Jared “Bubba” Owens, 17, has had a memorable year as a high school wrestler. The 265-pounder from Tillamook won the heavyweight Triple Crown titles nn collegiate, freestyle and Greco Roman.

But in two weeks, Owens will go after another life goal of becoming a champion at the Junior National Wrestling Tournament in Fargo, N.D. He takes an unblemished collegiate-style mark of 37-0 to the Midwest, but knows becoming an All-American grappler will not come easy.

That’s why Owens, who will be a senior at Tillamook High, and 49 other members of the Oregon Cadet and Junior National teams are training this week in Sweet Home at the Santiam Wrestling Camp. They’re on the home mats of the state’s 2007 4A champion Huskies.

“It’s my third year here,” Owens said. “It’s just like the national camp, so it gets us ready for next week (at Oregon State). You don’t have to train by yourself, there are many good wrestlers to work out with.”

Owens said he likes the intensity of the camp, which includes two training sessions daily along with afternoon games that combine fun activities with training and team building.

“We also get to learn from several different coaches, not just your home coach, or someone you like,” Owens said. “My goal is to win both styles at nationals. I took second last year. I have some tough competition from guys in Kansas and Ohio.”

Steve Lander, a longtime friend of Sweet Home coach Steve Thorpe, was drilling the national team wrestlers Monday evening in the Norm Davis wrestling room. Lander’s Roseburg grapplers took the 6A title in Salem in February. He’s a regular at the camp.

“We like to bring our wrestlers here so they can train with some of the best wrestlers in the state,” Lander said. “They also get coached by some of the best. It’s a great training atmosphere. This camp is part of our yearly workout plan. Any kid in our program is pretty much expected to come here. Although we train intensely, we also have fun. In wrestling, that’s not always easy to do, because wrestling is hard work.”

Dylan Westwang, 15, is one of Lander’s Roseburg grapplers. The 135-pounder finished eighth at the state tournament and will be a sophomore in the fall.

“I want to get better for next year,” Westwang said. “I’ve been wrestling since I was 5 years old. I like how hard they push us. It takes effort and hard work to become what you want to be and I want to win state and national championships.”

This year’s camp has attracted a record number of athletes, 220, according to Thorpe. The base of operations is the high school where the wrestlers work out in two gymnasiums and the wrestling room.

The school district is contracted to provide meals. The community also pitches, making the athletes from around the state feel at home, such as opening the Rio Theater in the middle of the week for a private showing.

“You are an elite athlete,” Coach Steve Thorpe tells his squadron of younger grapplers, sweat soaking their T-shirts. “You are part of the oldest sport in the history of man. It’s in the Bible, Jacob wrestled an angel. It was the basis for the first Olympics. No defensive wrestler will win big matches. You need to establish your offense immediately. In a fistfight, would you wait for the other guy to hit you first? You had better not.”

This is Thorpe’s seventh camp in Sweet Home. The Huskies hosted the national camp three times and this is the fourth Santiam Camp. Other camp directors include Neil Russo of Newberg, Mike Simons of Thurston and Lander of Roseburg. Also helping are longtime Husky assistants Tim Boatwright, Steve Hummer, Louie Dix, and Steve Schilling.

Coaches from around the state include Mike Shinkle, Crook County; Jake Huffman, Crook County; Troy Woosley, Philomath; Lonnie Eggert, Tillamook; Cisco Adams, Cascade; Jim Jones, Scappoose. Collegiate helpers include former Husky standouts Kyle Temple from Southern Oregon University and Trevor Tagle from Oregon State University.

Thorpe said he warned the wrestlers to be prepared for hot weather, although he didn’t know that meant temperatures of more than 100 degrees forecast for today and Wednesday.

“I told them on the first day that it didn’t matter whether it was wrestling camp or Girl Scout camp,” Thorpe said. “It’s going to be hot. I told them to not tank up on food and to drink lots of water. We’re also going to do some afternoon activities that include water and then go to Foster Lake tonight.”

The camp runs through Thursday. Cost was $100 for members of the national teams and $200 for all others. Thorpe said the camp goal isn’t about making money or improving the Husky program. It’s about improving “Oregon wrestling as a whole. It’s all about bettering wrestling for all of Oregon.”

Alex Paul can be reached at alex.paul@lee.net or 812-6076.