Wrestling: Jones Wins 2nd National Title
March 20, 2004 09:32 PM | General
March 20, 2004
 |
||
| Greg Jones won his second NCAA title on Saturday evening and finished the season at 26-0. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
ST. LOUIS – West Virginia University’s Greg Jones became the first Mountaineer to win multiple national titles with his 184-pound championship at the 2004 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis.
Jones posted his third victory of the season over Ben Heizer of Northern Illinois in winning his second crown, 10-5, on Saturday evening in front of 15,081 fans at the Savvis Center.
“It feels good,” admitted Jones on winning title number two. “I had to endure a whole year without claiming a title and this championship is very rewarding. This is a little bit more relief than the first one. It’s been a long road back here.”
Jones opened the bout with a takedown just :12 seconds into the match. After a Heizer escape, Jones increased his lead to 4-1 with a single-leg takedown at the edge of the mat.
“Ben came out and was aggressive, unlike my previous matches,” said Jones. “I was able to get some things going and found a good rhythm quickly into the match.”
Starting in the defensive position to start the middle period, Jones quickly spun out and tallied a reversal to lead 6-2. The junior Mountaineer tallied his third and fourth takedowns of the match to push his lead to 10-4.
In the final period, Heizer escaped to cut the score to 10-5. Both wrestlers traded shot attempts to close the match with Jones victorious, 10-5.
“It’s a great feeling right now to see Greg Jones, who has worked so hard, be rewarded with his second national title,” said WVU head coach Craig Turnbull. “This is a great exclamation point to an unbelievable year.”
Jones, a Slickville, Pa., native did not give up an offensive point the entire tournament in going 5-0.
Jones became the first Mountaineer to finish a season with an unblemished record going a perfect 26-0 in 2003-04. Stanford’s Matt Gentry (157) joins Jones as only one of two Division I wrestlers to go undefeated this season.
West Virginia finished in a tie for 16th place with Virginia and Cal-Poly with 31.0 team points. Oklahoma State tallied 123.5 points in winning the team title for the second consecutive season.
Jones, the 2002 champion at 174 pounds, also scored his 101st career victory, tying Joe Carr for fifth on West Virginia’s list of all-time wins.
Jones’ Road To The Championship
184: No. 1 Greg Jones (WVU) Tech Frank Cornely (Duke) 22-7, 6:50
184: No. 1 Greg Jones (WVU) Dec Josh McLay (Minnesota) 3-1
184: No. 1 Greg Jones (WVU) Dec No. 9 Bryan Gylnn (Illinois) 3-2
184: No. 1 Greg Jones (WVU) Dec No. 12 Paul Bradley (Iowa) 8-3
184: No. 1 Greg Jones (WVU) Dec No. 2 Ben Heizer (Northern Illinois) 10-5
Complete Championship Round Results
125: Jason Powell (Nebraska) Tech Kyle Ott (Illinois): 17-2, 5:32
133: Zach Roberson (Iowa State) Dec Josh Moore (Penn State): 7-3
141: Cliff Moore (Iowa) Dec Matt Murray (Nebraska): 5-2
149: Jesse Jantzen (Harvard) Dec Zack Esposito (Oklahoma State): 9-3
157: Matt Gentry (Stanford) Dec (Jake Percival (Ohio): 4-2
165: Troy Letters (Lehigh) Dec Tyrone Lewis (Oklahoma State): 5-2
174: Chris Pendleton (Oklahoma State) Major Ben Askren (MU): 11-4
184: Greg Jones (West Virginia) Dec Ben Heizer (Northern Illinois): 10-5
197: Damion Hahn (Minnesota) Dec Ryan Fulsaas (Iowa): 7-2
285: Tommy Rowlands (Ohio State) Dec Pat Cummins (Penn State): 6-2
