Bowlen earns berth in national wrestling championship
Submitted photo
Seton Hill University freshman Billy Bowlen (back) wrestles a bout during the 2016-17 season. Bowlen, a Carmichaels grad who wrestled for Jefferson-Morgan, has qualified for the 2017 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. (Photo courtesy of Dave Miller.)
Seton Hill University freshman Billy Bowlen (top) wrestles a bout during the 2016-17 season. Bowlen, a Carmichaels grad who wrestled for Jefferson-Morgan, has qualified for the 2017 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships.
Billy Bowlen
The transition from one of the best Class AA wrestlers in the state to a starting Division II wrestler was not an easy one for Billy Bowlen, but the Seton Hill freshman was able to do so at the right time to earn a berth into the NCAA Division II National Championships.
The national championship will be held Friday and Saturday at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama, as part of the 2017 Division II National Championships Festival.
“It was a huge transition. I was in the top echelon of guys. I had easy matches,” said Bowlen, a Carmichaels graduate who wrestled for Jefferson-Morgan. “In college, everyone is good.
“It was rough on me. I was the top guy in the state. It was hard to get those bumps and losses. You have to prove yourself all over again.”
Bowlen credited coach Brian Tucker for getting him through the transition.
“I had to have trust in the process and the plan coach lays out,” explained Bowlen, who won three consecutive WPIAL titles.
Bowlen got off to a 5-1 start in his first season, but the wins were hard to come by as he moved through the season, especially through December.
“I had rough patches in the middle of the season. There was a point in time when I lost 5-of-6 matches,” said Bowlen. “I didn’t place in the PSAC tournament. That was my rough patch.
“I was 1-2 in the Indianapolis tournament (Midwest Classic) and 0-2 in the PSACs.”
But, Bowlen, a biology major who made the Dean’s list last semester, said he stayed the course set by the coaches and things turned around.
“We have meetings on Wednesday. Wrestling is such a grind. We talk things through. Practice and it would pay off,” said Bowlen, son of Toni and Bill Bowlen, of Carmichaels. “I started to feel myself elevate my level of wrestling a couple weeks before the tournament.”
Part of the growth in his first intercollegiate season was improving technique.
“My hand fighting and my strength,” two areas where Bowlen said he’s improved. “It’s such a difference I had to develop this year.”
A college wrestling match is seven minutes long (3-2-2), plus has the added feature of riding time where a wrestler can add a point for a certain control time.
“Riding time is a big deal. One minute of riding time is one point,” said Bowlen. “I don’t necessarily get a lot of riding time. I win my matches on my feet.”
Bowlen fought his way back through the consolation rounds at 184 pounds in the NCAA Division II Super Regional at Mercyhurst College in the final weekend of February to finish third and earn an automatic bid into the national championship.
He opened the Super Regional with a 14-5 major decision against Millersville’s Evan Morrill, but fell into the consolation bracket with a 14-4 major decision loss to Notre Dame College of Ohio’s Garrett Lineberger, the regional champion.
Bowlen then won three consecutive matches to earn his berth into the national championship.
He won a 5-4 decision over Alderson Broaddus’ Cody Spinks, pinned Mercyhurst’s Mike Green in 3:37 and won the third-place consolation final with a 12-5 major decision over Pitt-Johnstown’s Levi Niebauer.
The wins not only allowed Bowlen to earn a berth into nationals, but he also managed to avenge earlier losses to the trio.
“I lost to Spinks 5-4. Green beat me by major decision. Niebauer beat me twice,” said Bowlen.
Although the regional was guaranteed four spots at 184 pounds, the loser of the consolation final was not assured of the fourth berth. The tournament wrestled to “true fourth place,” meaning if Bowlen lost he would’ve had to wrestle one more time for fourth place.
Bowlen said he’s nervous, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
“Definitely, I’m nervous. This is the biggest thing our level offers. Being in the top 16 is huge,” said Bowlen. “I win two matches and I’m in the top eight, All-American.
“To be honest, nerves is a good thing to have. If I’m not nervous, why do it?”