All-News4JAX boys wrestling: Work ethic fueled Suwannee’s Marshall White to excellent career

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Marshall White’s introduction to the tradition of Suwannee wrestling came in an intrasquad match during his freshman year.

It was tough.

He was matched against Austin McKinney, a two-time Columbia County wrestler of the year and the winningest grappler in Bulldogs history. McKinney was a sophomore at the time and hitting the ascent of his career. White was just two years into his wrestling journey.

The result was as expected.

Varsity 4 All-News4JAX boys wrestlers of the year

White said that McKinney threw him around and did what he wanted. But in that session, White proved something to the coaching staff.

“After the match Coach John [Wainwright] comes up to me or goes up to my mom and he says, ‘he’s not strong, he’s not fast and he’s not that smart, but he knows how to wrestle and I can work with that,” White said.

White, the Varsity 4 All-News4JAX boys wrestler of the year, always had the work ethic and the want to. Wainwright said that White came into the Suwannee program with the framework of wrestling in place. Once he got into the Bulldogs system, White just worked relentlessly to outwork everyone else. He was an honorable mention All-News4JAX selection his freshman and sophomore seasons at Suwannee before a serious jump as a junior. White went 50-6 and finished third in the Class 1A state meet at 157 pounds.

This season, White finished 53-1, with his only loss coming in the state final.

“Just give 100% and I couldn’t go to practice and just not give 100,” he said. “If I went in, I was hurt or something or maybe I was sick, it didn’t matter. I just went 100. And when you do that for so long, you just see results. There’s no other way.”

Suwannee’s program had fallen on lean times in recent years, with Wainwright saying he made the decision to return and coach at his alma mater to help keep it afloat. That meant a wicked commute from where he lives in Wakulla to Live Oak, a nearly two-hour drive. His commitment to the program was akin to the investment White said that he tried to pour into it.

“It was just chop wood carry water,” he said.

White said that coming up through the program as an underclassman, he was miffed when he’d see athletes not giving the maximum effort. He thought that’s what had allowed the Suwannee wrestling program to slide off a bit, athletes not treating the sports seriously enough to keep it operating at an elite level. Suwannee has three team state championships and six state runner-up finishes.

“When there’s people better than me I wanted to rip their head off. I was coming after them every day. Conditioning, if they’re having a bad day, I didn’t care. I love pushing past them. I love doing better than them and competing with them. And so coming in freshman year, I set that bar.

Varsity 4 All-News4JAX boys wrestling team

Weight, Wrestler, School, Class, Notable

106: Eli Jolicoeur, Suwannee, Sr.

Went 56-3 and took third in Class 1A state, Region 1 champion, District 2 champion

113: Kevin McLean, Flagler Palm Coast, Fr.

Finished 48-5. Third in Class 3A state, Region 1 champion, District 2 champion

120: Jacob Bucci, Clay, Sr.

Went 46-4. Third in Class 2A state, Region 1 champion, District 3 champion

126: Robert Twilley, Flagler Palm Coast, So.

Was 50-8 and fourth in Class 3A state, Region 1 champion, District 2 champion

132: Sebastian Bonachea, Fleming Island, Jr.

Finished 41-5 and eighth in Class 2A state, Region 1 champion, District 3 champion

138: Cael Kubatzke, Fernandina Beach, Sr.

Finished 48-6. Class 1A state qualifier, third in Region 1, District 3 champion

144: Elias Twigg, Fletcher, Sr.

Went 35-5. Second in Class 3A state, Region 1 champion, District 1 champion

150: Laird Duhaylungsod, Fleming Island, Sr.

Went 38-7 and runner-up in Class 2A state, Region 1 champion, District 3 champion

157: Marshall White, Suwannee, Sr.

All-News4JAX wrestler of the year. Went 53-1. Second in Class 1A state, Region 1 champion, District 2 champion

165: Vladislav Chechkovsky, Tocoi Creek, So.

In conversation as wrestler of the year. Went 46-1 and runner-up in Class 3A state, Region 1 champion, District 1 champion

175: Jonathan Morrison, Creekside, Sr.

Went 41-5 and took eighth in Class 3A state, Region 1 champion, District 1 champion

190: Christian McGarity, Episcopal, Sr.

Big season at 61-7. Fifth in Class 1A state, third in Region 1, District 4 champion

215: Bryant Taylor, Oakleaf, Sr.

Finished 36-9 and fourth in Class 3A state, third in Region 1, District 1 champion

285: Cayden Ricks, Yulee, Jr.

Went 50-5. Fourth in Class 1A state, Region 1 champion, District 3 champion

Second team

Weight, Wrestler, School, Class, Notable

106: Luke Mims, Creekside, Fr.

Went 28-14, Class 3A state qualifier, Region 1 runner-up, District 1 champion

113: Nathan Harvey, Middleburg, So.

Finished 53-13. Third in Class 2A state, Region 1 champion, District 2 runner-up

120: Justin Contreras, Suwannee, Sr.

Was 25-9. Sixth in Class 1A state, third in Region 1, District 2 champion

126: Mario DiBella, Bartram Trail, So.

