Mount Vernon High School

Teams from 14 schools ran, jumped and threw at the Fredericktown Invitational on April 28 and the visiting Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets won both divisions, taking home the most gold. East Knox Bulldog runner Nathan Streby was a two-time winner, as was Fredericktown track and field leader Elsa Hoam.

The Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets boys volleyball team (12-6) has been on fire as of late, and this time they knocked off the Licking Heights Hornets (13-5) on May 2, in a convincing sweep victory, 3-0, for their seventh straight win.

The Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets (11-5) have won seven out of their last eight matches, and five straight, with the most recent being a 3-0 sweep over St. Charles (10-7) on April 21.

The Mount Vernon High School doubles team of junior Wyatt Rhoades and senior Toby Boggs won the third flight tournament at the Watkins Memorial Doubles Classic on April 15 at WMHS.

The Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets got over the .500 mark by going 2-1 on April 8, with senior setter Cooper Carpenter setting up 50 assists in a big 3-2 win over Olentangy Berlin to start off the day.

The track season broke the tape in powerful fashion with the Black Bear Relays on March 25 at River View High School in Warsaw, Ohio. Of five teams competing, Mount Vernon dominated and Highland placed well.

The Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets (4-4) got back to .500 by going 2-1 last week, thanks to some solid setting by Cooper Carpenter and hitting by Parker Gantt, who racked up kills in each match.

Winning gold for Mount Vernon were our Athletes of the Week, Brooklyn Thayer (Mount Vernon track) and Jack Craigo (Mount Vernon track)

The Mount Vernon boys volleyball team is coming off a year in which they went 12-4 and lost in the Regional Finals, and Yellow Jackets coach Chad Sivewright feels that his team has strong leadership and versatility that can bring them right back in the hunt for a title.

This week’s winners come from the world of track and boys volleyball. Our Athletes of the Week are Juliette Laracuente-Huebner (Highland track) and Cooper Carpenter (Mount Vernon Boys Volleyball).

The Mount Vernon boys volleyball team started the season on a roller coaster, dropping the first two matches then winning two straight, falling to 2-3 with a tight loss to Olentangy Liberty.

The Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets baseball team lives by the motto, "It is not what we do, it is how we do it," and Yellow Jackets baseball coach Nate Hunt has his players doing it successfully, with fundamentally sound, disciplined play.

Mount Vernon High School had 10 wrestlers reach the podium at the OHSAA Division I Sectional Tournament at Watkins Memorial High School on Feb. 25 and won it all, finishing in first place with 256.0 points

Our Athletes of the Week are Madilyn Elson (Mount Gilead basketball) and Hudson Rohler (Mount Vernon basketball).

With sectionals starting Feb. 25, Mount Vernon High School tuned up by taking on 15 challengers in the Dublin Jerome All-North Tournament Feb. 11, and finished sixth with 108.0 points. Upper Arlington won with 180.5, just ahead of Marysville with 177.0.

Our Athletes of the Week are Emma Rinehart (Mount Vernon wrestling) and Austin Anderson (Mount Vernon swimming).

The Mount Vernon High School swimming and diving team will next compete at a dual meet against Big Walnut High School, Wednesday, Feb. 8 at Kenyon College.

Sports Briefs

Lucas Colopy prevailed as the 2023 Knox County Spelling Bee champion Thursday evening. The East Knox sixth-grader won by spelling “movement” in the 15th round.

Last week, The Mount Vernon News recapped some of the great performances by local school programs and their student-athletes in 2022, and this week we wrap up our review of last year with cross-country and wrestling.