NEW HEIGHTS
ECU track and field star sets the bar high, athletically and academically
When Avion Jones’ mom named him, she probably didn’t know he’d make his mark by flying.
But the East Carolina University senior high jumper, whose name means “airplane” in Spanish, has done just that. Earlier this month, he set an American Athletic Conference record with a jump of 7 feet, 7 inches at the conference outdoor track and field championship, winning the gold medal. That height is also the second-highest in the world this year.
“She told me she was just honestly putting some letters together,” Jones said of his name. “It has to start with an ‘A’ because my whole family, we’re all ‘AJs.’ But it’s pretty ironic… the fact that I spend half my life in the air. It’s crazy how that worked out.”
Jones’ jump was high enough to have earned him a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Now with the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio only a few months away, Jones is hopeful he can ride this momentum to a top finish. But first things first.
Avion Jones (Photo courtesy of ECU Athletics)
“I still have two major meets before that, regionals and the nationals,” Jones said. “I want to make sure I get through those two meets and focus on those before I focus on the Olympic trials.”
Past experiences might be motivating for Jones, said Curt Craft, head coach of ECU’s track and field team. At the NCAA indoor track and field national championships in March, Jones finished last with a jump just under 7 feet. Kraft thinks that spurred his jumper to work harder.
“I think that’s the thing that really makes him who he is,” Kraft said. “He’s very fiery; he doesn’t like to get beat. As that bar continues to go up, he gets better and better.”
And he doesn’t dwell on success, either.
“That 7-7 jump is behind me,” Jones said. “I’m back in the weight room now, making sure I do everything I can to take care of everything that is necessary and keep moving forward and make sure I take care of business.”
That business resumes Thursday in Jacksonville, Florida, where Jones and 16 of his teammates are competing in the NCAA East outdoor preliminary meet at the University of North Florida. If Jones is one of the top 12 jumpers, he will move on to nationals in Eugene, Oregon, June 8–11. Only after that are the Olympic trials, July 1–10 in Eugene.
“I’m pretty good at putting things off and not thinking about it; that’s just the way I’ve always been,” Jones said. “That was in the past. Now, I have to work hard to make sure that I’ll be able to replicate that and do it again when it matters the most.”
Jones also soars in the classroom. An honor roll student this spring, the sports management major needs one more semester to graduate. But the fall semester might have to be put on hold if he makes the Olympic team.
“If I make the Olympic team, I eventually want to finish and make sure I get my degree,” he said. “That’s something my mom was always big on me about and that is something I have to make sure I get done no matter what. I can’t let her down on that.”
Regardless of whether he places in nationals or makes Team USA, Jones has already won one major victory, by becoming a role model for student athletes.
“I think he’s learned when you’re on a campus like this, and … you’re doing a sport, that the responsibility rides on your shoulders to represent in a positive manner, in a positive way on the academic side and the athletic side,” Kraft said.