Canyon Wrestling Coach Resigns for Job in Oregon

Gary Bowden, the most successful wrestling coach in Orange County history, has resigned at Canyon High School to coach at Thurston High in Springfield, Ore.

Bowden, 44, said the move is more for personal reasons than professional. It was, he said, a chance to lead a simpler life.

Thurston is one of two high schools in a town of only 45,000. He informed Canyon officials of his decision Friday.

“I grew up in a small town in Colorado,” Bowden said. “Those were some of the happiest days in my life. I wanted to go back to a small town. Someplace where you can’t see what you’re breathing.

“Up there, kids are 17 going on 18, not 17 going on 25. I wanted that for my kids.”

Bowden learned of the job opening on Aug. 1, from University of Oregon Coach Ron Finley. Bowden and his family drove to Springfield for a job interview a week later.

For Bowden, it was a wrestling paradise. He said he was impressed with the the school’s facilities, which included a separate locker room for the wrestling team.

At Canyon, the wrestling team shares a locker room with several other teams.

Bowden said he was also swayed by members of the community.

“They did everything but put a sign over main street saying, ‘Welcome Coach Bowden,’ ” he said. “They had boosters driving us all over town. They had big sisters to baby-sit our kids. They even had a realtor lined up for us to talk to.

“I’m going to miss a lot of people at Canyon, but this was too perfect to pass up.”

Said Canyon softball Coach Lance Eddy: “Gary walked in on Friday and said, ‘I’m going to Oregon.’ ”

What Bowden leaves behind is a wrestling program he built from scratch and turned into one of the finest in California.

He has been the school’s only wrestling coach. In his 19 years, the Comanches have a record of 212-41-2. They are 140-6 since 1980.

Canyon has won five Southern Section 4-A titles, finished second twice and third once. The Comanches also won 12 consecutive Century League championships.

During one stretch, Canyon won 87 consecutive dual matches, a streak that began in 1986 and ended this past season with a loss to Fontana in the 4-A semifinals.

Bowden demanded and got the most out of his athletes, many of whom had never wrestled before. He had a talent for selling the sport to kids, some of whom were considered non-athletes, according to other coaches at the school.

Last season, 115 students participated in the wrestling program. Only 38 were on the varsity football team.

In 1989, 75 girls tried out for the “Mat Maids,” the team’s student service organization. By contrast, there were only 70 players in the entire football program.

“Canyon (wrestling) is the envy of the county,” Edison Coach Terry Lorentzen said.

Wrestling matches at Canyon became big events. The team often competed in a packed gymnasium.

“I had a lot of good people working with me,” Bowden said. “It was a unique situation and everything just fell into place.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to do the same thing. What I did promise was that we would be a competitive program.”

Bowden mixed wrestling with a little Hollywood, giving his team an identity. At home matches, they would enter the gym through a smoke screen while rock music blared.

“It’s going to be a drastic change,” Bowden said. “We created a three-ring circus at Canyon. I don’t know if Oregon is ready for a Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bowden production.”