Jones one of WVU’s greatest
By Ryan Mcneil The Daily Athenaeum
Morgantown, WV (U-WIRE) — The two-time NCAA champ walked off the mat after a 13-7 victory. He slapped hands with his coaches, took a sip of water from a Gatorade cup, and acknowledged his teammates’ congratulations.
And then Greg Jones sat down on the bench with the rest of his team. There wasn’t an announcement on the Jumbotron that said 113-4 (Jones’ record at West Virginia University).
There wasn’t a throng of media rushing to interview the only wrestler who’s had an undefeated record at WVU (26-0 as a junior).
The crowd of 542 cheered, but how much noise can 542 people make in an arena that seats 14,000?
Jones is in his last year of a storied career at WVU. It’s just a shame that one of the greatest athletes in this school’s history toils away in relative anonymity.
The senior belongs on the list – that includes Jerry West and Sam Huff – of the best athletes to ever attend WVU.
Jones is the only WVU wrestler to capture two NCAA titles. He is one of only 10 wrestlers to win a national title as a freshman.
In last year’s NCAA Tournament, the 184-pounder did not give up one offensive point.
The numbers go on and on.
The guy’s good.
But instead of watching Jones dominate his opponents, Mountaineer fans are busy ripping on the basketball team and analyzing football recruits.
So Jones wrestles in front of 542 people, the majority of which are family members of wrestlers.
The faithful who do flock to the Coliseum get to see something great. On the mat, Jones is like a cat waiting to pounce. He has the instincts of a linebacker and the speed of a point guard.
If you weren’t so transfixed on Jones’ quickness and aggressiveness, you’d feel bad for his outmatched opponent.
As the writer who sat next to me said, “You can just see the difference between him and everyone else out there.”
I never was a wrestling fan – until I saw Greg Jones.
When I was a freshman, the football team went 3-8. The basketball team was rocked with the Jonathan Hargett scandal and departure of Gale Catlett.
The only reason to pick up the sports page was to see how that freshman wrestler was doing.
The headline was always the same: Jones wins.
In a time when tremendous negativity surrounded WVU athletics, Jones brought pride to this University.
So I was excited in November when I got to go see the champ wrestle. I expected a lot of lying on the mat and stalling, you know, the way of most wrestling matches.
But Jones was different.
He circled his opponent with his hands outstretched, waiting to attack.
Jones would wait for the right moment and then – BAM – his opponent would be on the mat.
When he has his man on the ground, Jones just lets him stand up and get an escape point. When you’re that talented, you have to do something to make it a little more interesting.
As good as Jones is you would expect him to be cocky and egotistical, but he is neither.
On Saturday the wrestling team, which has been wracked by injury, was desperately looking for a win against Hofstra.
Coach Craig Turnbull was going to move Jones up to 197 lbs. to battle Chris Skretkowicz.
Skretkowicz is 6-5 and is ranked No. 2 in the nation. Jones was willing to move up to give his team a chance to win.
An early deficit prevented Turnbull from making the switch, but just the fact that a two-time NCAA champ would move up a weight class just to help his team out shows what kind of man Greg Jones is. West Virginia has three home matches left this year.
That gives Mountaineer fans just three more chances to see Jones before he becomes just another name in the record books.
(C) 2004 The Daily Athenaeum via U-WIRE
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