Ronnie Owens is a 17 year old senior at Kearsley High School. Owens is respectful, charismatic, and carries himself quietly, but in a strong manner. He is not a big talker unless he is passionate about what he is saying. He has been attending KHS for four and a half years and joined in the second semester of 8th grade. His previous district was Carman-Ainsworth where he grew up in Flint, Michigan.
One of Owens’ biggest passions is wrestling. He has been wrestling since he was nine years old. Reporters asked Owens why he chose to wrestle, and he went on to claim, “I went to youth wrestling practices in 4th grade, and enjoyed it, so I fully started in 5th.” So far this year, Owens’ record is 20 wins to 6 losses. Every year he never disappoints, with a final record of many more wins than losses.
One of Owens’ favorite wrestlers is Oklahoma college wrestler, Daton Fix. Fix is a redshirted senior from Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and went to Charles Page High School. Owens was astonished by Fix’s determination. “He was really good, but never won a national championship, but kept qualifying for them and pushed through,” he described. Wrestling can be very defeating after working so hard. Seeing a college wrestler continue to strive despite the losses is inspiring.
Owens has placed in his weight class during his individual meets, and gone undefeated during team meets many times over the last nine years. Owens says his favorite thing about wrestling is, “besides being able to finally eat a good meal after weighing in, this sport has taught me good work ethic and discipline.” Cutting a lot of weight is a sensitive topic in wrestling because of the dangers and unethical practices it bears, but it is real, and it happens. Although wrestlers should not cut weight in an unhealthy manner, almost everyone on the team drops five to ten pounds each season, too quickly. After weighing in at each high school, wrestlers can then eat whatever food they want to feel full before their match. Owens enjoys this part, but also has taken a lot from the intensity and mental strength wrestling requires.
Owens faced an extremely tough 2019-2021 with the move from his childhood home and school district. Owens had attended Carman-Ainsworth and lived on the east side of Flint his entire life. He had his childhood friend group and lived with his father, brother, and grandma. Owens’ dad tragically tore his Achilles tendon during iron working and was off of work for a full year. The loss of money caused them to lose their house and have to move. His grandma moved out prior to the three of them moving to the Kearsley School District. Owens had to leave everything behind. “When I found out, I didn’t really understand at first, I couldn’t believe it. The worst part was having to give my dog Bobo away because the new landlord accepted all dogs, but pit bulls,” he explained. This was really hard for him and still affects him now. Bobo passed in 2021 shortly after Owens got to reunite with her again. She holds a very special place in his heart. Owens shortly became depressed after the move from having to leave everything that was familiar to him. Kearsley was much different than Carman. “I stopped talking to most of my friends from Carman, but I still feel like I could always talk to them if I needed to,” he expressed.
Despite this hardship and extreme shift in his life, Owens has held up well. His senior year will soon come to an end. From the reporter’s viewpoint, it is clear he is a great friend, brother, and son. He has a lot of empathy for those around him, he is very aware of his surroundings, and is an excellent listener. Wrestling and the big move were just a few major topics about Owens, and no one’s full story can be fit into 700 words. You can learn a lot from someone just by asking a key question and letting it unfold. As Owens says, “experiencing new people isn’t always a bad thing.”
