MOUNT VERNON — Vance Light is the head wrestling coach at Mount Vernon High School.
He was inducted into the wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016. He has coached 60 state qualifiers, three state-qualifying dual teams, six Wamac Conference championships and five individual state championships.
His wrestlers say Light’s success as a coach is because his skills at building relationships.
As a high school athlete, Light was a four-time state qualifier. His first year of high school wrestling he placed second at state and followed that up with a fourth-place finish. We won state titles as a junior and senior.
His experience as a wrestler informs his coaching.
This video was created by Mount Vernon sophomores Caitlin Babcock, Mattie Hansen, Lauren Hauser, Reagan Light, Kendra Streicher and Caroline Voss. It is one of a series created by high school students for the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street exhibit “Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America,” which will be on display at the First Street Community Center in Mount Vernon from March 18-April 29.