A wrestler from Utah is crediting his college teammates with saving his life during a grizzly bear attack near Cody, Wyoming, over the weekend. KSL reports Brady Lowry was shed antler hunting with Northwest College wrestling teammates Kendell Cummings, Orin Jackson, and August Harrison when the grizzly attacked a few miles west of the Bobcat-Houlihan trailhead.
“I saw bear crap all over, and I looked at Kenny and said, ‘There is a grizzly bear here. And right after I said that, the bear came out of the willows. It was thick. It came at me and charged me and tackled me off this cliff into this gulley and was going at me for a little bit.” -Brady Lowry
The bear got a hold of Lowry’s arm first, breaking it.
“It shook me around and I didn’t know what to do. I curled up in a ball and it got me a few more times.”
Thats when his teammates swung into action. First they stood above the bear and yelled at to get its attention off Lowry. When that didn’t work Kendell Cummings heroically kicked the bear and grabbed at its hair, pulling it back. The bear then turned and started to chase Cummings.
“It tackled me, chewed me up a bit, and then when it was done, it wandered off, and I started calling out for Brady to make sure he was alright.” –Kendell Cummings
Lowry ran back up the hill to find his other two teammates and called 911. They then began looking for Cummings who was attacked by the grizzly a second time.
“The bear circled back around, and it got me again, chewed on me, and that’s when it got my head and cheek. And then it went away again for whatever reason.”
Cummings somehow summoned the strength to get himself up and began looking for his teammates. They eventually found each other and waited for Park County Search and Rescue to arrive.
“I’m just glad we have each other still; glad all four of us walk off that mountain. I don’t think anyone else lesser than a wrestling team with a bond like we have – they wouldn’t have handled it as well as we did.” –Brady Lowry