Connect with us

Wrestling

Mercury All-Area: Impressive medal haul illuminates Jones’ excellence for Boyertown

It was, to say the least, an impressive collection of precious metal.

And a weighty one, to boot.

Elijah Jones, The Mercury’s 2018 All-Area Wrestler of the Year, showed up for a recent interview/photo session with 11 medals around his neck. Believing the plan was for him to be photographed with all the postseason tournament medals for his scholastic career — not just the four from this past winter — the Boyertown senior was an interesting sight in the high school hallways.

Fittingly enough, it was an appropriate visual statement of Jones’ accomplishments on the mats from his sophomore year on. The harvest of medals notwithstanding, Jones has developed and refined a mindset toward his wrestling endeavors.

“It’s not so much about the medals as how I wrestled a match,” he said. “I want to be the best I can.”

He achieved that goal, again in a big way. His last go-round with the Boyertown program was highlighted by repeat championships in the Pioneer Athletic Conference, District 1-AAA Central and South East AAA Regional tournaments, and capped by a career-best fourth place in the PIAA Class AAA tourney — his second state medal, making him the seventh wrestler in program history to achieve that feat.


Mercury All-Area Wrestling Teams


Elijah Jones of Boyertown celebrates after beating Connellsville’s Nate Ansell, 3-1, in the 195-pound consolation semifinals. (Nate Heckenberger – For Digital First Media)

Jones compiled a 43-5 record this past winter — competing primarily out of the 195-pound weight class — and pinned 29 opponents in the process. Finishing his scholastic career with 132 victories, he ranks 11th on the program’s win list.

“I was really pleased with how the season went,” he said. “My state run … I would have liked to place higher. But I had a good tournament and wrestled well. That’s all I could ask for.”

As one of only four seniors on the Boyertown roster, Jones’ role as a team captain was greatly magnified. His leadership and skill set were key to the Bears going 14-7 in dual matches (3-2 in Pioneer Athletic Conference’s Liberty Division), finishing third in their Brian Bealer Memorial Bear Duals and qualifying for the PIAA’s Class AAA Duals Tournament a fifth straight year.

“I wanted to step up for the team,” he said, “to show we weren’t done because good kids graduated. I felt we did that this season.”

Boyertown senior Elijah Jones, Mercury All-Area Wrestler of the Year. (Barry Taglieber – For Digital First Media)

That development was due in part to his interface with stars from the program’s Class of 2016: Senior teammates like Jordan Wood, Gregg Harvey and Tommy Killoran. Being at the same end of the lineup as them afforded Jones the opportunity to work with them and draw from their expertise.

“The first couple years, I tried to wrestle them when I could, pick their brains,” Jones said. “Harvey and Wood improved my technique. I tried to learn the best I could from the guys who had been around.”

Family ties have been a big part of Jones’ wrestling pursuits. In addition to having older brother Dave III serve as Bears’ head coach this past season, Elijah’s father, Dave Jr., was heavily involved with his progressing in the sport from the time he got into club competition at age five.

“My dad had me focus on technique,” Elijah said. “He was there, pushing me to be the best … a coach when I was a youth. He drove me to camps and open matches.”

When older brother Dave took over as Boyertown’s head coach this year, it created a unique interaction between him and Elijah. It was one they made work.

“It’s complicated. Sometimes he had to be a coach, and sometimes a brother,” Elijah said. “He was able to separate the two.

“I liked having him be in the corner. He knows my style.”

“There were times I had to figure out if I should be in coach mode or brother mode,” Dave added. “Being an assistant (at Boyertown) last year helped.”

“What I was able to help him with most was, he has a great work ethic … a desire to be the best. Sometimes he loses sight of the big picture; then I have to stay beside him and keep him working toward his long-term goals.”

Then there was Elijah’s younger sister, Kaitlyn. Easily recognized at Boyertown matches for the bear hat she’d wear, Kaitlyn became the team’s mascot and in-the-crowd cheerleader.

“She made cheers about me and the other wrestlers, and she’d shout them out,” Jones said. “She made me smile.”

Boyertown’s Elijah Jones, left, tries to turn Pope John Paul II’s Jack Files during the 195-pound final at the District 1-AAA Central Tournament Saturday at Spring-Ford. (Austin Hertzog – Digital First Media)

While he wrestled a majority of his bouts at 195, Jones was more than willing to bump up to the higher weight classes. He went so far as to compete at 285, going against opponents who weighed upward to 90 pounds more than him … and won all four times.

“I volunteered to go where I was needed, to help the team wherever I could,” he said. “I was pretty thankful to wrestle heavyweight … wrestling bigger guys I wasn’t able to out-muscle, using my speed and agility. I focused on technique.”

Jones will be adding to a growing fraternity of Boyertown mat alumni wrestling for Lehigh University. He will join former teammates like Wood and J.T. Cooley (Class of 2017) in the Mountain Hawks’ Division 1 program, which went 12-3 this past winter — 7-1 in their conference — and first in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) tournament.

