Berendt out, Killingsworth in as Mt. Vernon High School head girls basketball coach

During the May 18, Mt. Vernon Board of Education meeting, Mt. Vernon girl’s basketball coach Grant Berendt submitted his resignation letter from his teaching position as an alternative education teacher at the high school, effective at the end of the school year. He had previously submitted his resignation letter during the March board meeting as high school girls basketball coach during the March school board meeting following the 2022-2023 basketball season, which ended abruptly in January.
The ending to the 2023 season came when Mt. Vernon athletic director Chris Johnston announced that “after careful consideration by our administration and Board of Education, the extremely difficult decision has been made to cancel the remaining scheduled girls basketball games in the 2023 season including withdrawal from this year’s District Tournament. We couldn’t be prouder of these young ladies as they pushed themselves to the limit these past few games despite the depletion of players. However, the MVSD administration feels that attempting to continue to play competitive varsity basketball with a reduced number of available players places our team in a very difficult situation. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that we make this decision for the well-being of our student-athletes.”
Berendt was the girl’s basketball coach for five years, joining the district in 2018.
Coach Dusty Killingsworth will be taking the reins as the head basketball coach for the 2023-2024 season.
Killingsworth, a social studies teacher at Mt. Vernon High School, was the girls basketball coach previously from 2013-2018, he stepped down in 2018 for personal reasons. He returned to coaching basketball, coaching the last two seasons at New Covenant Academy in Springfield, and is eager to return to coaching in Mt. Vernon. Killingsworth is also the head boys golf coach and National Honor Society sponsor at Mt. Vernon.