Maguire enjoys national title

Mead’s Wyatt Maguire may seek higher competition after winning the American Motorcyclist Association’s Flat Track Pro Singles series title.

Maguire, 22, who is also helping coach wrestling at Mt. Spokane High School, said he will talk with sponsors this winter before deciding on whether to step up to the “expert” class, which run motorcycles with more powerful two-cylinder engines.

“It was exciting. Nothing can really explain it,” said Maguire, who wrapped up the national championship by finishing fourth at the AMA Pro Flat Track J&P Cycles Pro Singles Championship last month in Pomona, Calif. “It was kind of unreal at first. It’s something I have wanted for a while now.”

Maguire said he’s wanted to race ever since his father asked him if he wanted to ride a motorcycle. He first had to take the training wheels off his bicycle.

“I saw someone going around a flat track and said, ‘Hey, that looks like fun,’ ” he said.

The Mead native has finished sixth last year before taking the top spot.

“There are a lot of people out there who race. A lot of them don’t even make the show,” he said. “It’s awesome when you come off the track and see all the people who helped you out and they are smiling from ear to ear.”

Maguire, who wrestled at 125 pounds his senior year at Mt. Spokane in 2010, said he hopes to make a decision soon about his future.

“I’m still racing almost every weekend,” he said. “More than anything, I think I want to move up. We’ll see what the winter holds and figure out a game plan.”