Finished 29-3. Took seventh in Class 3A state, third in Region 1, District 1 champion

132: Micah Thomas, Middleburg, Jr.

Went 45-19, Class 2A state qualifier, third in Region 1, District 2 champion

138: Brady Stoutamire, Nease, Sr.

Went 30-5. Class 3A state qualifier, third in Region 1, District 1 champion

144: Braden Glavin, Clay, Sr.

Went 37-7 and finished sixth in Class 2A state, Region 1 runner-up, District 3 champion

150: John Antonucci, Tocoi Creek, So.

Was 38-8 and a Class 3A state qualifier, third in Region 1, District 1 champion

157: Wyatt Leduc, Middleburg, Sr.

Went 54-5. Third in Class 2A state, Region 1 champion, District 2 champion

165: Michael McNair, Yulee, Sr.

Finished 44-6. Class 1A state qualifier, Region 1 runner-up, District 3 champion

175: Landon Martin, Clay, So.

Was 45-12 and fourth in Class 2A state, Region 1 champion, third in District 3

190: Grant Silverfield, Bolles, Fr.

Ended season 25-6. Class 1A state qualifier, Region 1 runner-up, District 4 runner-up

215: Porter Loveland, Middleburg, Jr.

Went 54-12. Third in Class 2A state, Region 1 runner-up, District 2 champion

285: Cole Anderson, Creekside, Sr.

Went 18-5. Fifth in Class 3A state, third in Region 1, District 1 champion

Third team

Weight, Wrestler, School, Class, Notable

106: Joseph Dailey, Flagler Palm Coast, So.

Went 35-14. Class 3A state qualifier, third in Region 1, District 2 runner-up

113: Connor Barnes, Oakleaf, Jr.

Went 32-9 and sixth in Class 2A state, Region 1 runner-up, District 1 champion

120: Aidan Hubbell, Tocoi Creek, Sr.

Went 35-9. Class 3A state qualifier, Region 1 runner-up, District 1 champion

126: Vonte Burke, Clay, Sr.

31-10, Seventh in Class 2A state, third in Region 1, District 3 runner-up

132: Mikah Ikeda, Episcopal, So.

55-13, Seventh in Class 1A state, Region 1 runner-up, District 4 champion

138: Daniel De Almeida, Ponte Vedra, Jr.

Went 32-11. Class 2A state qualifier, fourth in Region 1, District 3 champion

144: Jareb Lauramore, Baker County, Sr.

Went 38-8. Class 1A state qualifier, fourth in Region 1, District 3 champion

150: Arthur Vanderpool, Suwannee, Sr.

Finished 40-17. Class 1A state qualifier, fourth in Region 1, third in District 2

157: Carson Baert, Flagler Palm Coast, Sr.

51-8, Fifth in Class 3A state, Region 1 champion, District 2 champion

165: Torynn Johns, Suwannee, Sr.

31-14, Class 1A state qualifier, third in Region 1, District 2 champion

175: Clay Starling, Suwannee, Sr.

Finished 26-12. Class 1A state qualifier, third in Region 1, District 2 runner-up

190: Colton Leavell, Creekside, Sr.

Went 9-3. Class 3A state qualifier, Region 1 runner-up, District 1 champion

215: Talan Babin, Ponte Vedra, Jr.

33-4, Second in Class 2A state, Region 1 champion, District 3 champion

285: Kevin Reyes, Fleming Island, Sr.

Went 23-5. Sixth in Class 2A state, fourth in Region 1, District 3 champion

Honorable mention

Baker County: Jonathon Walker (132, Sr.); Sebastian Overland (157, Jr.); Tommy Rollins (175, Sr.)

Baldwin: Taylor Davenport (285, Jr.)

Bartram Trail: Carmen DiBella (132, Jr.)

Bishop Kenny: Soren Bakkar (106, So.); Dylan Lunsford (126, Jr.)

Bolles: Andrew Makeev (106, 8th); Brett Bearden (215, Fr.)

Clay: Rylan Herrera (132, Sr.); Drew Holmquist (157, Jr.)

Creekside: Luke Manghisi (144, So.)

Fernandina Beach: Hassan Hlodalla (157, Sr.)

Flagler Palm Coast: Doyvonne Leadon (165, Jr.); Melique Joseph (215, Sr.)

Fletcher: Landon Locantora (106, Sr.); Theodore Brase (175, Jr.); Killian Lonergan (190, So.)

Matanzas: Mason Obama (157, Sr.)

Middleburg: Sean Blouin (165, Jr.)

Nease: Jason Choi (120, Sr.)

Oakleaf: Ghais Cooper (165, Sr.)

Orange Park: Terrion Butler (190, Jr.)

Ponte Vedra: Michael Aker (175, Fr.)

Providence: Camden Garcia (157, Jr.)

Sandalwood: Kyle Brown (132, Sr.); Qalani Cobb (150, Sr.); Marcus Bouie (175, Jr.)

Stanton: Leonardo Torres (126, Jr.)

Suwannee: Rylan Milian (126, So.); Holden Corbin (285, Jr.)

Tocoi Creek: Nikita Chechkovsky (157, So.)

Wolfson: Keith Forbes (285, Sr.)