UNI wrestling recruit on national talk show

Adarios Jones has received attention for his work on the wrestling mat. Now, he earned recognition for his actions off it.

Jones, a Class 3A heavyweight state champion for Moline (Ill.) High School, will appear on the 'Steve Harvey” show, which airs Wednesday at 3 p.m. on KGAN in Eastern Iowa.

Jones was honored for his effort, confronting a bully who was harassing a teammate. He was joined on the segment with freshman teammate, Ray Spindel, and his mother, Michelle Spindel.

Jones plans to wrestle next year at UNI and has been invited to wrestle overseas in Australia by USA Wrestling.

Read the UNI SID news release:

MOLINE HIGH SCHOOL'S STATE CHAMP WRESTLER ADARIOS JONES FEATURED ON 'STEVE HARVEY” MAY 14!

HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR TO BE HONORED FOR GOOD DEEDS OFF THE MAT

ALL-STAR WRESTLER TO ATTEND THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA NEXT YEAR

Moline High School's state champ wrestler - and future UNI athlete - Adarios Jones will be featured on 'Steve Harvey” in the episode airing WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, in Harvey's 'Good News” segment.

Locally, 'Steve Harvey” can be seen on CBS 2 Iowa (KGAN-TV), weekdays at 3 p.m.

Well-known for his skills on the wrestling mat, Adarios is being recognized by Steve Harvey for his good deeds off the mat. Adarios will be joined by his wrestling teammate Ray Spindel and Ray's mother Michelle. Ray, who is a freshman at Moline, was the victim of bullying at school and when Adarios learned of the situation, he immediately stepped in, confronting the bully on Ray's behalf.

When Harvey asks Adarios why he decided to intervene, he replies, 'It kind of brought me back to the days when I was young. You know, I was heavyset, homeless and poor and people always ridiculed me for that. I couldn't stand it. My heart just dropped when I heard it.”

Adarios took Ray and the bully into the team locker room and had a 20-minute conversation - with just the three of them - about why the bullying needed to stop.

Recalling the confrontation, Adarios says he told the younger students, 'This has to end. You guys are freshman. You can't be bullying someone to the point where he's hiding from you. We're teammates and all - and that's fine and dandy - but you're on my team and we're going to be brothers and that's how we have to act.”

This past February, Adarios won the class 3A state wrestling title in the 285-pound weight class. After he graduates from Moline High School, the nationally ranked wrestler will attend the University of Northern Iowa to be part of their wrestling team. He also has been contacted by Team USA to wrestle overseas in Australia.

To recognize Adarios' good deeds and help him prepare for his wrestling career after high school, he will be surprised with $3,000 from 'Steve Harvey” and RetailMeNot.com on Wednesday's episode of 'Steve Harvey” (5/14).

l Comments: (319) 368-8679; kj.pilcher@sourcemedia.net