COLLEGIATE CHECK-IN
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Gage Broomall.
Life is about the journey, not the destination, and a journey is exactly what former Chaparral long-distance runner Gage Owen’s running career has taken him on.
The 2024 Aubrey alum recently completed his final semester at Odessa College, and with new goals ahead, he sat down to reflect on exactly where his journey has taken him.
“In the seventh grade I decided I wanted to run cross country, and the first year I was probably the eighth or ninth best guy on the team but going into eighth grade I started getting better,” he said. “… I didn’t run track in seventh grade, but in eighth grade I picked it up, and I ran two meets and went under six [minutes] in the mile, and I said, ‘Maybe I can actually run well.’” And “run well” he did. Owen spent his first couple of seasons on the junior varsity team but started working with Brock Simmons of Simmons Training Method Running midway through his high school career and really saw his performance take off.
“I ran a 4:52, which was an eight-second personal record in a workout with him, and it was mind-blowing,” he said. “… That was the moment when I realized this is serious and that I can actually do this.”
He made the leap to varsity competition his junior season and continued to improve and finished his time with the Chaparrals’ cross country and track and field teams as a two-time regional qualifier in track and a one-time cross country state qualifier.
He also has the second fastest time in the 3200-meter run, 9:59.18, and the third fastest time in the 1600-meter run, 4:38.38, in Aubrey ISD history.
His achievements eventually led to him joining the Odessa College track and field team in 2024, where he got firsthand experience training and competing with collegiate-level athletes.
“These aren’t kids anymore was the biggest thing,” Owen said. “Older people get recruited too, so I’m teammates with this guy who is like 27 years old, and he’s a world-class runner, and I was like, ‘Holy crap.’ … You get humbled really quick, and I realized there are levels to this. There were so many guys that were so much faster than what I realized, so I had to step up.”
In order to keep pace with the new teammates and competition, Owen said he increased his regimen from a few times a week to training every day, eventually finding himself running 100 miles a week during his summer training sessions.
Owen’s hard work culminated in helping the Wranglers earn multiple Top 10 finishes during his two-year tenure with the team, including a 10th place finish at the 2025 National Junior College Athletic Association’s Cross Country Championship.
Despite the accolades, Owen said it was the relationships that had the biggest impact on him, including losing his teammate and friend Gage Broomall during a team workout in September of 2025.
“He was doing a cool down and just fell over and didn’t respond,” he said. “He was one of my best friends, and to see him go like that really hurt. It was one of those things that happen and you don’t expect it, … but it was something that changed how I looked at everything.”
After that event, Owen said he poured everything he had into his final season at Odessa College but realized he was ready to move on to a new stage in his journey.
“I had opportunities to go run at the Division II level or NAIA, but I felt like my heart just wasn’t in it after working so hard, and that’s when I realized that I feel my best whenever I’m able to do my own thing, so I decided that I’m going to just be a student,” he said. “… I just want to enjoy going to a big school and enjoy the college experience.”
After finishing his time at Odessa College, Owen enrolled at Texas A&M University, where he plans continue running on his own and to study agricultural business and economics.
As he enters this new phase of his life, he made sure to thank one of his biggest supporters throughout his running career—his mother, Michelle Watkins.
“In high school, she went to every single one of my meets no matter how far away it was,” he said. “She’s always been there and is someone that has always inspired me. She was even a much better runner than I was in high school, so she’s who I want to thank more than anyone.”
In his closing remarks, he offered words of advice to young runners in the Ranch Cities Area.
“Just because you suck now doesn’t mean you have to suck later,” Owen said. “I barely broke five minutes [in the mile] my sophomore year, and there are kids who do that when they’re 12 years old. … I may not have been the fastest guy until my senior year on the team, but I was still part of the culture, and I’m glad my teammates and I were able to lead Aubrey into a better direction with running.”
