Mount Vernon swimmers finish with bronze at LCL Championships

Both the Mount Vernon boys’ and girls’ swim teams finished third in the Licking County League Championships on Ja. 31 at Denison.

The boys had several top three individual placers, led by Dax Sabo, who finished second in the 200-meter individual medley (2:12.27) and and third in the 100 butterfly (58.53). Collin McFarlane was third in the 50 freestyle (22.63) and 100 backstroke (1:00.27), and the medley relay team of McFarlane, Sebastian Thorne, Sabo and Matthew Sant finished third (1:49.52).

The 400 relay team of Dax Sabo, Owen Cook, Case Sabo and McFarlane came in fourth (3:47.73), while the 200 relay team of Ben Henricksen, Case Sabo, Cook and Sant finished sixth (1:47.49). Sant also came in sixth in the 200 free (2:07.27) and Cook sixth in the 100 butterfly (1:07.87).

On the girls’ side, Lucy Rush got a fourth-place finish in the 500 free (6:13.39), a sixth-place showing in the 200 free (2:19.09) and was a member of the fourth-place 400 relay team, along with Taylor Zimmerman, Bella Eaton and Naomi McFarlane, which finished in 4:35.59. Rush also teamed up with Sala Glandon, Elizabeth Lebold and Zimmerman to place sixth in the 200 medley relay (2:13.67). Lebold got a sixth-place finish in the 100 butterfly (1:16.19) and was the lead on the 200 free relay team, which finished sixth (2:01.54). Also on that squad were Eaton, McFarlane and Glandon.

Boys’ basketball

The Mount Vernon boys’ basketball teams split a pair of games this week.

Mount Vernon struggled offensively, falling to Watkins Memorial, 48-39, on Jan. 30.

Trenton Wells led the Yellow Jackets with 22 points and five rebounds.

On Feb. 3, the Jackets cruised to a 56-20 victory over Lakewood.

Wells led MV with 13 points and three steals. Landon Dawson added 12 points and five rebounds, while Camden Carrier had nine points and three assists.

Bowling

The Mount Vernon bowling teams split their match with visiting Utica on Jan. 30.

The boys’ team used a balanced attack to knock off the Redskins, 2,247-2,081.

Cooper Ferguson led the Jackets with a 431 series (213-218). Griffin Beach was next at 401 (226-175), while Andrew Primm shot 355 (185-170), Bryce Hollenback 350 (177-173) and J’Haxom Byron 341 (180-161).

Utica was able to slip past the Jackets thanks to the Baker games, 1,665-1,660.

Addyson Dusenberry led MV with a 359 series (155-204). Dani Bumpus shot 329 (181-148), while Haylie Watts shot 288 (118-170).

Boys’ wrestling

The Mount Vernon Varsity Black boys’ wrestling team had two runner-up finishes individually, helping the team finish sixth in the Rieman Invitational on Saturday at Delaware Hayes.

Gabe Kiser (106 pounds) and Mavrik Gregory (157) both finished in second in their respective weight classes.

After a hard-fought win in his first pool match, Kiser got on a roll, securing two pins and a technical fall victory to advance to the finals of the 106-pound weight class. There, his good fortune ran dry and he dropped a 17-1 decision to Jacob Willaman of Olentangy Berlin.

Gregory also had a tough opening match, winning 4-2, but then cruised through his next three. He won two tech falls and then an 18-5 decision before losing to Eli Esguerra of Dublin Coffman, 4-0, in the finals.

The Yellow Jackets had two other wrestlers finish third and one fourth on the day.

Luke Mullins came in third at 190 pounds. He dominated his pool play, winning one pin in just 40 seconds and getting two tech fall victories. Mullins was pinned in the semifinal match but bounced back to pin Cooper Frye of Hayes in 4:15 and finish third.

Trevor Jones (215) won his first three matches by pin (1:08, 0:52 and 2:39) before getting pinned in the semifinals. The freshman then posted a 13-6 victor over Randy Madison of Loveland to place third.

Gabe Thomas was fourth at 144, winning three straight matches to begin the tourney, while Carter Hill placed sixth at 175. Hill had three pins on the day.

Keagan Leasure (120) and Jude Kirk (165) both had one match win.