Geneseo High School has named Tom Rusk as the next head coach of its varsity boys wrestling team.
Rusk will replace Jon Murray, who steps away from the program after more than 30 years. The hire is pending approval from Geneseo’s Board of Education, which meets on Thursday evening.
“We are excited to elevate Coach Rusk to lead Geneseo’s wrestling program,” said Athletic Director Joe Nichols. “His dedication to the sport and his proven ability to motivate our student-athletes will help our program achieve continued success. We are confident that Coach Rusk will build upon the existing culture of excellence within our wrestling community.”
Rusk has been coaching wrestling since 1992, when he joined Orion High School’s staff as an assistant. He spent seven years coaching with and learning from Bob Mitton, who was inducted into the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Hall of Fame in 2005.
Rusk, who graduated from Orion and wrestled at Monmouth College, also coached football, baseball and track while in Orion.
“I’m honored to become the program’s next head coach, and honestly, it was something that I had never thought about,” said Rusk. “I've been an assistant my entire life, and I love being an assistant in all the sports. Now, I’ve got an opportunity to run a program and that means a lot. I look forward to the opportunity to show what I can do after watching for 33 years.”
Rusk and his family moved to Geneseo in 1999. After serving on the middle school staff for two years to coach his son Blake’s wrestling teams, he joined Coach Murray’s high school staff in 2009.
The name Rusk in the local community has become synonymous with wrestling over the years. Rusk credits his late mother, Carolyn, for getting him into wrestling. He followed the footsteps of his older brothers–Jim, Jeff and Kevin–and began wrestling at the age of four. His younger brother, Steve, was a high school state champion who placed nationally while at Augustana College, and also competed for the University of Illinois.
“As far as my family,” Rusk said, “we've been around the sport for a long, long time.”
That includes his wife, Melissa, and daughter, Carley, the head coach of Geneseo’s girls wrestling team.
“Melissa is definitely a coach's wife, and she's absolutely the best,” said Rusk. “She knows what coaching means for me and my schedule, and she gets it.”
As Rusk prepares to settle into a new role, he is quick to acknowledge the impact of his predecessor.
“The only way to follow Coach Murray is to believe in the program that he's built and keep moving in the same direction,” Rusk stated. “Obviously, the program is in a very good spot and he didn't leave the cupboard bare. I have been part of the program for the last 18 years. I had a front row seat to see how he ran it. Now, it’s on me to keep it running. The boat is still the boat, we’ve just got someone else to steer it now.”
While Rusk may be the new captain, he will have plenty of capable and experienced help on his staff.
“I really believe that our coaching staff is second to none in the state of Illinois,” said Rusk. “We may have taken a notch out of it with Coach Murray stepping away, but with Jesse Montez, Patrick Babcock, Brad Kreiner and Jason Smith all expected to be back on staff, I feel that we're in the right place and we’ll keep on moving forward.”
As for Rusk’s coaching style, he says one of his biggest tenets is holding his wrestlers accountable.
“It's the little things that make the big things happen,” explained Rusk, “whether that is eating right, training, or getting a good night's sleep before a big meet. Everybody out there can wrestle. What are you going to do to get better? I'm going to hold our kids accountable for the little things, and we’ll go from there.”
Rusk knows replacing Murray is no small task. However, he says he’s up to the challenge and hopes Geneseo’s wrestling community will come along for the ride.
“We are losing a legend in Jon Murray,” said Rusk. “But we’ll work hard to show that the machine is going to keep going in the same direction. We don’t plan on taking a step back. We’ll move forward, adapt with the times, and take care of the business at hand.”
