AMES, Iowa – MULTI-TALENTED son of the soil Adolphus ‘Dolly’ Jones had an impressive start in the United States indoor track and field circuit by winning the Men’s Heptathlon at this week’s Iowa State Track and Field Classic.
Jones won the February 11-13 event with a total of 5532 points, seven points ahead of runner-up Justin Taylor from Wichita State. Third place was taken by North Texas’ Jordan Wehr with 5318 points.
While the 26-year-old Jones finished first in only the High Jump, leaping to height of 2.04m, he delivered a consistent performance in all seven events and showed that his training under Coach Eric Francis continues to pay dividends.
Having recently celebrated his birthday on January 29, Jones gave himself the gift of several new national records at the meet, including the Shot Put with a toss of 12.87m, the 60m Hurdles in a time of 8.46sec and the Pole Vault as he cleared a height of 4.45m.
Throughout the Heptathlon, the lowest position Jones finished in the field of 12 athletes was fifth in the Pole Vault, while much of his competition failed to remain so consistent in their performances.
The Pole Vault record set by Jones broke both the indoor and outdoor national records in that event, which he had previously set last season at the Southland Conference.
Additionally, Jones surpassed his own Heptathlon point score record of 5146, which was also set at the May 2009 Southland Conference.
With a nearly 400 point improvement this early in the season over his previous best, Jones has poised himself to continue making his presence known as a multi-event athlete to watch.
Since coming under the guidance of Coach Francis at his Houston, Texas-based Elite Performance Track Club, Jones has continually improved his totals in the Heptathlon and Decathlon.
In 2007, the young athlete set a personal best score of 6092 points in the Decathlon, which was then improved to 6617 in 2008 and last season to an all-time high of 7178.
Francis and the St. Kitts-Nevis Amateur Athletics Association both extended their praises for Jones as he embarks on what is likely to be yet another successful indoor and outdoor track and field season.
