“I started looking at wrestling as a privilege, and that completely changed my experience,” Jones said. “With that mindset, no amount of conditioning could break me.”
by Jake Knight.
Burien-News Sports Writer
Growing up watching two of his older brothers become prominent high school wrestlers, it took Logan Jones until his sophomore year of high school to begin his wrestling journey. Credit his mother, Sharon, for kickstarting his career.
“My mom signed me up,” Jones said. “She wanted me to give it a shot because all my siblings were athletes. I had no interest at all, but she signed me up, and from there I loved it.”
Fast forward to his senior year, Jones is the current back-to-back Kingco 2A league champion, the reigning league MVP, and placed second in districts this past season, sending Jones to compete for a state title in the 165-pound division. Jones finished his senior year with a 32-11 record in matches. He is the second Highline wrestler in a row to win league MVP, following Gabriel Luna-Tautua winning the award in 2023. Jones was undefeated in the league and district playoffs before losing the district championship to the eventual state champion, Rylin Lang, and entered the state tournament with the third-best record in his weight class.
Jones received an invitation to compete at the Gut Check Wrestling Tournament, the premiere high school wrestling tournament in the Pacific Northwest. The competition level was of the likes Jones had never seen, including his opponents in the state tournament, which changed the way he viewed his preparation.
“After Gut Check I started looking at wrestling as a privilege, and that completely changed my experience,” Jones said. “With that mindset, no amount of conditioning could break me.”
Jones stands as the only wrestler in Highline High School history to earn his way into the Gut Check Wrestling Tournament.
When asked if he has a favorite moment in his short but prosperous wrestling career, Jones’ face lit up. “I was wrestling Franklin’s team captain,” Jones said. “I was winning the match, but he realized it was the last period and that he was going to lose because I was up by points. He started wrestling, it seemed, like a gorilla. He dug his nails into my shoulders, and I had red scars. It was a brutal match. We went back and forth a lot. Within the last couple seconds, I grabbed him, and I’m not exactly sure how, but I threw his entire body over my head and pinned him with one second left.” Jones left the match with his nose and mouth bloodied but with the taste of sweet victory.
Jones has been practicing his wrestling without knowing it for years. As the youngest of five, there was no shortage of unofficial wrestling matches hosted in the Jones household. Two of his brothers, Seth and Jacob, both competed at state in their high school careers, with Jacob currently wrestling at the University of Washington and competing for nationals this weekend.
“My siblings would constantly put me in headlocks and take shots at me. Once I joined wrestling, I actually could defend myself,” Logan joked.
Logan added Seth and Jacob are always trying to help their brother become a better wrestler, attending many of his matches and giving advice after the rounds.
After watching Jacob go on to wrestle at UW, Logan hopes to follow in his footsteps. He is still awaiting acceptance letters, with his eyes set on competing in club wrestling as a Husky. But the goals for the Highline wrestler do not stop there. Although his season was impressive, Logan wants to avenge what he saw as shortcomings in the state tournament.
“I 100% want to place at nationals,” Logan said when talking about wrestling in college. “I had a chance to place at state. I beat guys that placed at state, so I definitely know I have a chance with four more years of experience.”
In the meantime, Logan wants to take time between the high school season and the college season to compete in freestyle wrestling, something he has been unable to do because of track and cross country. During his time in high school competing in the two other sports, Logan performed his way to becoming the captain of both teams. But Logan wants to focus now on his true passion, wrestling.
