MOUNT VERNON — Wednesday provided an emotional moment for the Mount Vernon wrestling program.
“There are not too many words to say that have not already been said,” Yellow Jackets’ wrestling coach Corey Firebaugh said as he stood outside the practice room.
A few short minutes later Alex Taylor added two more words, Oklahoma Sooner. Taylor became the first Mount Vernon grappler in recent memory, if ever, to sign a full-ride athletic scholarship to a Division I university.
Initially, Taylor seriously considered Arizona State University, but with the Mount Vernon senior competing and winning all over the world, the list of suitors lengthened.
What was the tipping point?
“It just felt like it was a better fit for me,” Taylor said. “The coach (Zeke Jones, at the helm of the Sun Devils since 2014) at Arizona was amazing, they were all world-class coaches.
“They did everything right over there, but Oklahoma felt more like home.”
For a young man from a close-knit family, another factor weighed heavily on Taylor’s decision.
“It’s a lot closer than Arizona State was,” said Taylor of the 1,000-mile difference.
Sooners’ coach Roger Kish, who has been with at the school since May of 2023, also made an impression on the young wrestler.
“He is amazing, the whole coaching staff is amazing,” Taylor said. “The medical school (at Oklahoma) made a big difference for me. I want to be a doctor when I graduate, and OU has an astounding medical school.”
Making friends early was also a plus.
“I really got along well with other kids who are signing there today, too,” he said.
Firebaugh addressed the family and friends gathered for the life-changing moment.
“He is a testament to hard work. He has come through our program and has sought outside training from some of the best in the state of Ohio and outside of the state,” Firebaugh said.
The coach then pointed out that this may be a historic event for the program.
“Alex is the first in quite some time, maybe ever, to get a full-ride to a D-I school,” Firebaugh said. “The thing that is great about him is that he has looked beyond just the next four years. He has goals.”
Zach Taylor, Alex’s dad, expressed his pride in his son and was pragmatic at the same time.
“I’m just excited for him. It’s been a long process for us. It’s a dream, and now he gets to go to school for free,” Zach Taylor said.
With Alex’s senior season just around the corner, the elder Taylor is glad the decision has been made.
“Now he can focus on the season,” the father said.
“We’re lucky, you just have to get lucky,” the family patriarch said of raising his son. “He’s been a good kid though.
“We have just tried to teach him to be a good person on top of everything else.”
Justin Sanford, Mount Vernon Athletic Director, offered some impressive statistics.
“There are over 750,000 student-athletes across the country competing in high school sports, and less than 1 percent have the opportunity to sign a grant-aid scholarship at the D-I level,” Sanford aid.
Sanford knows that Mount Vernon has something very special.
“We have always been on the map, he has put us on a larger map,” the athletic director said. “He took us to another level.
“This is historic and now we are known across the state, the country and now with the Pan Am Games (where Taylor competed earlier this year), and the world.”
