Owen Never Comes Up Short Love Of Competition Drives Lake City Player To Become One Of Area’s Best

For as long as North Idaho College wrestling coach John Owen can remember, his daughter, Jenny, has been competitive.

A story from Jenny’s formative years makes dad, whose veins are chock-full of competitive juices, laugh.

As he recalls, Jenny was 11 years old when she participated in a Hershey track meet in Lewiston.

A girl Owen was going to run against in the 400 meters told her before the race that she had a better time and was going to beat her.

In tears, Jenny told her father what the girl had said. It was all dad could do to keep from laughing, as he saw what a mismatch the race would be. It was his tiny-but-quick daughter against a big-for-her age girl (“She was about 5-foot tall and 160 pounds,” dad said, laughing).

John Owen told his daughter to stop crying and go run. And run she did as she zipped from the blocks and won going away.

At 5-3, Jenny Owen isn’t much taller today. But the Lake City High School senior stands tall among the top volleyball players in the region - even though the majority of the those players are 6 to 11 inches taller than her.

Up to the eighth grade, though, John and Jan Owen thought their daughter would spend weekends through her high school years bouncing around to gymnastics meets.

A one-month introduction to volleyball her final year in middle school convinced Owen it was time for a change.

“I was burned out (on gymnastics); I needed something new,” she said.

Technically, Owen didn’t start playing the sport seriously until her freshman year. Though volleyball eventually would become her passion she was developmentally three to four years behind her peers.

She quickly made up for her lack of experience, earning a starting spot on the varsity her sophomore season.

“I live to compete, I’m driven for competition,” she said. “In whatever I do I try to be the best that I can be and try to overcome obstacles. It’s something that’s been passed down to me by my parents, that I shouldn’t be satisfied doing something unless I give 100 percent. I don’t think it’s anything that I was told by my parents as much as it’s something I learned by observation.”

St. Maries coach Mitch Santos admires Owen’s athletic ability. But he equally admires her character.

“She’s a good athlete, but one of the main reasons Jenny is who she is is because of the way she’s been raised,” Santos said. “She has a wonderful family and a lot of what she is is the result of her family.”

She laughs easily when talking about THE obvious physical characteristic she inherited from her parents - short stature. “Yeah, I wish I was at least three inches taller,” she says, smiling.

But Owen is quick to say that being short is the least of the obstacles that she’s had to overcome in volleyball.

“I think the biggest challenge for me has been the game; there’s so much you have to comprehend about it,” she said. “For me volleyball has been more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge. Unless you play it mentally you can’t play it physically.”

Owen leads LC in nearly every statistical category, from kills to serving percentage to digs to hitting efficiency (.350, outstanding at the high school level).

“In my opinion she’s the top all-around player in North Idaho,” said LC coach Kent Scanlon. “No one plays the back row like she does. And she holds her own with anyone in the front row.”

Scanlon, who has coached seven athletes that have gone on to earn NCAA All-American honors or the equivalent thereof, heaped more praise on Owen.

“Athletically, she’s as good as I’ve ever had, and she changes direction on the court quicker than anyone I’ve had,” he said. “Defensively and athletically she covers the court as well as anyone I’ve had.”

Said Santos: “Her competitive attitude and overall abilities are very impressive.”

Owen’s heart and determination are immeasurable. Quipped a LC football coach: “If we had 11 Jenny Owens we wouldn’t be winless.”

Sandpoint coach Jeff Hurst, whose team is heavily favored to repeat as State A-1 champion, said Owen is the player who garners the most respect from the Bulldogs.

“She’s just a little power pack, a ‘thundermeister’,” Hurst said. “She’s a very skilled player, very athletic and a powerful jumper for her size.”

When Owen cranks on a spike, the ball makes a speedy descent. But she doesn’t derive her most satisfaction from kills.

“Making a diving save is really rewarding,” she said. “I really like the back row because if you don’t dig the ball there’s no way you’ll get a set or a kill.”

Though Owen can play with the best area players all around the court, Scanlon believes Owen’s best route to NCAA Division I may be via the back seat.

“She’s definitely a Division I back-row player,” he said.

But that’s all in the back of her mind as the Timberwolves tune up for the state-qualifying regional tournament. LC will host the state tournament in two weeks, and Owen hopes she’s playing and not calling lines.

“It’d be disappointing not to go to state,” she said. “I’d like to end my high school career with a bang and make all the hard work play off. To me the game is like my life.”

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