MOUNT VERNON — A good, strong youth program has led to a lot of success for the Mount Vernon wrestling team.
Twenty-two Yellow Jacket wrestlers have placed in the top eight of the OHSAA state tournament thanks to the knowledge and skills they acquired from Little Stingers and Killer Bees.
It’s all part of the family atmosphere created by those involved, from kindergarten all the way through high school and beyond. And, as a family, those in the know share that knowledge and culture with other family members and friends.
For many years, wrestlers from Centerburg, Fredericktown, East Knox, Danville, Highland and Utica have benefitted from being included in that family.
As the years progressed, wrestlers from other areas began calling and wanting to be part of the Mount Vernon family. This year we are seeing how far and wide the Mount Vernon wrestling family has spread, as 16 wrestlers from all over Central Ohio who are achieving success at the state tournament, have been a part of that family.
Wrestlers from as far away as Marion, Ontario and Columbus have all reached the state wrestling tournament, thanks in part to what they learned as a youth wrestler in the Mount Vernon youth programs.
“Sixteen kids that are going to wrestle this weekend (at the state tournament), had at some point, been a Killer Bee. And not as just a guest wrestler, but a full season wrestler,” said Brock Evans, Mount Vernon Middle School coach and former leader of the Little Stingers and Killer Bees program.
“They’re all such great kids. They all came to us because we had a really tough room. We had kids coming from an hour away to wrestle with us, which is incredible.
“Honestly, they were coming because the room was tough with one another. The room made each other. I’m a firm believer in it takes a village and at that time, we were definitely a village. We had probably seven to 10 coaches at a time helping out.”
Besides three from Mount Vernon (Brock Blankenhorn, Dylan Hartman and Colton Spurgeon), other state qualifying wrestlers who participated in the Killer Bees program include Blake Elliott (East Knox), Cody Matthews (Highland), Caleb Wetzel (Highland), David McClelland (Columbus DeSales), Wesley Wydick (Utica), Clayton Smith (Utica), Carson Miller (Granville), Drake Cerny (Marion Harding), Daxton Chase (Pleasant), Anwar Alli (Pleasant), Carter Chase (Pleasant), C.J. Smith (Pleasant) and Jacob Ohl (Ontario).
Those wrestlers will take to the mats at Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center on Friday through Sunday. Mount Vernon’s Emma Rhinehart, who placed third in the state girls’ wrestling tournament, was also a member of Killer Bees.
The Little Stingers program began in 1986 as a way to help young athletes learn the sport of wrestling. Former high School coach John Frye created it to build a solid foundation of wrestling knowledge and techniques to kindergartners through elementary age students, but it’s main focus was having fun.
“It’s a basic intro to the sport of wrestling,” said Evans, who led the program from 2006 until 2021. “They practice for an hour twice a week from November through January. It’s more non-competitive, but they finish the year with an intersquad tournament.”
In 2006, the Killer Bees expanded on that premise and became Mount Vernon’s wrestling travel team. Wrestlers would take the knowledge learned while in Little Stingers and apply that on the mat against opponents from all over Central Ohio, as well as around the Midwest.
“The Killer Bees are more competitive. It’s a higher level technique based on the athlete. As long as they’ve completed one year of Little Stingers or we see something in them, the majority are second through sixth graders,” Evans said. “They travel to open tournaments and try to qualify for state (competition).”
Mike Lybarger ran the program for many years after Frye started things up, and his nephew, Matt Lybarger, is now in charge. Evans and Steve Farmer were asked to become involved in 2006, and many former MVHS wrestlers have been involved for years.
Besides the many coaches and parents who have helped over the years, it’s consistency that has really helped the program thrive. Mount Vernon High School has had just three coaches – Frye, John Brown and Nate Cornell – during that span and all have been completely behind and involved in the youth program.
“All three have believed in the youth program. If you want a quality program, you start them young and carry the tradition through,” Evans said.
That quality program, now under the tutelage of former Mount Vernon wrestlers Matt Lybarger and Corey Aucker, continues to grow and thrive. This year, there were 136 youths involved, enough to divide the program into three groups. Ninety-five of those wrestlers participated in the intersquad tournament.
There are two things that Evans expected out of his young wrestlers and continues through Lybarger’s and Aucker’s teaching – effort and attitude.
“As an athlete, there are only two things you can control – effort and attitude,” Evans said. “I tried to pride myself, I might not know wrestling techniques at the highest level, but I connected with them as a teacher. I tried to get them to understand the mindset of a wrestler.
“One of our themes is 212. It’s the boiling point of water. We try to bring one extra degree. The things you do, you can always bring that extra degree.”
Evans will be bringing that extra degree as a fan Friday through Sunday, watching the 16 wrestlers that he had the privilege of coaching take their shot at making it on to the state podium.
“I plan on gluing myself to my seat and enjoy watching all these kids at state,” he said.
