Hargrave is proud to announce Matt Vinson has been hired to lead the Wrestling program for the 2019-2020 season.
Wrestling has been a lifelong passion for Vinson, as he joins the Tigers after a storied personal and professional career in the sport. Vinson began wrestling at a very young age for the Matrats Wrestling Club at Irmo High School (Columbia, South Carolina). Vinson went on to wrestle at South Pointe High School (Rock Hill, South Carolina) before moving on to Spartanburg Methodist College (Spartanburg, South Carolina) to wrestle at the collegiate level.
Vinson has been involved with youth wrestling programs in South Carolina for over a decade, with a proven track record of being able to develop stout individual wrestlers and strong teams over his coaching career. Wrestling programs that Vinson has been involved with include Sullivan Middle School (Rock Hill, South Carolina), St. Joseph’s Catholic School (Greenville, South Carolina), Ben Lippen School (Columbia, South Carolina), the club team at the University of South Carolina (Columbia, South Carolina), and Pelion High School (Pelion, South Carolina).
At St. Joseph’s Catholic School, Vinson started with a team with just six total wrestlers. During his two years at the helm, St. Joseph’s Catholic School saw their wrestling team triple in size to over 20 wrestlers. With the increased team size, Vinson was able to coach his group to some impressive results as they finished Region Runner Up both years and made it to the Semifinals of the South Carolina State Duals Tournament.
Most recently, Vinson has been leading the program at Pelion High School, where he has spent time both as an assistant and as the head coach for the Freestyle and Greco-Roman club team. During his time at Pelion, Vinson helped his group achieve a 51-8 record over two years which included: 8 State Qualifiers and 5 State Placers, and the team made it to the South Carolina State Quarterfinals. Vinson was instrumental in starting the Pelion Freestyle and Greco-Roman club team and through his leadership, the team produced 8 State Finalists (4 State Champions and 4 State Runner Ups) in both the Freestyle and Greco-Roman divisions. Vinson’s team also saw four members become Southeast Regional Qualifiers during his time at Pelion.
From Athletic Director, Thomas Messinger: “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Matt (Vinson) join our Hargrave Family. He brings a wealth of coaching experience and has a proven track record of success in building a program, which is extremely evident in the results his program earned at Pelion. Our Wrestling team is coming off the VIC Championship from a year ago and I believe Coach (Vinson) will be instrumental in our Wrestling program’s continued success. We’re extremely excited to have him on board!”
Matt Vinson and his family hail from Columbia, South Carolina. Vinson and his wife, Scottie, have three children: Kaylee (6), Jesse (4) and Wyatt (6 months).
