A unique name for a unique talent, Shamus Regan will be one wrestler to watch for in the future.
A seventh-grader at Banks Trail Middle, Regan recently finished second at the Tulsa Nationals in Oklahoma in the 76-pounds weight class. The 66th annual wrestling tournament is one of the oldest and most well-known tournaments in the sport.
Regan, 12, lost in the finals 6-2, but nevertheless is well on his way to making a name for himself in the sport. He is currently ranked fifth in the nation on MatScouts for 76-pound wrestlers. Despite being so young, Regan is experienced having wrestled for the past six years.
He started in 2014 when his family moved from New York. His father, Brian Regan, runs Darkhorse Wrestling Club, who has trained the likes of NCAA wrestlers such as former three-time Fort Mill state champion and current N.C. State wrestler A.J. Leitten. The elder Reagan was also a wrestling coach in New York state as well before moving south.
Regan started wrestling in the Fort Mill Youth Wrestling Program, associated with Fort Mill High head coach Chris Brock, but Brock said that the program isn’t enough for him.
“He is really advanced beyond what we can provide on a youth level,” Brock said.
Regan and his dad travel all over the country for tournaments, but train a lot in the hotbed of wrestling in Pennsylvania, driving up north throughout the year.
“We really don’t do anything locally,” Brian Regan said. “We only hit major tournaments.”
Training in Pennsylvania and competing in national tournaments is starting to make a name for Regan. Regan said he really enjoyed competing in Tulsa.
“It’s a big tournament,” he said. “It was pretty fun. It is hard to believe we were in Oklahoma.”
Regan said he loves the competitiveness that wrestling brings.
“It’s a tough sport,” he said. “No one really knows how hard it is until they do it.”
With high school being right around the corner for Regan, his dad said Shamus needs to start putting on weight so he can at least be able to wrestle at the lowest weight class at 106-pounds, but he has a couple of years to do that.
Besides wrestling, Regan may one day have a future in the octagon as he also trains in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and has an 18-0 record with 18 submissions. He has also earned a yellow belt in the martial art.
“He is really good at that as well,” Brian Regan said.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
