrity,” Rams Coach Lashley said. “He wrestles everyone hard, but when the match is over, he is the kindest individual displaying sportsmanship to his opponents.”

Wrestling began in the fifth grade when Dudley’s parents notified him one night that they had signed him up to take part in the sport at the advice of the babysitter.

“Having two older brother we were always wrestling around the house and our babysitter told our mom that she should sign us up,” he said. “I was not a crazy big sports guy, but I seemed to get into wrestling.”

Dudley remembers that his first recollection of wrestling was trying it at a club in Natick where some of the first wrestlers he went up against have since gone on to become State Champions. 

Having wrestled for two years, Dudley, along with about everyone else, was forced to take a break from sports when Covid-19 hit. When he was able to get back on the mat, he  was an eighth grader and had earned himself a spot on the Northbridge varsity team where he was wrestling in the 145-pound weight class as the team already had someone filling the 138-lb class. That inaugural year with the high school he posted a 12-15 record and would post his first winning season as a freshman the following year. 

Entering his second season with the varsity team, Dudley wrestled at 152, where he has stayed the last four seasons. Prior to his sophomore campaign Dudley hooked up with Carmine Colace and New England Gold Wrestling Club and that season he had an astonishing 2 to 1 win ratio, putting him on pace to reach that eventual 100-win plateau.

Coming into this, his senior year, Dudley noted that he never knows what to expect prior to the season getting under way except that he was going to wrestle each and every match hard. This year he is hoping that he can win a Sectional Championship; last year coaches expected him to be the last one standing but unfortunately was upset and didn’t get to take his place at the top of the podium. 

In addition to a Sectional Championship, he would also like to add a State Title to his name before leaving Northbridge.

“It would be awesome if it could happen, but in order for it to become a reality I need to continue to push myself to get better while keeping my conditioning up,” he said. “I don’t want to get too confident though as I could let my guard down - I need to stay at the top of my game at all times.”

Coach Lashley doesn’t want to put a lot of pressure on his senior grappler, but he is extremely optimistic about him making it to the State Finals, a position that he was very close to advancing to last year. 

Whether he gets etch his name into the Northbridge record books as Sectional or State Champion once the season comes to an end, it will be the last time that Dudley takes to the mats.

“Sadly, my wrestling career ends when the season ends,” he said. “I have already decided a long time ago that I would be going to Gordon College in Wenham. I wanted to be with my brothers and go somewhere that was not far from home.”

The Division 3 school, on the North Shore of Boston, has a variety of sports, unfortunately wrestling is not one of them. 

“He’s a great kid and coaches are always commenting on his sportsmanship and will watch him wrestle and cheer him on whenever they can,” Lashley said. “That tells you a lot about how he goes about things when he’s out there.”