High school wrestling: Blake Owen becomes Black River coach after Dom McEwen's sudden resignation

SULLIVAN TWP. — If this year has taught high school administrators anything, it's the ability to adapt on the fly. That's what Black River athletic director Ted Gordon had to do this week when wrestling coach Dom McEwen resigned because of scheduling conflicts. Assistant Blake Owen will take his place during the interim and the Pirates will reassess at the end of the season. "Obviously, Dom has to feed himself and pay bills and wrestling just didn't work into it," Gordon said. "It definitely presented some difficulties, but Dom surrounded himself with good people. We'll just do some shuffling around." After meeting with McEwen on Wednesday, Gordon made the decision to move Owen, 42, from assistant to head coach. That will allow the program some stability and allow the team to continue without radical changes. "It's very positive for the kids because he's familiar to them," Gordon said. "It's somebody brand new that may have a different philosophy. He will stay with most of Dom's philosophies. "Everyone has their own philosophies, but Blake's been around Black River. He's been around the kids. He knows them being one himself. We're going to work together, get through it and push ahead." A three-year assistant at Black River, Owen knows exactly what the Pirates are all about. He is a 1996 Black River graduate and was a state alternate under Medina County Sports Hall of Fame coach Dave Khoury. A building trades manager for the Cleveland Metroparks, Owen knows the importance of having a conversant coach in the room, especially with the season already underway. "That's important for a program like Black River," Owen said. "Black River is hard-nosed in wrestling and community based. It's important to have somebody what Black River is all about. "Familiarity is probably the biggest piece. We have some serious talent in five weight classes. These kids look for some stability and I'm glad that we're able to provide them that and have a face that they recognize and can trust. I think that's huge." Not much will change under Owen in terms of beliefs or styles of wrestling. He inherits a team led by All-Gazette honorable mention Hunter Yeaples (145). The Pirates have returning district qualifiers back in Yeaples, Brandon Rollin (152), Charlie Wells (182) and Travis Owen (285). Wells and Travis Owen missed state by two matches last season. If there is a silver lining in all of this, it's that the Lorain County League is on pause until Dec. 15 and Black River's first match isn't until Jan. 7 when the Pirates welcome in Keystone, Oberlin and Wellington for a quadrangular. That will allow Blake Owen nearly a month to prepare his athletes for a season that has been anything, but normal. "I'm not going to change a lot," Blake Owen said. "Dom and I have been with them almost every day since he started. I've sat in the corner with them. It is good to have that little bit of time to gel together to let them know what I'm going to expect. It's going to be pretty much the same thing, but it will be nice to have that cushion in there to get everything in order, I'm not going to lie." Contact Brad Bournival at bournival929@gmail.com.