Vertus Jones became the Mountaineers' first three-time wrestling All-American and first four-time Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) champion during his outstanding career from 1997-2000.
A two-time NCAA runner-up, Jones posted a stellar 30-2 record as a senior in 2000 at 184 pounds, setting the all-time West Virginia consecutive wins mark at 24. He earned his final All-America honor with a second-place finish at the 2000 NCAA Championships in St. Louis. He was named the EWL Co-Wrestler of the Year in 2000, as well as the EWL Tournament's Outstanding Wrestler. Jones is currently tied for 10th on the WVU all-time list for victories as a senior (30). He won the EWL title at 184 pounds.
As a junior, the Slickville, Pennsylvania, native posted a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships at 184 pounds. Jones participated in the NWCA All-Star Classic and currently ranks eighth on the WVU all-time list for victories as a junior (31). He captured the EWL championship at 184 pounds.
As a sophomore in 1998, Jones was the youngest of 20 finalists at the NCAA Tournament and became the youngest in WVU history to reach the NCAA finals. He capped his impressive sophomore campaign with a second-place finish at 177 pounds at the NCAA Tournament. Jones won the EWL title at 177 pounds.
In 1997, Jones became the second WVU wrestler to win EWLs as a freshman. He qualified for the NCAA Tournament after being named the EWL champion at 167 pounds and was named WVU's Rookie of the Year.
Jones became the first Mountaineer wrestler to be a four-time EWL champion and only the third EWL wrestler to be a four-time champion. He totaled 11 EWL Tournament victories in his WVU tenure.
Jones finished his WVU career with 95 victories, which was sixth-best at the time at WVU. He currently ranks fourth on the WVU all-time list for victories in a single season in the 177/184 pound weight class with 31. Jones is second on WVU's all-time list for NCAA Tournament victories with 14. Jones was twice named as a recipient of the George Nedeff Outstanding Wrestler Award. He was a finalist for NCAA Sportsperson of the year as a senior.
Jones was inducted into the EWL Hall of Fame, was a 2006 inductee into the Southwest Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame and a 2010 inductee into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Jones graduated from WVU with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education teaching in 2001. He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame and Mountaineer Legends Society in 2019. He and his brother, Greg, became the second set of siblings to be inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame, joining Marc, Kate and Meg Bulger and the second set of siblings in the Mountaineer Legends Society (Marc and Meg Bulger).