“I got quite a few inquiries from colleges,” he recalled. “But I knew what I wanted to do from last summer. Committing to Lehigh early took off a lot of pressure.”

“I talked to Jordan and J.T. … especially Jordan, since he had gone through the program.

“It seemed like the best fit for me. I liked the coaches and the team.”

Elijah has been working out at the Regional Training Center at Lehigh, talking to coaches and hanging with other wrestlers. His plan is to wrestle at 197 in college.

“Wrestling builds stronger bonds. The guys are always together,” he said.

Jones boasts a solid academic resume’ addition to his wrestling credentials.

He is taking all Advanced Placement classes for core subjects – maintaining a 4.4 grade-point average in the process. His plan is to study engineering at Lehigh while he continues to refine his wrestling talents.

“I never look too far back on losses,” he said. “I look to do what I can to improve.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

More in Wrestling

situs slot gacor provider terbaik agen toto slot terpercaya 2023 agen toto togel terpercaya 2023 situs toto togel pasaran resmi terbaik bandar toto macau pasaran resmi toto togel bandar toto slot gacor 4d 2023 bo togel online pasaran terlengkap sepanjang masa bo toto slot terlengkap sepanjang masa situs toto togel 2023 bet 100 perak daftar toto slot dan toto togel 2023 bermain toto togel dengan bet hanya 100 perak daftar toto slot bonus new member terpercaya bermain toto slot pelayanan 24 jam nonstop situs toto togel terpercaya situs toto togel online terbaik winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto unsurtoto unsurtoto unsurtoto winsortoto winsortoto winsortoto rasa4d rasa4d rasa4d gampangtoto gampangtoto gampangtoto winsortoto unsurtoto gampangtoto rasa4d bungtoto bandar toto togel terbesar hadiah 4d 10 juta daftar winsortoto situs toto terbaik winsortoto situs toto slot gacor dengan toto togel terbaik winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bet 100 perak winsortoto agen toto togel dan situs toto slot 4d winsortoto situs toto togel online deposit 10rb winsortoto situs toto togel online resmi hadiah 4d 10 juta winsortoto agen toto togel online terpercaya winsortoto agen toto slot dan situs toto togel resmi winsortoto situs toto togel 4d terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel dan toto slot winsortoto situs toto togel online resmi terbesar winsortoto situs toto togel dan agen toto slot terpercaya winsortoto situs toto terpercaya beragam bonus winsortoto situs toto terpercaya toto togel dan toto slot gacor winsortoto situs togel online dan slot online terpercaya winsortoto situs togel online hadiah terbesar winsortoto agen toto togel bonus harian terbesar winsortoto agen togel online terlengkap bet 100 perak winsortoto situs toto togel 4d dan toto slot 4d terbaik winsortoto situs toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel online terpercaya 2023 winsortoto agen toto togel 4d dan toto slot 4d winsortoto agen toto togel online banyak bonus terbesar winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bonus new member winsortoto situs togel online resmi terpercaya pasaran terlengkap winsortoto situs toto togel online 4d terpercaya situs toto togel deposit pulsa tanpa potongan winsortoto situs toto slot pasti slot gacor winsortoto situs toto slot dan toto togel hadiah terbaik winsortoto situs toto terpercaya permainan resmi dan terpercaya winsortoto situs toto resmi bonus new member 100rb tanpa potongan winsortoto toto slot gacor dan togel online resmi terpercaya winsortoto situs toto toge online terpercaya di Indonesia winsortoto toto togel online bonus new member terbesar winsortoto agen toto togel resmi hadiah 4d 10 juta terpercaya winsortoto toto togel online hadiah 4d 10 juta bet 100 winsortoto situs togel online terlengkap dan terpercaya winsortoto situs togel online resmi dan toto slot gacor winsortoto situs toto togel dan agen toto slot gacor winsortoto situs toto togel permainan toto togel dan toto slot winsortoto situs toto terpercaya bonus menarik winsortoto situs toto togel online terpercaya winsortoto bandar toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya winsortoto situs toto togel online terlengkap dan terpercaya winsortoto situs toto togel online winsortoto situs toto terpercaya togel online dan slot online resmi winsortoto situs toto dengan permainan togel 4d dan slot 4d winsortoto situs toto terpercaya permainan togel online terlengkap winsortoto situs toto togel terpercaya permainan resmi winsortoto situs toto togel resmi bet 100 perak tanpa potongan winsortoto agen toto togel dan situs toto resmi winsortoto toto togel dan toto slot terpercaya dan terbaik winsortoto unsurtoto gampangtoto bungtoto rasa4d titi4d ltdtoto bobatoto bobatoto situs toto togel slot situs bandar toto togel slot terpercaya titi4d titi4d login titi4d daftar titi4d slot titi4d togel situs titi4d titi4d login titi4d daftar titi4d titi4d togel titi4d slot situs titi4d agen titi4d bandar titi4d