ROANOKE, Va. –Adarios Jones' (Moline HS, Moline, Ill.) bid to become Augustana's first national champion in 24 years came up just short Saturday, as the junior suffered a 9-7 sudden-victory setback to Garrett Wesneski of Lycoming in the 285-pound title match at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at Ferrum College. Jones, who finished third in the nation as a freshman in 2017 before missing last year's nationals with an injury, wrapped up the season with a 27-1 record—the fourth-best winning percentage (.964) in school history.
 
In the title match, Jones trailed 4-3 after the first period. He took the lead with a takedown at 1:44 of the second, but Wesneski's escape 19 seconds later tied it at 5-5 and that's how the period ended.
 
Wesneski started the third in the down position and recorded another escape to go up 6-5. With 54 seconds left in regulation, Jones logged his third takedown of the bout to go up 7-6. However, Wesneski's escape at the 35-second mark evened the score and sent the match to overtime.
 
With 50 seconds left in the extra session, Wesneski's second takedown of the match gave him a 9-7 win and the national title.
 
Jones' second-place performance was Augustana's highest national finish since Raphael Wilson claimed the last of his three championships in 1995. It was the highest finish ever for a Viking heavyweight. Jones will enter his senior season as a two-time All-American and with an 83-6 career record, good for a .933 winning percentage which ranks third in school history behind Wilson (175-5-1, .970) and Steve Rusk (83-4-2, .944).
 
Jones reached the title match with a 14-2 major decision over Drew Kasper of Otterbein in the semifinals. He recorded five takedowns, an escape from the down position, was awarded two points on stalling calls against Kasper and added a point for riding time.
 
On Friday, Jones opened with a 20-8 major decision over Olivet's Trevor Piggott to reach the quarters, where he defeated Jake O'Brien of Ithaca by a score of 3-1.
 
The 17 points earned by Jones were good enough to place Augustana in a tie for 20th in the final team standings. Augsburg, behind four individual champions, ran way with the team title, posting 130 points to 66 for second-place Loras.