WrestlingReport.com
The Heart of Amateur Wrestling

INTERVIEW

With Zeke Jones
University of Pennsylvania

Conducted by John Henning, WR.com College Editor

Larry “Zeke” Jones isn’t from the east. In fact, most of his wrestling experience is far removed from Philadelphia and the Ivy League. His prep days in Michigan, preceded his All-American career at Arizona State. Zeke’s world-class free-style record included 4 World Cup Gold Medals, a World Title, and culminated in his winning a Silver medal in the Olympics. However, it was as the associate head coach at West Virginia, that Zeke caught the eye of Penn’s AD. Greg Jones, coming off of his 3rd NCAA Title and Outstanding Wrestler award at the NCAA Tournament, Jones found it was the right time and fit to make the move to the head coaching ranks. The Quakers were scrambling to replace Roger Reina, who built UPenn into a national power, suddenly retired. After a brief search, Zeke Jones was hired to maintain the level of success UPenn had come to expect. And maintain he did. Matt Valenti won an NCAA title at 133 and Coach Jones was named national rookie coach of the year by Amateur Wrestling News.

WR.com: You had an auspicious entrance into the EIWA last year. How do you account for the success you and the team experienced?

Zeke: How do you define ‘auspicious?’ Whether it’s Matt Valenti’s National Championship, Brandon Slay’s Olympic Gold Medal, or winning a national coaching award, it’s not an individual award, but really a program’s success by the whole team working to support that individual. Brandon Slay’s gold medal in part was accomplished by the strength of the UPenn and USA Wrestling’s network of people who cared deeply about supporting Brandon to achieve his goals. 

WR.com: UPenn, an Ivy League member, is quite different from the type of schools you have first hand experience with. How difficult was it for you to handle the adjustment to: no in-state tuition, no targeted scholarships, and no curriculum to offer ‘soft’ majors in?

Zeke: It’s easier to look at what UPenn has. We are a school that meets the academic and financial needs and goals of prospective student-wrestlers. When we find a family meets the financial need of the program on their own or fiscally is in need, UPenn will accommodate both of those families. Once this financial objective is met, Penn then creates one of the best academic opportunities in the nation, or in fact the world. Students that want to work with world renown faculty, who are doing cutting edge research in their fields and are creating political and economic leaders of our nation are inclined to attend Penn. 

Recruiting is both easier and harder. It’s easier because of the high quality of education that Penn offers creates an environment that many student-wrestlers want to matriculate to Penn and it’s harder because only a few individuals of top student-wrestlers really meet the academic and athletic bar of the program.

WR.com: One thing you do have going for you is geography. Philadelphia is smack in the middle of the best recruiting area in the nation. You have struck a key blow in the early recruiting wars by receiving a verbal commitment from Zack Kemmerer, the #2 over-all recruit out of nearby Upper Perkiomen, PA. How do you view recruiting for an Ivy school?

Zeke: This geographical location is tremendous for high school wrestling. I do believe the tri-state area may be the best high school wrestling in the world. This was one of the key reasons I came to Penn. Although we recruit nationally, we don’t have to go very far to attract the best recruits in the nation. That’s important because we like to recruit not only good kids but good families who like to participate in our program. We are a program that is centered on family and want to have families involved. Our parents club has been actively involved in creating a fun and caring environment for our team

WR.com: Coach Reina had done such a remarkable job with the program. Is he still connected to the program?

Zeke: Absolutely. Coach Reina is and continues to be a valuable resource, mentor, and participator in our program who cares deeply about the team and the wrestlers. His career as a leading major gifts donor in the school of medicine is taking off and he’s well respected in the University of Pennsylvania family. He is always available to our staff and our team and is still a major component of our programs success. 

WR.com: Brandon Slay, a 2X NCAA runner-up and Olympic Gold medalist, along with NCAA champions Brett Matter and Matt Valenti, have established high expectations for UPenn wrestling. Who might be the next wrestler to ‘break out’ into the elite category?

Zeke: That’s a difficult question to answer. Our past champions of the program have set the bar high here at Penn. Our men, our Grapplers Club, and our Penn wrestling family have high goals and want to strive for the ideal. Most importantly we want to shape our wrestlers to be future leaders in their communities and strong family men. Secondly, we are committed to the highest ideals by competing for national championship team honors. It’s on the team’s radar screen. In order to do this we must have several wrestlers making the finals and several reaching the top 8 at the NCAA Tournament. We believe that our juniors and seniors are positioned to achieve what they are capable of and our freshmen and sophomores must emulate our senior leaders. They have to show they can become All-Americans and compete for national titles right away.

WR.com: The NCAA championships will be held in Philadelphia in 2011. How exciting is that for your program? Arch-rival Lehigh has targeted that event for a run at the team title. What will it take for a team to win?

Zeke: The NCAA Championships is an opportunity to showcase our sport and our Penn wrestling team. Our Penn administration, our recruits, and our community are excited about it. The NCAA Tournament in Philadelphia will be great. The children of the tri-state area will fall in love with the sport of wrestling when they see the NCAA Tournament and will impact the next generation of wrestlers in our area.

