All the hard work that NIU wrestler Scott Owen has done in his life finally has caught up to him.

While training hard this past offseason, the 5-foot-9 Owen has gotten sore hips from his strenuous workouts.

“In my mindset, that’s getting me better,” Owen said. “I’m doing what I need to be doing, but I went over my limit again. It has gotten to the point that when it starts hurting, I have to back off.”

Owen’s training gets so extreme that his coaches need to sit him down and tell him to take time off. It has gotten so bad that his coaches had to steal his shoes to keep him off the wrestling mat.

NIU went to the Michigan State Open without Owen on Nov. 9. Coach Dave Grant felt Owen had nothing to prove, as the All-American already had defeated anyone he would wrestle at the open.

Instead, he is being saved for the University of Minnesota’s Luke Becker, the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the 157-pound weight class. The No. 3-ranked Owen lost to Becker in 2001 with a 9-5 decision.

“Becker is the returning national champ,” assistant coach Jason Hayes said. “That is going to be Scott’s first match of the year. Scott can be ranked No. 1 all year if he wins that match. He won’t see him again until the NCAA Championships.”

All of Owen’s hard work has paid off for him as he reached All-American status last year, a goal he set for himself when he got to the college level. The success he has seen has made some of the younger guys work that much harder.

“As his roommate, he’s always looking to work out with somebody,” 174-pound Bryce Hasseman said. “Last year, I actually credit myself for part of him being an All-American because I was his main workout partner. Since I have been working out with him, I learn something new pretty much every day.”

Owen is so serious about his training that he ran six miles a day while on his recruiting trip at NIU.

“When he came in his first couple of years, he was way different from anyone else,” Grant said. “Some people thought that he was a maniac because he worked out so much. When Scott first got here, he was the only guy like that. Now we have a bunch of guys like that.”

After thinking that his collegiate wrestling career might be over at the end of last year, Owen received great news as the NCAA granted him one more year of eligibility.

Already having one goal accomplished, Owen now has another opportunity to scale another of his aspirations.

“Last year I reached one of my goals to be an All-American, now I want to be a national champ,” Owen said. “I already reached one of my goals so the only thing left now is to be a national champ. It might happen, it might not. I feel I have the capabilities to be able to do it.

“I am in a situation where I might not have even had this year. Pretty much I am just going to go out there and have some fun, wrestle hard and hopefully at the end I will reach my goal.”