An athlete has two wishes when they near the end of his or her athletic career—to leave under his or her own will and to go out on top. Although it has been a rollercoaster season beyond the mat for the 2009-2010 STLCC-Meramec men’s wrestling team, the Magic are on the brink of achieving another memorable season, their final year at Meramec.
Just as the women’s volleyball and men’s soccer teams succeed in their last year in Meramec’s history, in the fall of 2009, the 17-wrestler squad has accepted the challenge.
During their season, the Magic went 6-4 and finished the year ranked second in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) poll. On Feb. 14, the Magic participated in the District Championship in Riverside, Ill. Eight Magic wrestlers came out on top, sending them to the NJCAA National Championship in Des Moines, Iowa this Saturday, Feb. 26.
Overall, the Meramec wrestlers placed second in the District Championships. Mark Slyter, Tyler Holloway, Seth Horner, Anthony Saulle, Jonathan Vogt and Deron Winn all placed first in their designated weight categories. Quinten Haynes placed second while Craig Chiles placed third. These athletes will compete and represent the Meramec Magic wrestling team in Des Moines, Iowa.
Of the eight wrestlers continuing on to the National Championship, six are first-year students at Meramec and nearly 60 percent of the entire men’s wrestling roster are in their first year.
After releasing Ron Mirikitani from his head coaching duties in Oct. 2009, interim head coach, Nick Vogt, found himself at the helm of the Meramec Wrestling Magic. Vogt wrestled at Meramec, under Mirikitani, and was the NJCAA runner-up in 2002 and 2003. He received All American honors and the Sportsmanship Award. Vogt was elected into the Meramec Magic Hall of Fame in 2006. Eight years prior, in 1998, Mirikitani and his son, David Mirikitani, were elected into the Magic Hall of Fame together.
The Meramec men’s wrestling program is rich in its tradition. Mirikitani put his staple in the curriculum for 39 years and Vogt continued the winning ways of his former coach.
However, it has always been the athletes that have performed on the mat. Although the wrestling program is not leaving on its own terms, the 2009-2010 team has given it its own silver lining. As if by “magic,” they have accomplished the latter of the two wishes—they are going out on top.
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