Eddie Owens grew up in Brooklyn, NY and was an avid soccer player from the age of 4. From 8 years old he would travel to play in away games 3 seasons a year before deciding to try running as a sport. Having never run competitively before high school he was motivated to try track and earn the coveted 3-sport award, a prize received by athletes competing in all seasons of the school year.

In his freshman year and having not quite hit his growth spurt, Eddie ran a respectable 5:24 for the mile and really enjoyed the challenge running gave him. He would continue to run on his own through the following summer and at weekends during the fall, including completing his first half marathon. With the soccer season finishing before the cross country season, Eddie arranged with the coach to compete in the final race. Eddie went on to dominate the JV race recording a time that would have placed in the top 10 in the varsity race. This was a huge turning point for Eddie. He would play one more season of basketball before switching his sports focus entirely over to competitive running.

Over the next 3 years, Eddie saw rapid improvement with his running, becoming competitive locally in NYC in his first season, on a state level by the end of his junior year and on a national level in his senior year.  He finished 8^th at the 2010 Footlocker Cross Country Championships, 2^nd in the 5k at New Balance Indoor Nationals and won the 2k steeplechase at New Balance Outdoor Nationals.  Capping off a strong season he placed 2^nd in the steeplechase at USA Juniors, earning him his first US Team selection and his place on the national team for the 2012 World Junior Championships (Barcelona, Spain).

Eddie chose to matriculate at Princeton University for its excellent combination of academics and athletics.  In cross country he was a 3x All-Region and 2x All-Ivy.  On the track he was twice 3rd in the steeplechase at the Ivy League Championships, won the IC4As and made the NAAs in his junior year. In addition, he was selected 3 times for Team USA (Junior/ U-23) in the steeplechase and cross country.  Unfortunately, Eddie was diagnosed with late stage Lyme disease during his senior year in college and was forced to miss an entire year.  In 2016, Eddie began to rediscover strong form placing 3rd in the Ivy League steeplechase and won the IC4A Championships Steeplechase.