Zeke Jones

Zeke Jones

Personal information
Full name	Larry Lee Jones
Born	December 2, 1966 (1966-12-02) (age 58) Ypsilanti, Michigan, U.S.
Home town	Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Wrestling
Event(s)	Freestyle and Folkstyle
College team	Arizona State
Club	Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club
Team	USA
Coached by	Bobby Douglas
Medal record Men's freestyle wrestling Representing the United States Olympic Games 1992 Barcelona 52 kg World Championships 1991 Varna 52 kg 1995 Atlanta 52 kg Pan American Games 1995 Mar del Plata 52 kg 1991 Havana 52 kg Collegiate Wrestling Representing the Arizona State Sun Devils NCAA Division I Championships 1990 College Park 118 lb

Larry Lee "Zeke" Jones (born December 2, 1966) is an American wrestler and coach. He won a silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics, a World Championship in 1991, and was the former freestyle head coach of USA Wrestling. He is currently the head coach of the Arizona State University Wrestling team.

Early life and college

Jones was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He started wrestling under the influence of his brother Johnnie, a two-time junior college national champion for Schoolcraft Junior College and later a wrestler on Iowa State's national runner-up team in 1976. He was citywide champion at Scarlett Junior High School, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was coached by James Bryant.

In high school, he amassed a 111-6 record, finishing 2nd and 1st in the Michigan High School State Championships in 1984 and 1985 competing for Huron High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In high school he was coached by Tom Davids and Ernie Gillum. He was a three-time High School All-American at the Junior National Championships and was named Dream Team All-American selection by Wrestling USA Magazine in 1985. Jones was named to the Huron High School Hall of Fame in 2002.

Jones signed with Bobby Douglas and Arizona State Sun Devils in 1985. He compiled a 139-21 record and garnering three All-American honors at the NCAA's, three Pac-10 championships, Midlands Title, and was an NCAA finalist his senior year.

Senior level

Jones was an Olympic silver medalist, 1991 World Champion, six-time U.S. national freestyle champion, four-time World Cup champion, Pan American Games champion, and received the "World's Most Technical Wrestler Award" awarded by FILA, the international governing body for the sport during his career. In 2005, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.

Coaching career

Jones served as the head coach of the 2012 US Olympic freestyle wrestling team. His first college coaching position was an assistant coach at Bloomsburg University, Arizona State University and West Virginia University before becoming the head coach at the University of Pennsylvania in 2005. In April 2014 he was hired as the head coach for the Arizona State Sun Devils. In 2008, he accepted the head coach position for the United States freestyle wrestling team with USA Wrestling at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

References

• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Zeke Jones". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020.

External links

• Zeke Jones website