On May 27, 1911, Jones ran in the IC4A championships at the Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium in Allston, Massachusetts in front of 12,000 spectators. Entered in the mile, Boyle of Penn State led at the quarter in 59 followed by his teammate Wilton Paull. Jones hung back in fifth place. Hanavan of Michigan State led at the half-mile mark with a 2:08, with Paull in second and Jones in third. Paull grabbed the lead at 1,000 yards, but Hanavan regained it for a lap. Then, Jones lengthened his stride and passed Paull and Hanavan, winning by 10 yards. His time: 4:15, a new amateur world record, finally surpassing Thomas Conneff's 4:15 set 16 years earlier. However the time was inferior to the professional record of 4:12 set by Walter George in 1886.