Thursday, April 19, 2001

U-Hi's Tommy Owen National High School wrestling champion
Mike Vlahovich - Staff writer

The National High School Seniors Wrestling Championships provided Tommy Owen the toughest competition he'd faced, discounting the World Championships last summer in France.
What made last week's event in Newark, Del., unique is that it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the participants.
Owen won the 130-pound championship to become Spokane's first titlist at the prestigious National High School Wrestling Coaches Association showcase.
"You only go as a senior and everyone is a state champion or runner-up," said the University High senior. "When you go to a freestyle tournament any kids get to go. In this one, everyone is tough."
He was joined by Sandpoint 189-pound winner Jake Rosholt, top-ranked nationally in his weight class. Rosholt is believed to be Idaho's first Seniors tourney champion.
For Owen, the victory was the culmination of a prep career that included four successive Washington state Class 4A finals appearances and three state titles. By winning six matches in Delaware, he finished with a 153-8 career record.
The championship, he said, exceeded even his expectations.
"I wanted to be in the top five at first," he said. "I wanted to win, but didn't expect to because of how tough the tournament was."
Owen, ranked fifth nationally at 135 pounds, competed in a lower weight because many of the other wrestlers did so. He said the parlay of a good draw coupled with the cradle move his opponents weren't prepared to defend contributed to his success.
"Everyone wrestles a different style," he said. "That's how I won a couple matches."
Owen beat Kansan Joseph Monegro 15-3, Arizona's Nicky Borneman 13-2 and pinned Kentuckian Neal Crawford in 28 seconds.
In the quarterfinals he beat eventual seventh-placer Joshua Wooton, from Ohio, 11-4. A late takedown in his toughest match gave him a 3-1 win over North Dakota fourth-placer Mathias Bitz in the semis. He pinned New Jersey's Edward Gutnik in 1:06 for the crown.
His father, John, former coach at North Idaho College, and uncle, Don, who coached him at U-Hi, coached both Owen and Rosholt at the seniors tournament.
Owen is now back playing baseball in his third varsity season at University.
He will compete in the wrestling World Team trials and Junior Nationals this summer before heading to the University of Minnesota, where he will likely redshirt as a freshman.
The national prep championship, he admitted, is a career highlight.
"This was awesome," said Owen. "Things ended up working out for me."

Monday, April 9, 2001

Owen, Rosholt bring home national prep wrestling titles

NEWARK, Del. _ Tommy Owen of Spokane's University High School and Jake Rosholt of Sandpoint, Idaho, claimed championships Sunday as the National High School Seniors Wrestling Championships concluded at the University of Delaware.
Owen, a three-time Washington state champion, pinned Edward Gutnik, the New Jersey titlist, after 1 minute, 6 seconds of his title match at 130 pounds. He became the second national champion from his state.
Earlier in the day, Owen had advanced by defeating Mathias Bitz of North Dakota 3-1 in the semifinals. The match was tied 1-1 when Owen scored a takedown with 4 seconds remaining.
Rosholt, who has won three state championships in Idaho, shook off a possible broken thumb to defeat Phillip Hard of Pennsylvania 7-1 for the 189-pound title.
Rosholt suffered his injury in the semifinals while defeating Chris Skretkowicz of New Jersey 8-4 in overtime.
Washington finished eighth in state scoring.
Dan Pitsch from Spanaway Lake High School placed fifth, and Casey Walsh from Lincoln High School in Tacoma placed seventh.
The tournament involved 750 contestants from 48 states. Entrants were required to be state champions or runners-up.