BUCHANAN — Gage Hutchison made his mark on Buchanan High School after being a two-time undefeated wrestling state champion his junior and senior year.

However, when asked what he misses most about high school athletics, he did not say the mat, but instead recalled playing in football games under Friday night lights.

“If I could go back in time, I would play football again on a Friday night,” Hutchison said. “Not to say I wouldn’t go back to one of the nights of my titles, but the number one thing I would go back to is a Friday night football game in Buchanan.”

Certain sports memories still haunt Hutchison to this day, such as in 2010 when the Buchanan football team was ranked No. 1 going into the playoffs.

“We got upset in the first round,” Hutchison said. “I still have nightmares about it.”

While Hutchison made a historic name for himself at the high school in wrestling, he was also named all-conference four times in football.

Hutchison stays in contact with many of his teammates, but someone that particularly stays in his memory is Francis “Frank” Mucha, who served Buchanan faithfully as a teacher and coach of many sports, including football and wrestling, before he passed away in November 2016.

“All the lessons he’s taught us,” Hutchison said. “With his passing, that’s the only thing we have to hold onto from him. Being around Frank my entire life, anything Frank has ever said has stuck with me.”

Wrestling was engrained in Hutchison since the day he brought home a flyer for the Niles Wrestling Club in kindergarten.

“That’s where I got my start and 20 odd-years later, it’s still my thing,” Hutchison said.

It was not surprising when Hutchison decided to pursue the sport at a higher level. He went on to wrestle at Eastern Michigan University for five years.

During his time as an Eagle he made three NCAA tournament appearances and had 94 wins. He graduated from Eastern in May 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in sports management.

His first year out of college, Hutchison worked as an assistant wrestling coach at North Dakota State.

Now, Hutchison is back in Michigan, living in Southgate and training at the Detroit Police Academy. In his past coaching position and his current training, Hutchison has noticed how skills from sports carry over into his career and life.

“Just the work ethic and the drive,” Hutchison said. “You can see that certain people are built differently — mentally and physically. Those shine through with athletics and how you are going to live your life. They definitely have shined through how different people have chosen different lives compared to others. Being able to persevere when things aren’t going how they are supposed to. Those things are very apparent to me today.”

Although Hutchison has not touched a mat since his return to Michigan, he plans to try to become a high school wrestling coach once he gets situated at the academy.

“Where? I’m not sure, but somewhere,” Hutchison said.

After competing as a collegiate athlete and coaching at the collegiate level, Hutchison said he hopes high school athletes realize that nothing can overtake hard work.

“You can be the most talented kid on the team or the least talented kid on the team,” Hutchison said. “The people who work the hardest always have the most success at the end of the day. Work ethic has to be there to make any strides. Your season doesn’t end when your season ends. If you want to be great, your season should never end.”