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Billy Pierce, Brock Lesner, Quincey Clark, Mike Foy, R.C. Johnson, and Dennis Koslowski to practice with. I was compet- ing with World Team members and national champions every single day. That formula allowed me to progress at a quicker pace than anyone had before me.” After his heroics in Sydney, his official college career got


started as a third-year Gopher freshman and was an impact wrestler at heavyweight. Lowney was a member of two Gopher teams which won NCAA team titles in 2001 and 2002. He placed third in 2001 and fifth in 2002. “We fed off of each other and supported each other,” said Lowney of the Minnesota team. “Everyone knew what our goal was and no one wanted to rob the others of that goal through a bad performance. Everyone was a leader at different times, pro- viding examples for others to emulate and use in their own development.” Lowney battled injuries his entire college career and contin-


ued to compete in Greco-Roman. He won the World Team Trials from 2001-2003, but was only able to compete in the 2002 World meet. He missed the 2001 Worlds after the World Championships in New York City were postponed due to the 9- 11 terrorist attack, and the delayed event conflicted with the col- lege season. He did not go to the 2003 Worlds due to injury. “There were significant challenges with wrestling heavyweight


when I was at 220 pounds. There were many amazing athletes at that time who were much larger,” said Lowney. “I think the biggest challenge was that my body just couldn’t handle com- peting without an off-season. I was making weight and compet- ing for Team USA when others were still training, but allowing their bodies to recover and heal.” In 2004, he made another run at the U.S. Olympic Team,


even though he did not expect to ever wrestle again because of the severe neck injury at the 2003 World Team Trials. “I ended up having to have surgery which resulted in a long


and slow recovery. After six months of rest and rehabilitation, I went back to my surgeon. I had completely given up on my wrestling career. I was in a neck brace for many months and was 30 pounds over my competition weight. My surgeon came in completely elated. Not only had it healed perfectly, but he felt I could consider wrestling again. This was only four or five months before Olympic Trials.” Lowney’s comeback was nothing short of miraculous. He


placed second at the U.S. Nationals, then won the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Indianapolis, Ind., defeating national champion Justin Ruiz in two straight bouts in the finals series. It all went back to the night when his surgeon gave him clearance to com- pete. “I sat down and wrote Olympic Team on the top of a piece of


paper. Underneath it I wrote what had to happen. I had to get back into shape, I had to lose 30 pounds, I had to go overseas to qualify my weight class, and I had to earn back my No. 1 ranking. Underneath each one of those, I wrote what I had to do to achieve them. I printed off a calendar and wrote everything I had to do on every day in order to make the Olympics. Guess what? Every morning when I woke up and looked at that calen- dar, what I needed to accomplish that day didn’t seem all that difficult,” he said. His final competition came at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, where he lost two bouts and did not earn a medal. The years of battling injuries had taken its toll, and Lowney retired from competition the next season. After the 2004 Olympics, he became the Director of Sales


and Marketing for a dairy redistribution company in Appleton, Wis. He also earned an MBA in finance from Lakeland College


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while working full time. In 2008, he became a sales manager for Schreiber Foods, Inc., a $4 billion global enterprise and the world’s largest customer-brand dairy company. Recently, he accepted a new position leading the team responsible for the wholesale portion of the business. He also focused on his family, as he and wife Krystal have


two sons, Gavin and Owen. According to Lowney, Gavin is inter- ested in technology and science and Owen is interested in “whatever his older brother is doing… but wants to do it better.” “I swear Krystal is a saint because the two boys are way too


much like their father,” joked Lowney. “I don’t know how she can keep her sanity dealing with three of ‘me’ terrorizing her around the house.” Because of his career and family, Lowney had little time to


stay involved in wrestling at any level. Recently, he returned to the sport with the launch of a new company called Concept Industries LLC. “It’s an innovative company that empowers others through


content and conviction,” said Lowney. “It entails keynote and motivational speaking along with technique and training. There are plans to develop a youth foundation to provide aspiring youngsters with the same blessings and experiences I had.” Looking back, Lowney has identified what he misses most


from his wrestling days. “I actually don’t miss the thrill of victory the most. I never thought I would say this, but I actually miss practice the most,” said Lowney. “I miss going to battle with my closest friends every day. I miss walking out of the room completely exhausted knowing I had accomplished something. I enjoyed the journey as much as the result. Mediocrity is filled with resentment for having to do more than others. Excellence is filled with pride in going above and beyond what is expected. Those ordinary days are my fondest memories and greatest victories.”


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13 USA Wrestler


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