From 1961 until 2009, 23 Georgia high school wrestlers managed to capture individual wrestling championships all four years in which they participated at the GHSA level. Darlington’s Spencer Jones hopes to add his name to that list next month in Gwinnett at the 2011-12 GHSA State Traditional Wrestling Championships.
For Jones it would be the culmination of a wrestling career that began at age five. Jones’ father Scott got Spencer started in wrestling at an early age by constructing a ring in the backyard. “I won a state tournament at six-years-old and then went to a few national tournaments just to see how I’d do,” said Jones of his start in amateur wrestling.
Jones won a few of those national tournaments and then it was no looking back. With his father coaching him up through middle school, Jones quickly made a name for himself with a strong work ethic and a desire to avoid failure. “I keep (my work ethic) up because I just don’t like to lose.” He also keeps his head down he said as he tries to stay humble throughout the process.
That work ethic helped him win the 2008-09 Class A 130-pound class title. “As a freshman, I had to work hard to get my name out there.” After taking the title as a freshman, he moved up to the 140-pound class, where he won the 2009-10 title as a sophomore and then the 145-pound title as a junior last year. He has moved up in weight again as a senior, but he is working harder than ever now to finish off his prep career sweep. “If I stop training, I know they won’t, so I still work hard.”
His routine is a bit different than the typical high school wrestler though. Jones admitted that the coaches push him harder than everyone else in practice because of his decorated past, and he isn’t allowed to face his teammates. “In practice, I wrestle the coaches, and they beat me up pretty good.” He acknowledges that after facing 40-year-old men, perhaps facing high schoolers is a bit easier during the matches.
When he does step onto the mat though, he tries to block everything out. He said he will keep a warmup routine the same until he loses and then he switches it up to change his luck. During the match he doesn’t think about his streak, he just tries to wrestle and win. “I’m sure there are folks out there that want to be the one that keeps (me) from winning No. 4, but I block all of that out and just focus.”
Colleges have come calling on Jones, including Nebraska and Arizona State, but Jones admitted that he isn’t sure he wants to wrestle in college. “It’s something I’ve done since I was five. I may want to rest a bit and see what else is out there.”
Regardless of his future plans, Jones is a force in high school wrestling, and Gwinnett Arena could be the site of some history this February should he etch his name into the record books with a fourth title.
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