Chris Jones ’99
Career Record: 83-33
Tournament Championships: Manheim Champ
College: Drexel (4x NCAA Qualifier)
1999 – 171 lbs: District Fifth, Regional Third (35-8)
1998 – 171 lbs: District Runner-Up, Regional Third (30-11)
1997 – 160 lbs: District Third (18-14)
Chris Jones stabilized the Easton upper weights in the late 1990s, then went on to a fabulous college career at Drexel where he was one of just six Easton wrestlers ever to qualify for four NCAA tournaments.
Jones cracked the Easton lineup as a sophomore for the 1997 squad that was the preseason number one team in America. After losing his dual debut, Jones traveled to the Walsh Ironman tournament, where he put himself on the map by finishing as the runner-up at 171 pounds, including a semifinal win over California bronze medalist and future Navy standout Mike Bigrigg (Calvary Chapel). Jones was fourth at Manheim, helping Easton to a championship at the Christmas tournament. Jones helped ice Easton’s upset win over St. Edward with a 7-4 decision over Ohio state qualifier Kevin Zitnik. In their blowout win over Northampton, Jones handled fellow sophomore upper weight standout John Bauer, 8-3. In his first D11 tournament, Jones dropped to 160, and opened with a 5-2 win and a 15-3 major in the quarters. In the semifinals, he fell to state bronze medalist Jarrett Hoff (Nazareth) for the third time on the season, 7-3, but wrestled back for third. At Regionals, Hoff defeated Jones in the semifinals again, and Jones fell to Paul Ervin (Berwick) in the consolation semis to end his season.
As a junior, Jones started the season with five straight falls before a stellar tournament stretch. He finished fifth at the inaugural Beast of the East, with a pair of wins over New Jersey medalist Kevin Dobosz (Kingsway) and splitting matches with California medalist Tyler Winslow (Temecula Valley). Jones won Manheim, highlighted by a pin of future state champ Justin Millard (Bald Eagle Area) in the second period of their semifinal bout. At Reno, Jones teched top seed and California state medalist Jim Volpe (Ponderosa) before falling to California bronze medalist Tyler Lunn (Buchanan) in the finals. Back in the Lehigh Valley, Jones’s decision over a tough Curt Thompson got Easton within striking distance at heavyweight for their 30-28 victory over Bald Eagle Area. Jones dropped a match to state finalist Phil Hard (Northampton), 3-1 in Northampton’s criteria victory over the Red Rovers and Jones dropped an overtime bout to Aaron Freer (Phillipsburg) in a loss to the Stateliners. Jones picked himself up for the D11 tournament, where he cut down to 171 pounds. He pinned his way to the semifinals then handled Jeff Siglin (Lehighton) 11-4 to make his first D11 finals. There, he met eventual state champion Christian Luciano (Northampton), who pinned him back in the Beast of the East semifinals. Luciano stuck Jones again, this time in the early second period, to relegate the Easton standout to a silver medal. At Northeast Regionals, Jones won his opening bout, then lost in semifinals to Ken Romanczuk (Pittston). But he braved the back side, beating Chris Geoghegan (Delaware Valley) to set up a winner-take-all match with Eddie Strauss (Allentown Central Catholic), who beat Jones in overtime during the season. Jones gave up a takedown in the third to force their second overtime bout of the year, but it was Jones who came out on top with a takedown in the sudden death portion of OT for a 5-3 and his first trip to the state tournament. At states, Jones lost his opener to Brock Hostetter (South Western), 9-7. He majored Sean Schellenger (Coatesville) in his first wrestle-back, but fell in the medal round to eventual bronze medalist Mike Minella (Chartiers Valley), 1-0.
As a senior, Jones started at 189 and bonused his way through December before a third place finish at Reno, his third top three medal in Nevada. He took fourth at Manheim, dropping his semifinal to eventual state champ Jon Sauve (Cumberland Valley), 9-6. He played the hero in Easton’s upset of Blair Academy, their only win over the national preps powerhouse, when he pinned Frank Casella in the first minute of their bout to give Easton a lead. He pinned Marty Limpar (Northampton) to get Easton within striking distance against Northampton in their dual with the top team in the country. His major over Rob Santini (Phillipsburg) gave Easton the cushion to beat the Stateliners 31-25. He went 2-0 at D11 Duals, including a win over Limpar in the finals. In the D11 tournament, Jones dropped to 171 where he was the top seed. He bonused his way to semifinals, where he dropped an action packed 8-6 match to Andy Ludlow (Stroudsburg). He nearly faced disaster when Josh Gasiorowski (Blue Mountain) beat him in the consolation semifinal, but Jones advanced to Regionals with a win over Isaac Perez (Dieruff). At Regionals, Jones won his pigtail 13-2 then teched Tim Kress (Bethlehem Catholic) in the second period to make the semifinals. There, he hit Northampton standout John Bauer for the first time since the two were sophomores. Bauer was able to take Jones down three times in a 6-4 win, keeping him out of the Regional finals. On the back side, Jones defeated Lynn MacMillan (Tunkhannock) and Kress to earn a trip back to the state tournament. At states, Jones opened with returning state finalist Nick Richmond (McGuffey). He could not get his offense going in a 7-4 loss to Richmond, who would go on to win the tournament. On the back side, Jones won his first match over Dave Messerschmidt (North Penn) to get back to a medal match. But Joel Abraham (Keystone Oaks) kept Jones off of the medal stand with a 7-5 loss to end Jones’s Easton career.
After Easton, Jones went on to Drexel where he was a star for the Dragons. After a redshirt year, he qualified for the NCAA tournament as a redshirt freshman, then made the Round of 16 as a sophomore. In his fourth trip to NCAAs, Jones was the #7 seed in the tournament. He graduated Drexel’s all-time leader in wins.
History of Easton Wrestling 