In 2004, swimmer Ashley Jones made history for Minooka when she became the first and only swimmer in the history of Minooka to win state.
She accomplished this by placing first at the IHSA state finals in the 200-yard individual medley. On top of her victory at state, Jones also won Women’s Illinois Swimmer of the Year for 2004.
“2004 was a huge turning point in my career,” Jones said, “I went from performing well at the local and state level in 2003 to breaking all kinds of records at both the state and national level in 2004.”
For her career as an athlete, Jones is being inducted into the MCHS Athletic Hall of Fame this year. Jones, Class of 2006, is the most decorated swimmer ever at Minooka and swam for Minooka before they had an official swim team.
“I trained year round with my club team. Before I went to school in the morning, we swam at the Briggs Street YMCA,” Jones said, “After school, we practiced at Lewis University.”
Despite MCHS not having an organized swim organization, Jones swam under Minooka’s name and practiced on her own time. While her most notable accomplishment in her time at MCHS was her state championship, she earned many more awards and honors. She was all-state all four years and medaled all four years at state, finishing her high school career with seven state medals.
Due to her success at Minooka, Jones received the opportunity to compete for Indiana University’s swim team. Her talents carried over with her to the next level and she was able to compete for Team USA as a freshman in college at the Japan International Swim Meet.
“Being able to compete for Team USA was a dream come true. The sport of swimming in Japan is well known to the general population so the crowds were huge,” Jones said
However, Jones’ time at Indiana did not come with its struggles.
“The hardest thing to overcome was injury. I had to have a couple of knee surgeries over my career, the worst being in late 2007, which was only 6 months out of the 2008 Olympic Trials.”
Jones was able to successfully bounce back from these injuries and find continued success in her career. She was able to compete in the 2008 Olympic Trials and finished her final two seasons at Indiana. During these two years, she was able to place at several Big Ten championships and set multiple school records. Jones earned all-American honors as well with a 7th-place finish in the 400-meter individual medley.
Jones speaks very fondly of her time as her swimmer and allows her experiences to help impact and guide her life today.
“The discipline and hard work from those years translated into regular life,” Jones said “I spent almost a decade as a swim coach at the high school and club level passing along my knowledge of the sport. Also, staring at the bottom of the pool for two decades means I don’t bore easily.”
Jones will be recognized before the varsity Homecoming football game on Oct. 3. Other Hall of Fame inductees who will be recognized then include Dustin Williams (athlete), Tim Stevens (athlete), Nina Simotes Scott (athlete), Ray Liberatore (coach), Bob Tyrell (special merit), and the 2013 softball team.
