When junior Scott Owen steps onto the wrestling mat, he has just one thing on his mind: winning.

He stares down his opponent knowing he will win, knowing he has out-worked and out-sweated his opponent in numerous practices leading up to the match. With coach Dave Grant yelling instructions and crowds screaming, the referee blows the whistle and the match begins.

The outcome isn’t always a victory in the record books, although the four-time New Mexico state champion has posted his share of career triumphs.

“Owen is not a pure athlete, but he has something about him that drives him to be the best on the mat,” Grant said.

Owen, named Mid-American Conference Wrestler of the Week, says his work ethic brings him success on the mat.

In practice, he’s the first there and the last to leave. He’s in front of the pack in runs and in the weight room every chance he gets.

“He is not the fastest guy on the team, but he has a stamina and heart that you don’t see too often,” Grant said.

Owen learned early that collegiate wrestling would be difficult. Upon arriving at NIU, he found he was in the same weight class as senior Ryan Egan, a 20-win wrestler this season.

“We have given each other some great competition in practice,” Owen said. “Due to injuries my freshman year, we didn’t get to wrestle at the same weight too long, though.”

While Egan stayed at 141, Owen moved up to the 157-pound weight class. He’s currently 24-4 overall and 5-0 in Mid-American Conference matches — success that has pushed him into leadership on the team, even though he is not a vocal standout. The Huskies’ wrestling roster includes 15 freshmen.

“I have gotten better since the beginning of the season — if I see something, I will approach them and give them some hints or advice,” Owen said.

He believes more in leading by example, and thinks that if he works hard, some of it will rub off on wrestlers around him.

“Sometimes I have to keep an eye on him, because he can overwork himself,” Grant said. “Last year, he had an injury that he kept from me for a couple weeks.”

Although injuries have slowed his collegiate career, Owen sill has managed to nab several awards, including Co-Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year in 1999. This year, there’s a petition in front of the NCAA board to regain last year’s eligibility. Owen had to sit out most of his sophomore season with a shoulder injury.

“So far it is looking good, but you can never really tell what the board will decide,” Owen said.

His acolades are not confined to the mat. The pre-med major has earned several academic awards, including NIU Academic Excellence Victory Scholar awards in 1999 and 2000 and an Academic All-American honorable mention in 1999.

Balancing wrestling and academics has been easy for Owen. Grant often jokes with him about his crazy nightlife.

“I think that my social life tends to be suffer, but that is the price I have to pay in order to excel — academics and wrestling come first,” Owen said.

Despite many successes, he still believes he has not accomplished anything yet.

“All of those awards are nice, but I came to NIU to win the All-American Championship,” Owen said.