WR.com: Thus far, you have recruited two very tough lightweights in Rollie Peterkin and Zack Kemmerer. Who on your staff is responsible for filling the other weights with championship quality wrestlers?

Zeke: Staff’s are always dynamic and changing. Coach Logan is moving on and will be replaced by a coach that we are excited about. Rick Springman, in his 2nd year of doctoral studies, is on hand, as is Ted Dufresne, who works for Sunoco Oil Company. Josh Henson, a former Penn All-American and national Greco roman team member has recently joined us and works with the upper weights. Nate Ackerman, has joined the Penn faculty as a lecturer and professor from Harvard has world class experience while wrestling in several World Championships

WR.com: How have you adjusted to living in the east, specifically, living and working in an urban environment?

Zeke: I get that question from recruits. What I share with them is this. When I retired from competition, I was looking for a place where my family and I could reach our personal and professional goals. Professionally, my goals are to be the head coach of the US Olympic Team, the World Team, and the head coach of a national championship team. In order to do this we needed to be at a school that provided one of the best educations in the world, an athletic department and active alumni that was committed to athletic success at the highest level and Penn is that program. The great thing about Penn is the city of Philadelphia. Philadelphia provides a unique look into the history and tradition of our country and shares a picture to how our country was formed. Ben Frankin, the Liberty Bell, and the Declaration of Independence are all part of the tradition of Philadelphia. The Penn campus and the Philadelphia area provide a student an opportunity to widen their circle of knowledge beyond the academic arena.

WR.com: Let’s go out on a limb and talk about the EIWA this year. Cornell has recently had an edge over UPenn and Lehigh has won the past 5 EIWA team titles. Many observers believe Lehigh lost too much to repeat. It may come down to Cornell, UPenn and possibly Harvard this March. What are your thoughts, and how will you motivate your guys to believe they can win?

Zeke: Internally, our team is motivated. Last year, we were knocking on the door, but we didn’t break through the door until we had some success at the NCAA Tournament. We believe this team wants to break through earlier this season and then shine bright at the national tournament. In order to do this, they must earn the right to win. If we do things right and earn the right to win, we will position themselves to achieve high goals. In addition, we can not worry about what other people think or allow outside factors to influence us. We must focus on what we can control and nothing else. I think they are ready, and I think the team believes they are ready, now they need to execute and most of all, strive to dominate, not just win.

WR.com: Would you share with us who your role models and mentors have been…does not necessarily have to be wrestling related?

Zeke: My older brother, Johnnie, wrestled at Iowa State and was a member of the 1976 NCAA Championship team. He exhausted his eligibility in 1977 and left ISU a 2X All-American, finishing 2nd and 4th at the NCAA tournament. He was also a 2X NJCAA champion attending Schoolcraft Junior College in Livonia, MI. He introduced me to wrestling when I was 5 years old. My kid’s club coach at the Warriors Wrestling Club in Ann Arbor, MI was a Michigan undergrad, 2X NCAA finalist, and current head coach at the Illinois, Mark Johnson. Coach Johnson would go to the University of Michigan practice and then later in the evening come over to Pioneer high school and coach our kids’ club team. During his red shirt year, he took our club to kid tournaments. My dad, Larry, would pack me up in the car and take me off to tournaments and help me strategize on how to compete against the kids that I wrestled. He was and is the best advisor in my life. I also had the pleasure to be friends and competitors with a life long friend, Tricia McNaughton. As many know, she later went on to win 4 World championships as Tricia Saunders, wife of Olympic Silver Medalist, Townsend Saunders. As kids, we grew up in the same neighborhood. Her brother Andy McNaughton, wrestled with me from the time we were 5, all the way through Arizona State and we both were members of the 1988 NCAA team Championship team. The two most influential people in my wrestling and coaching career were Ernie Gillum and Bobby Douglas. Ernie Gillum was my high school coach. He was an NCAA finalist and member of the national championship team for Iowa State in 1965. Ernie is a retired teacher now living in the Philadelphia area and is helping with the Sunkist Club at Penn. My college coach, Bobby Douglas, taught me just about everything I know about college and international wrestling. He truly taught me how to beat the Russians, Bulgarians, and Cubans and is the person that I hold dear to me. My seven years at West Virginia with Craig Turnbull was critical in my development as a coach. I understood all the Xs and Os, but Craig taught me there’s more to life than wrestling. Craig is committed to the holistic approach to coaching wrestling and I believe we want to not only help wrestlers win NCAA, World, and Olympic Gold Medals but also to develop into the kinds of people that create a caring loving community for our families.

WR.com: Here is your chance to answer a question I didn’t ask!! Anything at all you would like to expand on---go for it.

Zeke: Thanks for giving me the opportunity to walk down memory lane. It was wonderful. Now back to work.

WR.com: Thank you for taking the time to visit with WR.com and it’s thousands of on-line readers. 

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