Larry "Zeke" Jones was announced as the 17th head coach in the history of the Penn wrestling program today.
Jones' previous coaching experience includes a stint with the 2004 U.S. Olympic freestyle team. He also has served as assistant coach at West Virginia for seven years.
Jones replaces former wrestling coach Roger Reina, who resigned earlier this summer to take a position in the development office at the medical school. Reina served as the Penn head coach for 19 years.
"I am really excited about having Zeke join the Penn athletics family," Athletic Director Steve Bilsky said in a statement. "He brings a great combination of outstanding athletic and academic success as an individual and coach on both national and international levels. His commitment to developing a strong academic program is demonstrated by West Virginia's success as a top-12 NWCA Academic team for the last three years. He played a very significant role as an assistant head coach in the development of an excellent wrestling program at West Virginia, and I have confidence that he will be able to uphold the tradition of wrestling excellence we have here at Penn."
"It is a great opportunity and privilege to work at the University of Pennsylvania," Jones said in the same statement. "I am excited to be a part of such a university with a rich tradition and excellence in both academics and wrestling. I look forward to helping these young men reach their goals of being national, world and Olympic champions as well as achieving success in the classroom. My family and I are thankful for the opportunity to come to Philadelphia and Penn."
Jones is an Arizona State graduate. With the Sun Devils he was a three-time All-American and a member of the 1988 NCAA Championship team.
In 1992, he won a silver medal in the Barcelona Olympics. He is also a four-time World Cup gold medalist, last winning in 1995.
