Zeke Jones, one of the most talented lightweight wrestlers in the history of the sport, is a champion whose legacy as a competitor and a coach continues to impact the sport of wrestling today.

Jones began to make his mark in the sport as a prep wrestler. In his home state of Michigan, he captured a championship title and was a three time Junior National All-American. Continuing his career at Arizona State University under the tutelage of Bobby Douglas, he was a finalist in the NCAA tournament and a three-time NCAA All-American. While an undergraduate, he also competed in the freestyle arena and captured a berth on the USA World Team. With his seventh place finish, his international career was launched!

In 1991, he became the World Champion at 52kg/114.5 pounds and followed in 1992 with an Olympic Silver medal. He maintained the number one position at his weight class for a remarkable seven straight years. He won gold medals in four World Cup competitions, and captured a first place finish in the Pan-American Games and in the Goodwill Games. In recognition of his dominating, “golden” style, he was named “World’s Most Technical Wrestler” by FILA. During this time period he also competed nationally, winning six U.S. Championships.

After retiring from competition, he turned his attention to coaching. With the same relentless energy that drove his mat career, Jones coached in both the collegiate and international arenas. He served as an assistant at Arizona State and Bloomsburg before accepting his current position at West Virginia University. He was the head coach of the NCAA International All-Star Team (2000), two World Cup Teams (1998, 2000) as well as the 2001 World Championship Team. In 2001, he was honored by USA Wrestling as the “National Freestyle Coach of the Year”. In 2003, he was named head coach of the Pan American Games Team, and in 2004 he was selected as the Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Coach.

Committed to the furtherance of the sport, he has served on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Olympic committee, the USOC Advisory Council and the Board of Directors of USA Wrestling. Recently, with an eye to the future, Jones organized and developed the new Sunkist Kids Training Center where he will coach and mentor Olympic hopefuls.

For his “golden” career as a wrestler and coach, Zeke Jones is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.