Feature Friday: True North

To Maryland wrestling standout Michael North, the sport is what makes him feel the most comfortable during the darkest times of his life.

North went through one of the toughest things anyone can experience, the tragic death of his father. 

Greg North battled Leukemia since 2013, but with a bone marrow transplant from Michael, he was able to beat it. On his last hospital stay, he was diagnosed with COVID-19, which he ultimately passed away from on April 22, 2020, at the age of 51.

North continued to wrestle, while his father was fighting cancer for several years because that’s where he was most comfortable.

“I had a lot of comfort with the wrestling team and the coaches, and I've been wrestling since I was little, like five years old or something,” North said. “So, it's kind of like ‘me time.’ When I'm wrestling, I feel comfortable and I feel like I'm home. On the mat, I'm doing what I love, so it's easy to take your mind off of the hard things when you’re doing something that you love, and especially with a bunch of guys that you enjoy being around, they're able to make you laugh and keep your mind off of everything.”

Maryland’s coaching staff of head coach Alex Clemsen, assistant coaches Nick Brascetta and Devin Mellon, as well as North’s teammates, provided him with a support system that helped him get through everything.

“We’ve got a pretty tight-knit group,” Clemsen said. “The word family gets thrown around a lot, it becomes pretty cliche, but I think our kids are pretty close and I think our staff is one that tries to really invest in the complete person, not just the athlete.”

Mellon went through an extremely similar tragedy during his collegiate career. Mellon’s mother passed away after a long battle with cancer in between the NCAA Wrestling Championships his senior year and his graduation from the University of Missouri. 

“I think Devin’s personal experiences being a college athlete and watching his mom battle cancer his entire collegiate career and then losing her before he was able to walk across that stage with his diploma has really shaped him,” Clemsen stated. “He and Michael have a lot in common. Mike can lean on Coach Mellon and Devin can really connect with Mike on a different level. I think that has really helped both of them. I think it’s been therapeutic for Coach Mellon and being able to be vulnerable and share with Michael has helped him face some dark times and get through some tough days.”

For North, the support system that comes within the Maryland wrestling program has helped him tremendously during this tragic time of his life. Having his coaches and teammates around has been exactly what he thought he needed. 

“It's awesome,” North said. “Especially coming up a level from high school to college, I definitely needed somebody to guide me, and they've been there. The coaches have been more than enough support for me and the guys have had me under their wings. When I need to talk, Coach Clemsen, Mellon, and Brascetta are always there to talk to me and be someone to look up to and know how to bounce back from something.”

For some athletes, the transition from high school competition to collegiate competition is difficult and takes time to become acclimated. North, on the other hand, was one of the Terrapins’ best wrestlers in 2019-20, as a true freshman, despite all that was going on outside of wrestling.

He led the team in falls (7) and technical falls (3) last season and finished tied with Philip Spadafora for third on the team with 17 wins behind Jonathan Spadafora (24) and Danny Bertoni (23). Thirteen of his 17 wins were by bonus points. North placed in four open events and tallied five consecutive victories leading to a first-place finish at 149 pounds at the National Collegiate Open. He closed out his great season with wins in 11 of the final 12 matches.

“I know that what the coaches and the team had us go through was right and we were doing the right thing,” he said. “We were training hard so I knew, I believed in what we were doing so that definitely helped and with all the sprints and extra work that we put in, I knew my stamina was there so I believed in it.”

North went through the procedure to donate bone marrow to his father, which affected his ability to train. The side effects of a donation vary from person to person, though most donors experience some. Although the recovery from donating his bone marrow and the shots and medicine that he was given after affected his training and workouts, North was still able to overcome adversity and went on to win the prestigious open that is the National Collegiate Open after the holiday break last season.

Though his head was in so many different places last season, he made it a point to keep his mind open.

“Especially with everything that was going on last year, I was a little bit out of my head,” North said. “I had to keep my mind open because I had so many different things going on with school, my dad, and wrestling. I had to have separate times for certain things, no one would have an on and off switch. So, I really was just making sure that when I stepped in the wrestling room I was focusing on wrestling and when I was in class I was focusing on schoolwork.”

