NORWICH— Binghamton University grad student, Princeton graduate, and Norwich High School Class of 2020 alum, Mikey Squires is heading to the big stage, the 2026 NCAA wrestling championships.

Squires is putting it all on the line in his final year of eligibility, where he looks to make his hometown very proud.

Squires’ wrestling career started at a young age for the Norwich PeeWees before doing some club wrestling and then getting on Varsity in eighth grade. Squires finished as a four-time sectional and STAC champion, a four-time states finisher with second place finishes in both his junior and senior years, and a three-time Clyde Cole champion. Squires finished his Varsity wrestling career with a 173-28 record.

Squires then chose to go to Princeton, where he noted that his choice was dependent on the balance of academics and wrestling. Squires graduated with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and currently attends Binghamton University for grad school to obtain a M.B.A.

Squires was named captain his senior year at Princeton, where he was ranked 27th, but lost his starting spot after tearing his ACL. He immediately had surgery and watched the NCAA tournament while recovering and thinking “I’ve got to be there next year.”

Sure enough, Squires and Norwich native Troy Spratley are in the NCAA tournament representing the small town. Squires and Spratley were wrestling partners until Spratley moved in the eighth grade.

Squires qualified for the tournament after finishing second at the EIWA tournament in Washington, DC.

Squires notes the moment where he qualified.

“I was most nervous because it was my last opportunity to go. It all came down to this match,” he said. “It was tight one and was tied with 30 seconds left and I got the last takedown to win.”

Squires’ first round opponent was named last Thursday, where he is the 23rd seed and will take on the 10th seeded Mac Stout from Pittsburgh in the 197 pound weight class. Spratley is ranked fifth out of Oklahoma State and will face #28 Andrew Binni in the first round of the 125 weight class.

“I knew Mac’s brother Luke at Princeton, but have not faced Mac,” Squires said. “My coaches have scouted for me and come up with a game plan, and we stimulate everything from the crowd noise to the place to be able to get in the mindset and refine the technique.”

From his small town roots to the big stage, Squires is proud of where he came from and loves all the support.

“ It means the world to me to be representing both Norwich and Binghamton and I’ve had so much community support,” he said. “I hope to make everyone proud and even inspire younger athletes.”

Squires has come home and attended Pee Wee practices to say hi and show off a few moves.

From eighth grade to now, Squires has had quite the experience that has made him reflect on his journey.

“When I go back and think, in eighth grade I had trouble qualifying and the same with my senior year at Princeton, so from there, I really took the advice from my parents. They said “ if you do the right things, it will work out.” So, I was a good teammate, I put the work in, stayed the course, and enjoyed the journey, which is advice I give to younger athletes as well.”

While Squires will put everything on the line this Thursday in Cleveland Ohio for the NCAA championships, he certainly hopes to stay within wrestling in some capacity.

“The plan is to step away from wrestling and heal and finish my M.B.A,” he said. “I want to move to NYC and start my own business and then maybe get into coaching wrestling and starting my own club.”

Good luck in the NCAA Championships, Mikey!

You can catch some of the action on ESPN 2 as well as ESPN + for subscribers.