Going from an off-the-radar wrestler who did not crack the varsity lineup until he was a junior to a highly ranked senior having a huge season, Lincoln-Way East’s Gavin Jones knows he’s now seen in a different light by his competitors.
In his mind, though, nothing has changed. He’s still trying to prove himself.
“This year, I’m really proud I’ve been able to put it together against higher-ranked guys and guys I’m not supposed to beat,” Jones said. “Being the underdog feels pretty good, although now it doesn’t happen too much anymore.
“In my mind, though, I am the underdog. I’m going out there to wrestle and prove to myself I can do it.”
Heading into the postseason, Jones (28-1) is ranked No. 6 in Class 3A at 182 pounds by the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. The Griffins will compete Saturday in the tough Homewood-Flossmoor Regional.
He’s come a long way for a guy whose limited varsity experience consists only of his shortened junior season last spring, when he went 10-4 and fell one win short of making the IWCOA state meet.
“I’ve kind of blown myself away,” Jones said. “At the start of the year, I won my first couple matches and I didn’t really think too much of it. Then we had to wrestle H-F who I knew was good. I got a win there and my confidence started going up.”
Lincoln-Way East coach Kevin Rockett describes Jones’ wrestling style as “funky,” giving his opponents an unorthodox look.
“He’s got a unique style that really throws some kids off guard,” Rockett said. “This year, he’s bought into the fact that he doesn’t always need to use that unique style.
“He’s really good at the simple things, so when he can do that and then break out some of that funkiness when he needs it, he’s going to do really well.”
Jones and Rockett agreed the biggest thing has been building belief.
“Before I’d go into matches and it’d be like, ‘Am I going to make it out of there without getting pinned?'” Jones said. “Now, I know I’m going to wrestle until the six minutes are over and hopefully get the win.
“This year, everything started to click.”
Jones has been a big part of a special season for the Griffins, who went 21-0 in dual meets and won the program’s first SouthWest Suburban Blue title.
“I’m super proud of how our team has shaped up this year,” he said. “Our depth is so good. Being able to see everyone wrestle well and the team have success, it’s been an exciting experience.”
Revenge is sweet: Lemont rolled to the championship of the South Suburban Conference Meet with 224.5 points, topping Oak Forest (162).
Johnny O’Connor (132), Evan Schiffman (138), Alex Tagler (170), Moe Khalil (182), Tyler Wilms (220) and Alex Pasquale (heavyweight) won titles.
“Some of the guys got a revenge match in,” Lemont coach Erik Murry said. “That was good to see that those guys are peaking at the right time and able to beat guys they lost to earlier in the year.
“Moe Khalil had a big win against a good kid from Oak Lawn (Evan Zambrano) who beat him earlier.”
Lemont, ranked No. 4 in Class 2A, is set to battle No. 1 Joliet Catholic at Saturday’s LaSalle-Peru Regional.
“Our motto this year is, ‘No excuses,'” Murry said. “We’ve been wrestling the best all year. We’ve wrestled mostly a 3A schedule against the best teams in the state, so we should be prepared.”
Red-hot RedHawks: Marist scored 261 points to Joliet Catholic’s 221 to easily win the East Suburban Catholic Conference Meet.
The RedHawks, who host a 3A regional Saturday, have big expectations.
“I think we’re capable of winning the state championship,” senior Tommy Boland said.
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
