Hall of Fame

KEN JONES

In February of 1996, Ken Jones and his Columbus High Titans earned their fifth Kansas State Wrestling Championship within a decade. To add to that remarkable feat, the Titans wrestled to five State Runner-up Titles and two third place finishes under Coach Jones’ twenty-one year helm as head coach. However, Coach Jones’ contributions to the sport of wrestling in Kansas go far beyond establishing Columbus High School as a wrestling powerhouse.

After his 1970 graduation from Baker University, where he started four years for the Wildcat football team and earned All-KCAC honors, Coach Jones began his wrestling coaching career at Baldwin City High School for five years. From Baldwin it was back to his hometown Columbus to continue his career in education as a physical education and science teacher, and coach. During his head wrestling coaching career, Coach Jones guided team members to 17 individual state championships. The Titans earned three Sub-State Championships, thirteen Regional Championships, ten Southeast Kansas League Championships, and a 217 – 67 – 1 dual record. These feats afforded Coach Jones selection by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association (KWCA) as the State All-Class Coach of the Year two times, 4A Coach of the Year four times, and selection by the National Coaches Association as its Region 5 Coach of the Year in 1990. Coach Jones was instrumental in establishing the KWCA as a strong, vocal organization among Kansas athletics by serving as its Board President for two years. In addition, Baker University inducted Coach Jones into the Baker University Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

Coach Jones continues to influence the lives of many young people by continuing his career in education in the Columbus School system that began in 1975. He has served the district as a teacher, counselor, and administrator and currently is district superintendent. He contributes to the Columbus community outside the schools by being an instructor in the Columbus Instructional Skills Program, serving as Chairman of the Columbus Sports Hall of Fame Committee, and serving as a member of the Columbus Chamber Commerce Board of Directors.