Girls wrestling: Black River's Taylor Owen soaks in Ironman experience

CUYAHOGA FALLS — Her first trip to the Women of Ironman didn't go how Black River sophomore Taylor Owen planned at all. Seeded third at 155 pounds, Owen lost two matches Saturday to get eliminated before the final competition Sunday. Owen needed just one win to earn a spot on the podium. The defeats came with learning experiences for the reigning fifth-place finisher at 145 pounds at the state tournament. "Mainly, I need to wrestle my own match," Owen said. "For some reason in my brain, I usually match other people's wrestling and I need to start doing my own stuff. I need to take more action and take more shots." Owen got a first-round bye in the 14-competitor 155 field but lost a closely contested 10-7 decision to sixth-seeded Lori Grimes of Marysville in the quarterfinals. The two entered the final period tied 4-4 and Owen struck first with a takedown for a 7-4 lead. Grimes answered with a reversal and four nearfall points in the final 1:07. The second loss was even more of a heartbreaker, as Owen took a commanding 7-0 lead against fourth-seeded Cailyn Demagall of Columbia with a takedown and four nearfall points. In the second period, Owen looked poised to add to her lead before Demagall twisted the move and got a pin with 50 seconds left. "I'm used to wrestling boys in our practice room, and girls are way more flexible than boys," she said. "That's just kind of how that happened." Owen is determined to let the disappointment of her season debut fuel her as she works to finish the season with a better state finish in March. "This is definitely a tournament that I'm going to look back on throughout the year," Owen said. "I'm going to make it want to push me, because I know I don't want to lose ever again. "Stay focused on the match. If I lose, it's time to focus on the next match and not keep going back to it." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.