NORFOLK, Va. – Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar On Me plays in the background at the Ted Constant Center, a 5-foot 11 redshirt junior steps on the mat. In the stands, you’ll find his mom pacing back and fourth, camera in hand. The Monarchs 165-pound starter is Shane Jones, a walk-on from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
Flashback to his first impression of Old Dominion, where is older sister, Alyssa Jones, now Athletic Donor Relations Manager for ODAF was a member of the nationally prominent field hockey team. Visiting for a field hockey game, Jones fell in love with the campus. At the time, he wasn’t aware that ODU had a wrestling team, that is until he saw Monarch All-American's Chris Mecate, Lenny Richardson and Jack Dechow wrestle on TV at the NCAA Championships.
Shane Jones soon found himself at a high school national tournament in Virginia Beach, where, then assistant coach Mike Dixon reached out to him afterwards. Just a few months later, Jones walked into the Monarch wrestling room with a chip on his shoulder and nothing to lose.
After redshirting his first year as a Monarch, Jones saw action in five duals. When his redshirt sophomore season came around, he barely saw any time on the mat. Frustrated and tired, Jones kept at it, entering in every open tournament that he could travel to, from Pennsylvania to Delaware and more.
“I told myself, I’m just going to go to every single open tournament that I can. I was going to wrestle as hard as I can and show them, hey this kid can be in the lineup.”
He found himself rolling through the competition at the 2018 National Collegiate Open, where he won three straight bouts to take a fifth-place finish. His only two losses came to wrestlers who were nationally ranked this season.
Just six days later, Jones was competing for the Monarchs at the 2018 Mid-American Conference Championships in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. His first time seeing most of these opponents, unranked and lowest seeded Jones would open the tournament with a loss to the top-seeded wrestler and eventual champion. He bounced back to win two more bouts to take fifth at 165 pounds. His hard work was slowly starting to pay off.
A new year has come and Jones finds himself as the 165-pound starter for the Monarchs. With a 17-16 record, this season has not been smooth sailing, facing four top-20 opponents and losing eight of those 16 matches by two points or less. Despite his record, Jones embodies a Monarch, tough and resilient.
“I can taste it, I’m right there with those guys. I need to get over that hump and stay focused that entire seven minutes,” said Jones. “Yeah these guys are ranked ahead and have a name for themselves, but I’m right there.”
Most walk-ons do not end up seeing playing time, let alone starting like Jones. As a matter of fact, Jones is the only walk-on on the 2018-19 wrestling roster to start this season. For Shane Jones, his plans are bigger than a mid-January loss. He has his eyes on March.
During Jones’ spare time, you’ll find him putting in extra reps in the wrestling room, in study hall voluntarily, or participating with SAAC. The all-around student-athlete, Jones has put himself in the position to succeed both on and off the mat.
“It’s all about the end of the season. Obviously this matters and it means a lot but it’s all about the MAC Tournament and going to nationals, which I fully believe I’m capable of doing. Getting there and on that podium is the ultimate goal.”