Zeke Jones forgot all about protocol amid the mayhem.
The date was November 22nd, 2019, and Arizona State wrestling had just pulled off a 19-18 win over Penn State, college wrestling’s premier program, and winners of 60-straight dual meets.
For a brief moment, Jones stepped out of coach mode.
The long-in place plan Zeke Jones and his staff envisioned reached had its apex, but the euphoria of the execution of that plan drew out the competitor in him. Having just been part of one of the biggest wins of his career on the mat or in the chair, he began to pump his fists while making his way toward key members of the largest crowd to ever see a Sun Devil wrestling match.
Jones, who was a member of the 1988 national champion team, wanted to thank the program’s biggest supporters for helping Arizona State get to a spot he envisioned when he was hired in 2014. So instead of joining the Sun Devils in heading toward the Nittany Lion bench, he found himself engulfed by the celebratory chaos of Desert Financial Arena's 8,522 fans.
In doing so, he completely forgot about shaking hands with the Penn State coaching staff. In fact, he went right past them while crossing the mat to connect with some of the people who helped make such a night possible.
“It reminded me when we beat Iowa in December in 1987,” Jones said. “It was amazing. We did something pretty special and I wanted to thank our donors and community. To beat Penn State, with the wealth and resources they have, was a breakthrough; everything we had been working for and they (donors and community) were instrumental in us getting there.“
"I got lost in the moment and completely forgot to shake the coaches’ hands."
Coach Jones called Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson and apologized for the lapse in protocol.
"They understood, but I didn’t even think about it in the moment. My phone was smashed (with texts and calls).”
A few months later the dream of competing, if not winning, a national title, along with the momentum and notoriety their victory helped build, vanished.
It started with the news of two-time national champion Zahid Valencia being suspended for failing a drug test, reportedly a recreational drug, on February 20th, and was if that news had not been devastating enough, the spread of COVID-19 canceled the national wrestling tournament in Minnesota.
“It was hard to stomach,” Jones said. “We put all of our eggs in the basket for this season. We redshirted people with this season in mind. And then it was gone. Once Zahid (suspension) happened our championship chances ended, but we still had six guys seeded in the top 9.“
"Your heart goes out to (seniors) Josh Shields and Tanner Hall. They’re All-Americans and earned a high seed. They didn’t… we didn’t get a chance to see our plan through.”
Wrestling analyst Jason Bryant said the rise of the Arizona State program to prominence, before having the proverbial mat pulled out from under, them was one of the most intriguing storylines of the year.
“The Zahid thing hit and for a moment it was like 'what is going on there?,” said Bryant, who is the founder of MatTalkOnline.com and voice of the NCAA Tournament. “But in reality, t’s not a harbinger of terrible things to come. They have something going there and the foundation has been set by that first recruiting class. It’s up to the kids to go out and perform and they have the talent and options in the DI room to make it happen.”
Josh Shields was seeded sixth, was a two-time All-American and had more than 100 wins in his career, and Tanner Hall was seeded fourth, was an All-American as a sophomore and was about to finish a career that included a two-year pause as he was on church mission in Uganda. There was one tournament left in their NCAA careers. One last chance to find the podium while wearing Sun Devil colors. The pandemic, however, left the accomplished duo without closure.
“We’ve been conditioned as an athlete that you can only control what you can control,” Jones said. “There was sadness and disappointment. We weren’t angry at people. The right decision was made. It’s just a shame it wiped out the end of some careers. Now, they’ll compete (internationally) but their time in a Sun Devil uniform is over.”
The same can be said for Zahid Valencia, but the end to his collegiate career came earlier, and at his own hands, putting a damper on one of the greatest careers – two-time national champion, No. 1 ranked wrestler when suspended – a Sun Devil wrestler has ever had. That mistake didn't just cost him, it cost his entire team.
“When the news about Zahid came it kept me up at night; no question,” Jones said. “You worry about everyone of them like they are your kids. It was tough. When anyone misses any time for whatever reason, your heart goes out to them. You look at those situations and you do a personal checklist of what could I have done different to prevent it from happening.”
The team's emphasis has since shifted toward 2020-21 and beyond.The Sun Devils lost assistant Chris Pendleton to the vacant Oregon State head coaching position, but added Frank Molinaro and Mark Perry to the staff. The roster loses some accomplished wrestlers, but new faces like Old Dominion NCAA-qualifying transfer Michael McGee, four-time California champion Jesse Vazquez, red-shirt freshman Cohlton Schultz, red-shirt freshman Julian Chlebove will join four returning All-Americans.
“It’s motivating,” Jones said. “I like change. We’re losing a great senior class, but it’s an exciting time when it comes to our future and what lies ahead."
"We can’t do a lot with (the team), so they took all the equipment, put it in their homes, and we told them to get after it."
"With the recruits and coaches, we’ve added recently, I feel confident that no one has gotten better than ASU since the season ended.”