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Madeline Simcox is one of three Tennessee High seniors to sign letters of intent with NCAA Division I programs on Thursday at Viking Hall. Simcox will continue her education and golf career at East Tennessee State. She was joined by Grace Singleton, who will run cross country and track at ETSU, and Justice Musser, who will play football at Princeton.
It was an especially good day at Tennessee High.
Madeline Simcox was one of three Vikings to sign letters of intent on Thursday continue their academic and athletic careers at the NCAA Division I level.
“It is an incredible honor to be a part of this school community and see everyone’s success pay off,” Simcox said. “It is really great.”
Simcox, who will play golf at East Tennessee State, was joined by Grace Singleton, who will run cross country and track at ETSU, along with Justice Musser, who will play football at Princeton.
“ETSU is close to home so that is a big thing,” Simcox said. “The success in their women’s golf program is obviously huge too, especially over the last few years, they have really taken it to the next level.”
Girls golf at Tennessee High has thrived over the last five years, and Simcox was a big part of that for the last three seasons. She combined with the twin duo of Isabella and Noelia Adkins to lead the Vikings to a third place team finish in the state meet in 2019, a second place finish in 2020, and followed that up by winning multiple events in the fall, including a tie for 4th at the state match.
“My dad got me into golf at a very young age, probably around age 3,” said Simcox, who placed in a tie for 5th at state in 2019 and in 20th in 2020. “I stuck with it even though at times I didn’t want to and then as I started seeing my hard work pay off, I fell in love with the sport. If you put in the time you are going to see the results, that is extremely rewarding.”
Not surprisingly, Simcox was leaving for a local golf course after the signing ceremony at Viking Hall.
“She is at the golf course every day, no matter what the weather is, cold weather, rainy weather, whatever, she is there,” said Tennessee High girls golf coach Richard Ensor, whose program has produced six college signees in the last five years, and Simcox is only one of those to be a two-time all-state performer. “She deserves everything that she has accomplished.”
Simcox, who won the Morristown Invitational, in addition to the district, conference and regional matches in the fall, joins a successful program with an international flair, with the current roster of seven players coming from six different counties.
“I am actually really excited about that,” said Simcox, who plans to major in biology. “I think it will be really fun to make some new friends, I think it is going to be really fun that they are international. Maybe I can learn some new things about everyone’s culture, I think it will be fun.”
“She will have a good career over there,” added Ensor. “She is determined to improve, she has got some things she needs to improve on, but she will work at it and she will get there.”
While Simcox had been building to this point for much of her young age, Singleton had run 5Ks as a child, but didn’t return to the sport until last season.
“I had a pretty mediocre year last year, but I think I just got the mentality that I was going to push myself to the limit this year and I did,” said Singleton, who not only ran cross country for Tennessee High, but also runs the 1600 and 3200 for the track meet. “I just decided I was going to push myself and see what I could do. If I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t do it, but I knew I could as long as I told myself I could.”
She did just fine. Tennessee High track coach Brad Stubbs said it was “sheer determination” for Singleton to earn a slot with two programs at ETSU.
“As a younger runner, running was just an activity to her, but she made the decision that she wanted to be a runner at the end of her junior year and it was like a light switch went off in her head,” said Stubbs, who added that Singleton is quick to help out with his special education children in a variety of ways. “When that happened, I saw just an enormous amount of just willpower, just dedication to training and it showed me that whenever she sets her mind to anything she is going to be able to achieve it in life.”
Musser made his college decision public earlier this month, but made his first visit to Princeton last week and came away convinced it was the right choice.
“It is gorgeous up there, it really is. The campus is beautiful, it is all within walking distance, people can take bikes or scooters if they choose,” said Musser, who will be expected to add 40 pounds to his 6-foot-6 frame to play offensive line for the Ivy League Tigers. “I am excited. They have the top-notch stuff for the weight room and the facilities and the stadium. Everything is brand new so it is exciting, it really is.”
ennessee High assistant coach Matt Chandler, who was the interim head coach for the Vikings in the fall, watched Musser gain 40 pounds from his sophomore to senior campaign, earning all-state recognition and the opportunity as the third NCAA Division I football signee for the school over the last two years.
I have coached high school for 30 years, this is the first time I ever have coached somebody who is going to an Ivy League school on a football scholarship,” Chandler said. “That says so much about who he is as a well-rounded kid, just a guy with such a big heart, the things he has done to help other people that people don’t even know about. I am just so happy about that.
“The potential he has as a football player with that frame is very exciting.”
Musser hopes his story of success can inspire others to dream big and achieve too.
“The motivation behind all this is to inspire other people around here that things like this can be done and it is not impossible and it is doable,” he said. “I feel incredibly blessed and extremely lucky to be able to do all this.”
bwoodson@bristolnews.com | Twitter: BHCWoodson | (276) 645-2543
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Madeline Simcox is one of three Tennessee High seniors to sign letters of intent with NCAA Division I programs on Thursday at Viking Hall. Simcox will continue her education and golf career at East Tennessee State. She was joined by Grace Singleton, who will run cross country and track at ETSU, and Justice Musser, who will play football at Princeton.
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