MOUNT VERNON – The return to Pleasant Street Elementary School was just one of many storylines at play when the Mount Vernon wrestling team faced off against Olentangy Berlin in a non-league dual on Thursday, Feb. 4.
Nine Yellow Jackets secured pinfall victories in a 63-18 win over the Bears.
There was Colton Spurgeon (120 pounds), who picked up career win No. 100 with a pinfall victory over Noah Lewis.
“I felt good; my conditioning was good,” Spurgeon said. “I felt aggressive and I moved my feet well. I just pushed the pace the whole night under the light for the last time until next year.”
Spurgeon, the lone state qualifier from last year’s squad, has many aspirations. One, of course, is to make it back to state. But another is to catch Layne Hinkle’s record 163 wins.
“That’s what I’ve been pushing for,” Spurgeon said. “I’m hoping the COVID year doesn’t hold me back on matches so I can get up there.”
“That’s Colton’s hero,” Mount Vernon coach Nate Cornell said. “Layne was a stud wrestler. I remember watching him all the way through middle school and high school. There’s a reason he has those 163 wins. (Colton) grew up watching Layne do that. Just like any young kid watching that, (Layne) became (Colton’s) hero.
“That’s a big goal for Colton to chase after Layne’s 163 wins, and as of now he is on pace.”
Dylan Hartman (106), Conner Lang (132), Gabe Shannon (138), Logan Moore (145), Joel Hubbard (152), Zach Mullins (182), Jesse Foster (195) and Nate Stradley (285) all won by pinfall for the Jackets.
Rylan Firebaugh (126) picked up a win by technical fall for Mount Vernon.
Then there were the stories of wrestler vs. coach and pupil vs. teacher. Cornell saw both on the Berlin bench in coach Josh Heffernan, who took over Delaware Hayes in 2006 before Cornell’s senior season.
“A lot of the stuff I say to the kids in the practice room — I only got one year with Heff — but a lot of that stuff I use,” Cornell said.
When Cornell took his first head-coaching job at Buckeye Valley before the 2017-18 season, he got advice from Luke Moore. Now an assistant with the Bears, Moore was Big Walnut’s head coach at the time.
“He helped me out a lot too,” Cornell said. “It was fun competing against those guys because I have the utmost respect for them. They both helped me out — Heffernan as a wrestler and Luke Moore as a coach. So it was a lot of fun to see those guys and compete against them too.”
“I have a lot of former wrestlers in the coaching ranks now,” Heffernan said. “That makes me feel like I’m doing something right. Guys continuing to love the sport and give back to the sport and do good things for another generation of kids. I take a lot of pride in that. I’m very happy for what they’re doing, sticking with the sport. I hope they’re getting as much fulfillment from it as I do.”
Mount Vernon honored seniors Gabe Harmon and Gavin Moyer, along with senior statisticians Ali Sigman and Kyla Moore.
Harmon (220) enjoyed a major-decision victory in his final match at Pleasant Street.
Luke Martin (113), Caiden Hooks (160) and Hugh Peterson (170) each won by pinfall for the Bears.
