Mike Maguire, Clarkston’s state champion wrestler at 119 pounds, didn’t always have that path set in stone. The Clarkston senior was a bit of a late bloomer in the sport, which he began in eighth grade at Clarkston Middle School.
After moving to Clarkston from Pontiac, Maguire dropped the basketball and put on headgear after his friends invited him to join the ranks.
‘I grew up with a basketball in my hands and the first couple friends I had when I moved here got me to tryout for wrestling,? Maguire said.
‘It took me a little bit to catch on and when I started wrestling other schools I began to get good at it.
‘I kept one or two moves and got good at those.?
His wrestling career with the Wolves came about ironically when Maguire was cut from the freshman basketball team. Maguire began wrestling on the junior varsity, with a record less than .500.
‘I knew I had a lot of work to do especially with the guys in front of me,? Maguire said.
Maguire shadowed former state champions Braden L’Amereaux and Tony Lajoie for improvement.
‘I looked up to them because I wanted to be like that. I didn’t know if I had started wrestling soon enough. I work hard and wrestle every day to make the most of it,? he said.
Clarkston coach Joe DeGain noticed Maguire’s drive as he worked his way to improve in his sophomore (30-11) and junior (43-13) seasons.
‘He was very focused and there was one thing on his mind and you could see it in his eyes and the way he represented himself on the mats,? DeGain said.
‘He’s always been a really great athlete and wrestler, but confidence is what grew in him. I think he just got tired of losing and decided he was the man all of a sudden and that really paid off for him.
‘I hope the other kids in the club and all the underclassmen look to Mike and try to mirror what he did.?
This season, Maguire finished 58-3 after defeating Zac Stevens from Monroe at the state finals March 10 at The Palace of Auburn Hills. It took Maguire a while after the championship match for his win to sink in.
‘It just came too fast. It didn’t seem like a six-minute match. I knew all my hard work was paying off this year and I really didn’t know what to think. It only sinks in when I look at the medal, watch the tape or someone congratulates me,? Maguire said.
The championship victory broke the school record held by A.J. Grant, a former 112 and 125-pound state champion from Clarkston. Grant, now an assistant wrestling coach at the University of North Carolina, was trying to persuade Maguire to visit the school in hopes of luring him to wrestle for the Tarheels next season.
‘He introduced me to the head coach and was telling me about the weather and asked when I was coming for a visit,? Maguire said.
‘It was funny that I was just like him when he was a senior.?
Maguire said his four years of hard work have paid off more than he had expected.
‘I knew I wanted to wrestle in college, but I didn’t think I would get anyone like North Carolina (scouting me), so I need to make the best of it,? Maguire said.
‘I knew I was going to do better than I did last year and I knew the hard work would keep paying off.?
Wrestling outside the ‘murderer’s row? of Clarkston’s 152-215-pound wrestlers, Maguire was equally consistent. He began the year wrestling at 125 pounds and went down to 119 later in the year with a flawless transition.
‘He was a big deal, we knew every time we sent him out onto the mat that we could count on him and that’s always a great guy to have on the team,? DeGain said.
Now, Maguire plans to head to Virginia Beach, Va. from Thursday-Sunday for the National High School Seniors Wrestling Championship, where many of the top high school senior wrestlers in the country will be showcased.
‘There’s a lot of really good kids and a lot of colleges are there,? Maguire said.
‘I’m going to go out there and have fun and do as best I can.?
After four years filled with DeGain’s notorious strength conditioning, Maguire likely has enough left in the tank for another tournament victory.