With this mindset and his father’s guidance early on, North’s redshirt season was crucial in the path to becoming a successful wrestler in the top collegiate wrestling conference in the nation.

“My dad and I were extremely close with everything and with wrestling,” North said. “He definitely pushed me to get me to where I am today. He took me to practice 45 minutes to an hour early and then he would stay late with me, having me climb ropes or doing extra sets of shots, and he was taking me across the country to different camps and different tournaments. So wrestling-wise he was always there pushing me.”

The way North’s father attacked his battle with cancer and illness was something that resonated with him and traveled with him into the sport. 

“I also really looked up to him as a person because he had a really good job which he left to pursue a dream of his,” North said. “I watched him go through all that with chemotherapy and everything and he just didn't stop. He never would quit or hold back, because it was what he believed in.”

North’s father’s mantra was to never quit and that’s exactly how he plans to compete in wrestling and live his life. 

North, a Wadsworth, Ohio, native, has always been someone who cherishes family. His mother, Dana North, was also someone who was in his corner that helped him get through all of the adversity that he faced.

“My mom really stepped up with everything that my dad was going through,” he said. “It was amazing to see how strong my mom was and how she was able to handle everything and kind of hold down the floor for my sister, Megan, and I.”

North has his whole family behind him, pushing him and motivating him, as they stay in contact constantly. 

“I’ve been very blessed with such great support back home with the community and my family,” he said. “My whole family is hands-on with me, always staying in contact. I'm big on family so that's a lot, having them contact me and keep pushing me.” 

Growing up, it was a dream of his to wrestle in the Big Ten Conference, arguably the most talented group of programs in America. Hailing from the Buckeye state, he recalls watching Ohio State compete against other top programs in the conference like Penn State and Iowa. North’s father loved the Hawkeyes, which led him to look up to Iowa legend Brent Metcalf.

“We would always sit down and watch the matches,” he said. “Having some of those schools recruit me, I knew that I was able to reach one of the goals of getting into the Big Ten and wrestling. It's amazing and something that I dreamed of my entire life.”

As the 2020-21 season began and practices got underway, North was named one of the two captains of the Maryland wrestling team. Clemsen pulled him aside after practice and asked him if he could handle it. North had trouble getting the words out because he was so shocked and grateful.

“The fact of being a captain, I didn't even know that was a dream that I could make come true, and for it to happen so early on, I really think everything that I went through, all the adversity that I faced has made me grow immensely,” North said. “Me now and me from a year ago is a completely different person. I definitely feel like I'm able to lead the troops and have the guys look up to me and keep doing the right thing.”

Coach Clemsen decided to honor North with captaincy because of his toughness. With everything that he went through last season, North did not complain once about his situation and even felt guilty when he had to be away from the team.

“His level of care and his desire to be there and be a part of it was just so great,” Clemsen said. “[His victory at the National Collegiate Open] is a testament to how tough he is and how hard he’s willing to work and what he’s willing to go through to get what he wants out of the sport.”

As North looks ahead to the future, leading the charge for the Terrapins as a captain alongside Kyle Cochran, he plans to use his father’s “never quit” mentality on the mat.

“I think that Maryland can be a top competitor in the Big Ten if we just keep our minds right and keep training the way that we have,” North said. “We just have to have faith in what we're doing as a team. For me [individually], I just want to keep getting better. I want to be on top of the podium at Big Ten Tournaments and I want to be able to be an All-American. I've got big dreams of winning at the NCAA Tournament, like any other guy I'm sure. They all want to reach that, but just taking it one day at a time and getting better every practice, every film session, and every sprint. I’m just hoping to get to the point where I can actually be on top.”

North and the Terrapins began the 2020-21 season on Jan. 10 and will continue to face the gauntlet that the Big Ten is, but as a captain of the team and with the right mindset that he absorbed from his father, North believes he and the Maryland program can get to the top.