Tommy Owen begins his second season as an assistant coach for the SIUE wrestling program.
His first season was cause for celebration for SIUE. Both Connor McMahon and Jake Tindle won their respective weight classes at the Southern Conference Championship and earned automatic berths to the NCAA Division I Championship in St. Louis. The 2014-15 season also saw SIUE’s first All-Conference wrestler in junior Jake Residori.
Owen, who joined SIUE wrestling after three seasons as an assistant coach at George Mason, was the recruiting coordinator for the Patriots. He also assisted the head coach with practice plans, fundraising, and academic success.
In his first season with George Mason, the Patriots finished the season without a dual meet victory. Last season, George Mason collected six dual victories.
Originally from Spokane, Washington, Owen has been active at various levels of competition.
He was the co-head coach for the Patriot Elite Wrestling Club from 2011 to 2014 and a USA Wrestling national team volunteer coach in 2013 and 2014. Owen served as the head freestyle coach for Virginia USA Wrestling in 2013 and 2014. Owen was selected as one of the coaches for the USA University World team at the University World Greco-Roman Championships in Pécs, Hungary from July 7-12, 2014.
During the 2010-2011 season, he was the head wrestling coach at Central Valley (Wash.) High School. He was a state Coach of the Year finalist and the Region 4 Coach of the Year after leading his team to fourth place at the 4A state championships.
Owen served as an assistant coach at Boise State University in the 2007-08 season where he helped the Broncos to a PAC 10 championship. He became an assistant coach after wrestling for two seasons with Boise State. He transferred to the Boise State program following three years of wrestling at the University of Minnesota where he was a two-time NCAA Qualifier (2004, 2005) in the 141-pound weight class.
In 2002, Owen qualified for the Junior Pan American Championships in Bogota, Colombia, where he finished second in the Greco-Roman competition and third in the freestyle. He also won the 2002 Fila Junior Freestyle Championship.
A three-time Washington state champion at University High School, Owen was the runner-up in his other season while competing for his high school coach and uncle Don Owen. He was also a high school national champion in 2001, a Cadet National Champion and a 2000 Junior World Team member.
Owen graduated from Boise State in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in history.
