By Ken Hansard

Andover High senior wrestler Adam Maki is the Trojans’ representative at 138 pounds and is looking to repeat as the Class 5A state champion in his division, and his Trojans are angling towards taking home the team trophy in 2024. Maki states: “We’re ranked at just about every weight, so we may have a shot at winning a team title.”

As a senior who has been through this before, Maki is naturally looked to as a leader, a role that he embraces. Still, his experiences have left him humble. “I feel like I’m just another guy on the team. Some people look to me for advice on technique or mindset, but that’s just kind of the culture we’ve built. Everyone helps everyone.”

As a junior, Maki finished 51-1, which puts him in the books as one of the winningest wrestlers ever for a single season. Despite that success, Maki worked hard in the off-season to improve. “I wrestled some Freestyle and Greco, which definitely sharpened my defense. I also had opportunities to roll around with friends who wrestle in college.” Maki is currently 23-2 for this season but says that the early losses were
helpful for him to “learn and improve.”

Maki has also competed in cross-country all four years of high school and was involved in E-Sports and debate.  His love of competition comes naturally. “All my siblings competed at high levels in high school athletics. My sister had several state titles in track and cross-country. My oldest brother won state in wrestling. Both my other brothers were runner-ups at state in wrestling.” 

When asked about his specific love of wrestling, Adam replied: “The family aspect of wrestling is something you can’t find anywhere else. I think all my teammates would agree that nothing makes you respect someone or care about their success more than sparring with them, and in no other sport do you get to fight and beat up on your best friends everyday.”
 
Maki is currently undecided on his future plans, but would like to go to a four-year college and eventually study law.