-
Alex McGuigan won district & regional titles to return to state. (COURTESY)
After losing his first match at state, Alex McGuigan battled back.
The Columbia senior won his next two matches in the blood round. One more and he was headed to the medal stand.
“I was feeling good,” McGuigan said. “That first match was a little tough but those next two I was looking to win because I wasn’t going to end on the first day.”
But then, he ran into a buzzsaw. Estero’s Orande Smith pinned McGuigan in 51 seconds and McGuigan’s quest to place at the Class 2A state meet came up short.
“It was really tough because I’ve been putting in the work this season so it was kind of tough to come up short like that,” McGuigan said. “It was just really tough.”
But it didn’t take away from a stellar season for McGuigan. He won the District 2-2A title and Region 1-2A title in the 138-pound weight class and finished the year with a 55-13 record.
Those accolades are why McGuigan is the Lake City Reporter’s Wrestler of the Year.
“Over 50 wins and 13 losses, not bad,” said McGuigan, who recently signed to wrestle at Lander University with his twin brother Ian.
After pinning Gainesville’s Zachary Collins to open districts, McGuigan squeaked out wins in his next two matches to take the title. It took a 5-4 decision over Orange Park’s Vincent Walker and a 2-1 decision against Mosley’s Jaylan Griffin to win gold.
Then came regionals and McGuigan had to face Griffin again in the finals. In another close match, McGuigan walked away with a 3-1 victory.
“Alex is definitely one of those kids that has the mindset to be a successful wrestler,” Columbia coach Pete Whittington said. “You’ve got to be a little bit cocky but you’ve got to be willing to put the work in too.”
Pins weren’t McGuigan’s main source of victories this season. He only had 21 but it didn’t matter.
McGuigan was thoroughly consistent and he was the only wrestler on the team to win a district title and regional title.
“Alex is the best staller I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I’m dead serous,” Whittington said. “We’re an attack wrestling team. That’s the style that I coach, to constantly be on the attack and try to break somebody’s spirit and just put the match away.
"Alex was never the most athletic guy. Him and his brother were both kind of chunky kids when they were young and they had to develop into the athlete that they became. So Alex was more of a defensive wrestler versus an offensive wrestler. So Alex was one of those kids that would get up two or three points on you and he would just ride out the rest of the match. He did just enough not to get penalized for stalling but he was good at it.”
It was McGuigan’s second straight trip to state after going 0-2 on the big stage as a junior. He was determined not to walk away without a win as a senior, and after falling to Barron Collier’s Josiah Fernandez 3-2 to start the day, there was no way he was losing the next match.
McGuigan beat St. Thomas’ Aquinas’ Frank Messina via a 5-3 sudden victory and then took down Kathleen’s Christophe Barthelemy in a 3-2 ultimate tiebreaker.
“It was difficult because those guys I wrestled also didn’t want to go out the first day,” McGuigan said. “They were giving it their all and I was giving it my all. They were tough.”
McGuigan says he didn’t get to his attack enough against Smith and that’s why he didn’t do as well in his elimination match. As tough as it was to watch him come up one win shy of a medal, Whittington says McGuigan went down fighting.
That’s all you can ask for as a coach.
“He was upset but he was comfortable in the fact that he won some matches there this year,” Whittington said. “He went to state last year and went 0-2, so he got there this year and won some matches. It’s always heartbreaking for seniors not to make the podium, but he realizes that he accomplished a lot of great things in his high school career. He just came up one match short.”
Walking off for the mat for last time was emotional for McGuigan but he was at peace knowing he gave it his all.
“I definitely left it all out there,” McGuigan said.
ALL-COUNTY TEAM
Jaycob Jones
Columbia, 285 class
The sophomore went 36-13 with 29 pins, finishing runner-up in District 2-2A and third in Region 1-2A to make state.
Ian McGuigan
Columbia, 132 class
The senior went 51-11 with 31 pins, finishing runner-up in District 2-2A and Region 1-2A to qualify for state.
Brett Millard
Columbia, 106 class
The junior went 47-18 with 34 pins, finishing third in District 2-2A and Region 1-2A to qualify for state.
Joseph Rice
Columbia, 170 class
The sophomore went 37-21 with 25 pins, winning the District 2-2A title before coming up short at regionals.
Matthew Smith
Columbia, 152 class
The junior went 46-12 with a team-high 41 pins, winning a District 2-2A title and finishing Region 1-2A runner-up to make state.