Hall of Fame
Chrys Jones, Class of 2011. If championships are the standard by which an athlete’s success is judged, then Chrys Jones is the most decorated student-athlete in the history of Centre College on this day.
Chrys competed for Centre men’s track & field from 2008 to 2011 after excelling in high school at Mercer County, home of his college coach, Lisa Owens. As a sophomore in 2009, Chrys won the NCAA outdoor triple jump to become Centre’s first national champion in 29 years. This NCAA title was named, in 2009, by the SCAC as its top track & field moment in conference history. The 2009 triple jump championship was just the start for Chrys, who would go on to repeat the feat in 2010 and then win the NCAA indoor triple jump in both 2010 and 2011, creating the need for an ever-growing trophy case. After winning his fourth national title in 2011, Chrys was featured in the “Faces in the Crowd” page in Sports Illustrated. Chrys was a six-time All-American – five times in the triple jump and once in the long jump.
Chrys still holds five Centre men’s track & field records – outdoor long jump (23-2.5), outdoor triple jump (50-8.25), indoor high jump (6-4.75), indoor long jump (23-8.75) and indoor triple jump (50-6). If these records ever get broken, we will surely be inducting whoever breaks them into the Hall of Fame alongside Chrys Jones years from now.
After graduation, Chrys earned a Master’s degree in Teaching from Liberty University. He became an ordained minister in 2017 and is currently interning for preparation for church planting. He also serves as a health coach for Wild Health in Lexington.
