News

Actions

Young wrestler overcomes obstacles to win title

Posted at 5:11 PM, May 06, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-06 18:07:12-04

Like most six-year-old kids, Don Jones has a lot of energy. His mother Sunita Jones will tell you.

“He bounces off the walls. He likes to wrestle with his brothers and his sisters,” she said.

This year his family decided he needed a way to channel all that energy, so they signed him up with the Pontiac Huskies wrestling team.

Don said what he most looks forward to ahead of his wrestling matches is ‘winning’. That is fitting considering Don hasn’t lost a match all season.

His grandmother, Paulette Ford, explained, “He set a record with the program because no kid has ever started out undefeated and went all the way to nationals and won.”

In his first year of wrestling, Don competed against kids from all over the country and won a national title.

“It was big. And there were a lot of kids,” said Don. “It’s been a really good season. I’m really, really proud of him,” said Jones.

It would be understandable for Don to be distracted by his 11 brothers and sisters, or the fact that his father is not around because he’s currently in jail, but his family is working hard to keep him focused on his training.

“There’s so many influences outside of the gym, so you know we try to keep him into the things that he needs to be into. Because you know my son is not here because he made some bad choices,” said Ford.

Don’s family says they believe he has a clear talent for wrestling and will stick with it. Don’s wrestling goals are pretty straightforward. “Keep winning,” he said.