LIVE OAK — A year after carrying a 47-7 mark with a district title and regional runner-up finish into the state meet, Suwannee’s Tyson Musgrove returned to Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimee’s Osceola Heritage Park in a similar position.
Musgrove headed to the state meet earlier this month with a 45-8 record, the district title and a regional runner-up finish once again. However, Musgrove had one extra tool he took to Central Florida with him: confidence.
“I think I just believed in myself a lot more,” Musgrove said.
That belief paid off. Musgrove shook off a 9-1 loss in the semifinal round of the 152-pound division of the Class 1A Meet to capture third place at state. He also brought home the title of Lake City Reporter Wrestler of the Year.
Those accolades came from a changing mindset after his disappointing state finishes the previous two years.
As a sophomore, Musgrove went 39-20 but won both district and regional titles at 138 pounds. He then went 0-2 at state.
Last year, Musgrove went 2-2 but missed the podium after a 5-4 loss to Florida High’s Emil Ganim, whom Musgrove defeated in the district championship match at 138 pounds.
“I would kind of doubt myself going into the tournaments, so I kind of did really bad those years,” Musgrove said. “I didn’t think I could beat the kid (last year), even though I had beat him before.
“This year I was just confident in all of the matches I wrestled.”
Suwannee coach John Wainwright said that confidence is a result of the dedication and effort Musgrove has put into his craft. It also takes time to learn what is needed in those bigger matches.
“It’s learning to wrestle the big matches, the matches you know you’re going to have to win 4-3,” he said. “You’re not going to be able to go out there and blow them out.”
To learn those lessons, Musgrove and the Bulldogs first had to learn some tough lessons and take some lumps along the way.
When Wainwright took over the program prior to the 2019-20 season, he said it needed an overhaul. Suwannee would post some sparkling records and bring home some trophies, but then wouldn’t even be able to compete at state. As a freshman, Musgrove finished 20-9 but “wasn’t very good,” he admitted.
Even that sophomore season, with the postseason success prior to state, Musgrove thought he was pretty good. Last year, though, he realized, “‘Oh dude, I was so bad back then.’”
Those 20 losses came with a plan from Wainwright. A plan that is starting to show its rewards.
Suwannee began traveling the state, facing tougher competition throughout the season.
“I’m taking them places where they’re going to lose,” Wainwright admitted.
Those tough tournaments have continued, and they still have an effect. Musgrove lost nine matches on the year, but finished third at state. To Wainwright, that’s a payoff that’s worth the price.
“He needed to lose those matches, he needed that kind of competition to be prepared to get down there and make the run that he made and beat the kids that everybody said he couldn’t beat,” Wainwright said, adding Musgrove could have had a record of 50-1 if SHS had scheduled easier. “I knew he could beat them, it was just a matter of getting to that level of competition.”
It worked for Suwannee as a whole, too.
In addition to Musgrove, the Bulldogs sent six wrestlers to state with four finishing in the top eight for a 10th-place team finish. Six of Suwannee’s state qualifiers will return next season.
“We’re back to being the old Suwannee where we expect to place five, six, seven kids at state,” Wainwright said. “If we don’t, we had a bad tournament and we’ve got to fix things.”
What doesn’t need fixing is the improvement and payoff from those strides that is happening at SHS now, including Musgrove. In addition to the state medal, Musgrove is also garnering college attention. Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina, a Division I program, is recruiting the SHS standout. The Camels have won the Southern Conference the past four years.
“It is exciting,” he said. “It’s one of the things I’m thinking about doing. I still have decisions to make.”
The state medal, the college recruitment, it all goes to show hard work can lead to big results. It’s a lesson Musgrove hopes others take to heart as well.
“Hopefully it shows other kids, like the wrestlers at the middle school, that they can achieve stuff,” he added.
ALL-AREA TEAM
106: Topher Pearson
Suwannee, sophomore
Posted a 53-8 record, winning District 2-1A and Region 1-1A titles. He qualified for state, placing seventh.
113: Eli Jolicoeur
Suwannee, freshman
Posted a 39-17 record, placing third in District 2-1A and second in Region 1-1A to qualify for state.
126: Brody Boehm
Suwannee, junior
Posted a 53-8 record, winning District 2-1A and Region 1-1A titles. He qualified for state, placing fourth.
132: Austin McKinney
Suwannee, sophomore
Posted a 58-9 record, winning a District 2-1A title. He was runner-up in Region 1-1A to qualify for state, where he placed seventh.
152: Tyson Musgrove
Suwannee, senior
The LCR’s Wrestler of the Year posted a 49-9 record, winning a District 2-1A title. He then was the runner-up in Region 1-1A to qualify for state, where he placed an area-best third.
160: Austin Howard
Suwannee, junior
Posted a 56-11 record, winning a District 2-1A title. He was runner-up in Region 1-1A and went on to place eight at state.
170: James Prentice
Suwannee, senior
Posted a 34-19 record, placing third in District 2-1A and third in Region 1-1A to qualify for state.
170: Joseph Rice
Columbia, senior
Posted a 42-8 record, winning a District 2-2A title. He was then runner-up in Region 1-2A to qualify for state, where he placed seventh.
COACHES OF THE YEAR
John Wainwright & Rod Howard, Suwannee
The tag-team duo led the Bulldogs to runner-up finishes at the District 2-1A meet and Region 1-1A meet. Suwannee had wrestlers qualify for regionals in 12 of the 14 weight classes, with seven moving on to state. Two made it to the medal podium at the Class 1A state meet, with Tyson Musgrove placing third and Brody Boehm taking fourth.