Vince Jones Season 2005-06
NCAA Championships
2009-Jones went 3-3 at the 2009 NCAA Championships to claim his first All-America honor. Jones pinned Cal State Bakersfield's Riley Orozco in 4:15 in the first round, and posted an 11-3 major decision over No. 15 A.J. Kissel of Purdue, before upseting fourth-ranked Kirk Smith of Boise State in the quarterfinals with a 2-1 decision.
Jones lost an 11-1 major decision to top-ranked Jake Herbert of Northwestern in the semifinals to drop into the wrestlebacks. In consolation action, Jones lost a 6-1 decision to second-ranked Phil Keddy of Iowa and ended his career with a 9-2 loss to No. 8 Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming.
2008-Jones earned a wild-card berth to nationals and finished with a 2-2 showing in which he was one second away from becoming an All-American.
Jones opened with a 9-4 decision over Northern Iowa’s Andy O’Loughlin, but pulled one of the biggest upsets of the tournament with his 7-5 decision over No. 3 Tyrel Todd of Michigan. Jones lost a tight 3-1 decision to Missouri’s Raymond Jordan to drop into the consolation bracket where he faced Big 12 foe Jack Jensen of Oklahoma State.
Jones took an early 6-1 lead before a furious rally by Jensen. Jones gave up a takedown in the third period that allowed Jensen to collect exactly one minute of riding time and earn the win with that point, 7-6.
2006-In his first trip to nationals, Jones finished 2-2 at 184 pounds. In the first round, Jones lost to Kent State’s Alex Camargo, 9-7. Jones mounted an impressive comeback from an early 7-2 first-period deficit to draw within one with 1:55 to go in the match, but a takedown by Camargo with just over a minute left clinched the win for Camargo.
Jones advanced to the first consolation round with a win by fall over Jesse Taylor of Cal State Fullerton 52 seconds into their pigtail consolation bracket match. Jones stayed alive in the consolation bracket with a 9-6 victory over Ron Howard of Cleveland State, before being eliminated by Iowa’s Paul Bradley, 10-3.
Big 12 Championships
2009-Jones earned his first career Big 12 title with a 9-1 major decision over Oklahoma State's Chris McNeil in the semifinals and a 3-0 decision over No. 18 Jerome Ward of Iowa State in the final.
2008-Jones went 0-2 at the 2008 Big 12 Championships to finish fifth, but received a wild-card bid to nationals in a deep 184-pound weight class. Jones lost a 3-2 decision to Oklahoma State’s Jack Jensen and fell to Missouri’s Raymond Jordan 8-3.
2006-Jones received one of eight wild-card berths to the NCAA Championships, as he finished in fourth place with a 1-2 record in his first career appearance at the Big 12 Championships.
The No. 2 seed at 184 pounds, Jones fell to Missouri’s Raymond Jordan, 11-10 in the semifinals. After a 13-5 major decision win over Oklahoma’s Justin Dyer, Jones lost to Oklahoma State’s Rusty Blackmon in the third-place match.
Career Notes
2009-Jones finished second on the team in wins with a 34-9 mark, including 15-4 in duals. He earned eight major decisions and 12 pins to post at least 10 pins each of his three years of competition for the Huskers.
Jones opened his season with two open-tournament titles, winning the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open on Nov. 15 and the elite division of the Kaufman-Brand Open on Nov. 22. Jones picked up his first dual victory of the season with a 2:43 pin of No. 9 Kyle Bressler of Oregon State, before posting a 3-2 showing at the Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 5. Jones also won the UNK Loper Open on Dec. 13.
Jones went 3-3 in his next six dual appearances, but ended the regular season on an 11-1 run. He posted seven bonus-point wins, including three pins to help the Huskers to nine dual wins during his streak.
2008-After opening the season with three straight pins at the Las Vegas Invite, Jones went on to amass a 23-15 record, including a 9-6 dual mark. Jones finished sixth in Las Vegas and climbed into the national rankings shortly thereafter, moving as high as ninth.
Jones was the only Husker to compete at the Midlands Championships, suffering a 9-8 opening-round loss. He rebounded with three straight wins before being eliminated.
Jones opened the New Year with a 10-1 run, including a 3-1 record at the National Duals on Jan. 12-13. Jones sparked a come-from-behind dual victory over Minnesota with his pin of then-No. 2 Roger Kish with four seconds left in the match. Seventeen of Jones’ 23 wins were bonus-point victories, including his team-leading 10 pins on the season.
2007-Jones sat out the 2007 campaign.
2006-Jones proved to be an electrifying addition to Nebraska’s roster, as he led the team with 12 wins by fall. Jones jumped into Nebraska’s starting lineup for the National Duals, and in his first dual match, defeated second-ranked Paul Bradley of Iowa, 4-3. Later that day, Jones pinned 17th-ranked Tyrel Todd of Michigan 41 seconds into their match. After winning by major decision over Brent Parkey of Oklahoma State, 15-4, Jones defeated 20th-ranked Christian Stinnott of Central Michigan, 6-4, to earn his fourth win of the National Duals. Only Jacob Klein matched Jones’ four wins among NU wrestlers.
After a loss to No. 5 Josh Glenn of American, Jones finished 2-2 in conference dual wrestling, including a 14-5 major decision over No. 14 Justin Dyer of Oklahoma, 14-5.
Jones moved up to the varsity after dominating the open tournament ranks. He finished second with a 4-1 day at the Kaufman-Brand Open. All four of his wins were falls. Jones then won the UNI Open on Dec. 4 on the strength of five wins, including four pins. On Jan. 7, Jones won the Dana College Open 184-pound championship on the strength of four wins by fall.
Before Nebraska- Jones was ranked fifth nationally in his weight class after a high school career in which he earned a 137-12 record with 97 wins by fall. Jones was a two-time state champion and three-year state medalist at Winslow Township High School for Coach Rick Koss. Jones earned four letters in wrestling and three more in football.
Personal
The son of Florinza and Robin Jones, Vince was born Nov. 26, 1986. He has a sister, LeKeishia, and two brothers, Robin, Jr. and Dominick. Jones was a sociology major.