NIU senior Aaron Owen came to NIU in 2003 with high hopes after winning two state wrestling championships in New Mexico.

Unfortunately, Owen didn’t expect shoulder injuries to wipe away almost three years of his college career.

Owen redshirted the 2004 season, and followed by going 6-6 his freshman year before a shoulder injury cut his season short. The injury required anchors to be placed in the wrestler’s shoulder.

But, he bounced back. Owen completed his entire sophomore season. But something still wasn’t right with his shoulder. He said it bugged him throughout the entire year.

After the MAC tournament, Owen found out the anchors put in his shoulder had been pulled out before the season even started. Once again, he had surgery — forcing him to sit out his entire junior season.

“Sitting out my whole junior season was hard to deal with,” Owen said. “I had really never gotten into the college swing of it because I had always been hurt.”

But this season was going to be different for Owen.

He had one season of eligibility left at NIU. Sure, he hadn’t wrestled for more than a year, but he couldn’t wait for his senior season with NIU’s young team.

Owens wrestled in the Huskies’ first dual meet of the season against Iowa State and produced two victories in his first four matches at the Cyclone Open.

But then it happened.

During his fifth match at the Cyclone Open against Lindenwood’s Mike O’Hara, Owen hurt his shoulder again.

“It was just devastating,” Owen said. “I just didn’t want to believe that my shoulder was hurt again.”

After all the rehab, all the time in the weight room and sitting out his entire junior season, Owen’s NIU career came to a crashing halt.

“I don’t know if I’d be able to keep coming back like my brother did; he just ran out of years,” said Owen’s older brother Scott, who was also an assistant coach at NIU for Aaron’s first two years. “It sucks. I don’t know what else to say.”

On Feb. 1, the NIU wrestling team honored its seniors before the last home meet of the season against Northern Iowa. It was Owen’s last time at the Convocation Center. But instead of being on the mat, Owen watched with his shoulder in a sling.

“It was pretty bad,” Owen said. “Just being there the last time with these guys I had been here with the last five years like Kalen [Knull] and Pat [Castillo]. Watching them wrestle was really hard.”

Owen still attends practices and meets, and he even helps coach. He plans on getting his master’s and has already contacted coaches around the nation about being an assistant wrestling coach wherever he attends graduate school.

“He’s doing what he can,” NIU head coach Dave Grant said. “You have to admire a guy who has that attitude. If he can help the team with one arm, he’s helping the team.”

But Owens looks for positive in the situation.

“The biggest thing that I can take away from this is that I got a good education here at Northern and I made a lot of good friends,” Owen said. “I’m just trying to stay on the bright side of things and, hopefully, if I can’t be with the team on the mat, then just help them out coaching. Anything I can do to help them out.”