Lowry grateful to be competing again

Montana's Maryn Lowry made headlines on Monday when she was named the Big Sky Conference Women's Track Athlete of the Week. The award is much-deserved – the senior won the 1,500 meters for the second consecutive week – but before one can fully appreciate her accomplishment, they must fully understand where she's come from.

Lowry's journey to Missoula dates back nearly two years, after she earned her undergraduate degree in kinesiology from Iowa State. The Cincinnati native had completed her degree in four years, but still had athletic eligibility remaining – one year in cross country and one in outdoor track.

For Lowry, a seven-time Big 12 academic honoree, it didn't make sense for her to stay at Iowa State and continue working toward a second undergraduate degree, so she instead made the decision to leave what she had come to know in the Midwest in order to set herself up for greater success in the future with a graduate degree in health and exercise science.

As she pursued her options, Lowry kept being reminded of the University of Montana. First it was from an older teammate, Maddie Nagle, who like Lowry traded in her Cyclone gear for Griz attire for her final collegiate season. Then it was from her coach, Andrea Grove-McDonough, who trained professionally in Missoula with Griz assistant coach Vicky Pounds.

"It all just fell into place and nothing felt forced," Lowry said. "It was just a fantastic opportunity that came about and I couldn't pass it up."

Lowry made the move to Missoula, and competed on the cross country team in the fall of 2017. For all she knew, by now she would be out of school and in the work force, but Lowry's story took another turn when something didn't feel right last winter.

"I started to experience some pain in my left hip," Lowry said. "I didn't think much of it at first, but then I had to get an MRI arthrogram."

The diagnosis: a labral tear.

The injury would sideline Lowry for the 2018 outdoor season, a definite disappointment for most athletes. It was escalated for someone like Lowry, however, who had already used a redshirt season and therefore had exhausted the last of her collegiate eligibility.

The next several months would be excruciating, as she and her coaches – along with staff from Iowa State – gathered information to submit to the NCAA, petitioning for a sixth-year of eligibility which would grant her the right to compete once more, and eventually go out the way she had hoped to.

Lowry knew there was a chance she would get another opportunity, but also knew there were no guarantees.

"I thought about it every single day," Lowry said. "There were some tears involved, confusion and uncertainty, for sure.

"I was preparing myself for these two completely different scenarios. I was trying to recover and train like an NCAA athlete, but I also knew that I might need to move on and find the next thing, and start the next chapter of my life."

She got her answer in the form of a text message.

While biking home from class on Halloween afternoon, she saw that she had a missed call and text message. Lowry didn't have to read the entire message from head coach Brian Schweyen; all she needed was the eight-letter word in all caps: 'CONGRATS!'

Her appeal had been approved, giving her one more season of eligibility.

"I just feel extremely grateful for the support that I have received," Lowry reflected. "The support from my team, coaches and trainers at Montana – and also the tremendous help from my previous coaches at Iowa State – was so special. To this day, I just have this overwhelming feeling of gratitude."

Just five months after receiving the life-changing text message, Lowry was on the track, representing Montana across her chest – albeit, and understandably, with a bit of apprehension.

"Honestly, I was really nervous, which is funny because I've been doing this so long," Lowry said about her first outdoor meet in nearly three years, the Al Manuel Northwest Challenge on March 30. "You wait for something to happen and you work so hard, but there's always a little bit of doubt. What if I don't live up to my own expectations?"

The uncertainty was answered early on. Competing in the 1,500 meters, Lowry took an early lead and never let up, winning the race with a time of 4:34.73 – better than any UM athlete in all of 2018.

"Once the gun went off, all those doubts and fears really dissipated," Lowry said. "That was the most fun I've had at a track meet, just knowing the amount of people who helped me get back to that point. I was so happy."

Making her Griz debut, Iowa State grad transfer Maryn Lowry is today's winner in the women's 1,500 meters (4:34.73). #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/g6t3wQIdPS
— Montana Griz T&F (@MontanaGrizTF) March 30, 2019

Lowry also took second in the 800 meters that afternoon, and last weekend in Spokane, at the Northwest Scoring Clash (WAR XII), again won the 1,500 meters and took third in the 800 meters. Her performance in wet conditions against a loaded field of more than 40 runners earned her Big Sky Conference Women's Track Athlete of the Week recognition.

Schweyen knows how valuable an experienced athlete like Lowry can be for a Griz team with high expectations of returning to the top of the Big Sky Conference this spring.

"Maryn is a veteran, and therefore she brings a lot to this group," Schweyen said. "This is her second program she's been part of and she's been in big meets in a big conference. She has the mentality that every coach wants to see.

"She's someone we need on this team."

Lowry, too, realizes she has the potential to be a major point-scorer for the Griz – she talked about the importance of knowing the rankings and looking at previous seasons to study the league's history. But after several years away from the sport, and the uncertainty of ever being able to compete again, more than anything, she's just grateful.

"That's the word I keep coming back to," Lowry said. "Putting on that Griz uniform was a special feeling. It made me realize that this is actually happening. I've had so many people support me and cheer me on during my journey, and now it's my turn to lift up my team, whether that's through scoring points or cheering them on."

Congratulations to @UMGRIZZLIES Maryn Lowry who is this week's women's track athlete of the week.

RELEASE: https://t.co/SAzvFPyC4q pic.twitter.com/ZB018DlVl2
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) April 8, 2019

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