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Suwannee’s Timothy Jolicoeur is the LCR’s Wrestler of the Year. (COURTESY)
LIVE OAK — Not really interested in the sport, Timothy Jolicoeur expected his wrestling career at Suwannee Middle School to be short.
Pushed by his father, Jay, to consider wrestling, Jolicoeur agreed after speaking with the coach to give it a try, but he still had serious reservations.
“I was thinking this will only be a one-day thing,” he said. “I don’t think I’m going to like this and I just fell in love with the sport. It’s really been a great experience.”
Five years later, Jolicoeur placed fifth in the state in the 126-pound class of the Class 1A state tournament for Suwannee High, earning the honor of Lake City Reporter’s Wrestler of the Year.
Those accolades are the fruit of Jolicoeur’s labor. The reward for the hard work he put in. The proof that what he loves about wrestling is true.
“I suppose it’s the aspect of you get out of it what you put into it,” he said, noting he also played football as an eighth grader at SMS.
Well, he was on the team, at least.
But barely tipping the scales at 95 pounds, football was discouraging to Jolicoeur. The hard work, the dedication that he put in didn’t necessarily lead to results. In fact, it never did.
“You can work as hard on the field as you want, and you’ll never get any playing time or anything like that, you’ll never get better because you’ll just get beat to death because you’re tiny,” he said. “But in wrestling, you’re wrestling guys your size. You can put all that work in and you can see the results. I think, initially, that’s really what got me into the sport.”
The results were evident throughout Jolicoeur’s SHS career, too. He qualified for state four times, including his freshman season at 113 pounds.
However, the senior’s career started to turn last year when John Wainwright became the Suwannee coach, the fourth coach Jolicoeur had in his career.
It didn’t take long for Jolicoeur, who said Wainwright changed the team’s mindset as well as bringing in a focus on the technical aspect of wresting, to make an impression on his new coach.
“By the second practice, I’m looking out there and I’m like, ‘OK, there’s my hardest worker. There’s the kid that works harder than anybody in the room,’” Wainwright recalled. “That’s been his key whether it’s academics or athletics. That kid has worked his tail off.”
That work produced a 57-11 mark as a junior and a return trip to the state meet. He followed that up with a 41-14 mark as a senior, runner-up finishes in District 2-1A and Region 1-1A, and the fifth-place medal, one that was almost so much more and showed the transformation Jolicoeur has made under Wainwright’s tutelage.
Wainwright said near the mid-point of this past year, after Jolicoeur encountered some struggles, he finally noticed the difference he had been looking for. The difference that will help turn Suwannee wrestling back into a state contender.
That difference was displayed by Jolicoeur in the state semifinal match against Jensen Beach’s Jonny Dobbs, who went on to win the state title.
While he lost 3-0, Jolicoeur was mere moments away from flipping Dobbs and the match.
“There was a moment there where he hit a big switch on him and he had him, he had the kid on his hip,” Wainwright said. “It was just bad timing, we just didn’t have the time. Ten more seconds and we have the kid on his back and we’re up 5-3.
“But the point is, he was there. He wasn’t settling for losing close anymore. That wasn’t going to happen. We’re going to go after them and give it everything we’ve got.”
That mindset is something Jolicoeur, who has received an appointment to West Point, carries with him everywhere.
“(Tim Notke) said it, ‘hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard,’” Jolicoeur said of the lessons he has learned from wrestling. “I need to work hard in everything, I need to be excellent in what I do because doing things half, if you’re doing things half, it’s not worth doing.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
126: Timothy Jolicoeur
Suwannee, senior
The LCR’s Wrestler of the Year had the area’s best finish at state, reaching the medal stand with a fifth-place finish in Class 1A. It wrapped up a senior campaign where he posted a 41-14 record while finishing runner-up in District 1-2A and Region 1-1A. Jolicoeur also won his dual against Columbia as the Bulldogs won the Battle for the Paddle.
106: Brett Millard
Columbia, senior
Won District 2-2A and Region 1-2A titles to qualify for state. Ended the season with a 38-12 record.
106: Topher Pearson
Suwannee, freshman
Placed second in District 2-1A and fourth in Region 1-1A to qualify for state. Ended the season with a 5-7 record.
120: Austin McKinney
Suwannee, freshman
Reached the medal stand in Class 1A with a sixth-place finish after finishing third in Region 1-1A and second in District 2-1A. Ended the season with a 49-14 record.
138: Tyson Musgrove
Suwannee, junior
Won the District 2-1A title and was runner-up in Region 1-1A to qualify for state. Ended the season with a 49-9 record.
145: Caleb Parsons
Suwannee, senior
Placed third in both District 2-1A and Region 1-1A to qualify for state. Ended the season with a 39-19 record.
152: Thomas Greene
Columbia, junior
Was a state qualifier after placing second in District 2-2A and third in Region 1-2A. Ended the season with a 43-10 record.
152: Austin Howard
Suwannee, sophomore
Won the District 2-1A title and was third in Region 1-1A to qualify for state. Ended the season with a 44-18 record.
170: Joseph Rice
Columbia, junior
Just missed the medal stand at state, going 2-2 at the Class 2A tournament after winning District 2-2A and Region 1-2A titles. Ended the season with a 41-9 record.
285: Jaycob Jones
Columbia, junior
Won the District 2-2A title and was runner-up in Region 1-2A to qualify for state. Ended the season with a 26-10 record.
COACH OF THE YEAR
John Wainwright, Suwannee
Qualified an area-best six wrestlers for the state meet in just his second year at the helm. The Bulldogs placed two of those wrestlers on the medal stand — the only two in the area — to cap off a season where 10 wrestlers qualified for regionals. Suwannee also beat Columbia in the rivalry dual to win the Battle for the Paddle.