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Adrian Jiron grew up along the Arkansas River and was a standout wrestler at the high school level. Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Jiron went to high school in Salida, Colorado. The Salida High School Spartan competed in wrestling, track and field and power lifting. Jiron qualified for the Colorado State Championships all four years at Salida HS. As a junior Jiron was runner-up at the state wrestling championships, but as a senior won the Colorado State Wrestling Championship title in 1999.
Jiron also earned accolades in track and field, finishing runner-up in the long jump at the Colorado State Championships. He also became a Junior Power Lifting World Champion while in high school and was named the Salida High School Male Athlete of the Year in 1999.
"I remember watching Adrian Jiron win his high school State title his senior year and I was determined that he had to be a Mountaineer," Van Hee said. "Thankfully, he signed with us and came in and made an immediate impact."
Arriving on campus in 1999, Jiron helped set the tone for Western wrestling, even as a true freshman. Wrestling at 141 pounds, Jiron qualified for the Division II National Championships. A year later, Jiron qualified again as a sophomore after winning an RMAC and NCAA Regional title.
During his junior season, Jiron started putting everything together, again winning an RMAC and Regional title. At the NCAA Division II Championships, Jiron found himself in the finals at 149 pounds. Although he was unable to come away with a national championship, Jiron earned All-America honors for the first time in his career after finishing runner-up in 2002.
Looking to improve the following year, Jiron's season was cut short due to an early season injury and received a medical redshirt. His quest for a national title would have to wait one more year.
"Adrian's style of wrestling was second to none. He broke many fundamental rules of wrestling to the point where I quit trying to correct them and began to incorporate Adrian's "Funk" into his unique style of wrestling which led to much success," Van Hee remarked.
Although he was unable to win his third career RMAC and NCAA Regional Championship during his senior season in 2004, Jiron earned an NCAA Division II National title at 149 pounds. It was also the second All-America honor of his career. Jiron ended his career with an overall record of 90 wins and 35 losses.
"Adrian was a crowd favorite," Van Hee said. "The student body absolutely loved Adrian's style of wrestling and would blow the roof off the rafters as Adrian would usually end the match winning by pin!"
Jiron is currently teaching the fourth grade in Longmont, Colorado and is still around wrestling today as an assistant coach at Longmont High School. Like his teammate Haberman, has two daughters Malia and Halle.
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