Mount Vernon girls rally from 18 down to stun River Valley

The Mount Vernon girls’ basketball team had the comeback of all comebacks on Dec. 30.

The Yellow Jackets trailed host River Valley, 44-26, with about seven minutes left in the contest. Led by Isla Graham, MV mounted a furious comeback and rallied to beat the Vikings, 53-48.

“The girls never quit. They showed a lot of resilience and pulled out a road victory,” said Mount Vernon coach Nathan Short.

Graham scored 30 points, including 17 in the decisive fourth quarter, to lead the Jackets. Sadie Taylor added seven points, while Lillian Worth and Kate Marhefka had four points each. Gabby Beck and Callie Swanson checked in with three points apiece, and Cora Rickett had two.

Mount Vernon followed that up with a 60-35 victory over host Westerville North on Jan. 3.

Marhekfa led the scoring parade with 17 points. Graham added 10 points, while Taylor had nine. Rickett and Beck each chipped in seven, Worth had six and Kendall Melton four.

Boys’ basketball

The Mount Vernon boys’ basketball team dropped a pair of tough games this week.

The Yellow Jackets first fell 49-42 on Dec. 30. Trenton Wells led MV with 17 points. Justus Shaw added nine points and five rebounds.

On Jan. 3, MV dropped a 73-34 decision to host Newark.

Trace Beck scored nine points to pace MV, while Wells added seven.

Boys’ wrestling

The Mount Vernon boys’ wrestling team was pushed to the limit in the tough Brecksville Invitational Holiday Tournament on Dec. 29-30.

The Yellow Jackets finished 27th in the tournament with just one wrestler making it to the podium.

Luke Mullins was that wrestler, finishing eighth at 190 pounds. The senior won his first match by technical fall (22-6) but was knocked into the consolation bracket after an 8-0 loss in round two. He then went on a tear, winning three straight matches to guarantee a spot on the podium. That would be the best he could do, though, losing his final two matches to finish eighth overall.

Mavrik Gregory (157 pounds) was just one win away from taking home some hardware. The senior won an impressive 22-4 technical fall victory in his opening match, then suffered a heartbreaking 4-1 sudden victory loss in the second round. Gregory then pinned his next two opponents (1:35 and 4:59) before falling by pin and just missing the podium.

Freshman Trevor Jones (215) won two impressive pinfall victories (1:51 and 1:20) in his first two matches. But he dropped a 14-2 decision in the quarterfinals and then was pinned in the consolation round.

Carter Hill (175) had two pins on the day, while Jude Kirk (165) won two decisions. Preston Hempfield (150) and Gabe Thomas (144) both had one victory in the tournament.

Girls’ wrestling

The Mount Vernon girls’ wrestling team finished sixth overall in the Marysville Team Duels on Jan. 3.

MV scored 117 points to finish sixth in the 13-team tournament. Olentangy Orange won with 223.5 points.

The Yellow Jackets had two girls win their weight-class titles — Evelyn Martinez and Alivia Zimmerman.

Martinez, a sophomore, won the title at 115 pounds, winning all five of her matches by pin. She won in times of 1:55, 0:56, 0:24, 1:02 and 3:35.

Zimmerman, a sophomore, came out on top in the 145-pound class, winning three matches via pin (0:33, 0:49 and 0:36).

Three other MV wrestlers also competed, with each picking up third-place showings.

Freshman Lucille Parker was third at 100 pounds, winning three of her five matches via pin (1:13, 2:44 and 1:23). Freshman Jessie Blas-Perez also captured the bronze, winning two of four matches via pin (1:20 and 1:40). And, senior Joy Mormon was third at 170, also winning two matches via pin (1:06 and 2:16).

Bowling

The Mount Vernon boys’ bowling team continued its strong play, rolling to a 2,179-1,575 victory over Licking Heights on Jan. 5.

Griffin Beach led the Yellow Jackets with a 431 series (175-256). James Coburn followed with a 356 series (199-157), while Cooper Ferguson rolled games of 200-132 (332 series).