03/22/2006
Lowery earns NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
BROOKINGS, S.D. -- Former South Dakota State University distance running standout Brad Lowery was recently selected as a recipient of an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

Lowery, who graduated from SDSU this past December with a degree in physics, was one of 29 male student-athletes from all three divisions within the NCAA to earn a $7,500 scholarship while competing this past fall.

A native of Pierre, Lowery completed his collegiate career this fall by winning the Division I Independent cross country individual title. He also placed 12th overall out of 309 competitors at the 2005 USATF National Club Cross Country Championships.

One of the most decorated runners in SDSU history, Lowery won nine North Central Conference titles between cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. He also earned All-America honors at the NCAA Division II level six times and won two Division I independent championships, while setting school and state collegiate records in the mile run (4:01.67), indoor 3,000 meters (8:05.04) and outdoor 5,000 meters (14:00.24). He capped his career on the track in the spring of 2005 by winning both the 1,500- and 5,000-meter races at the Drake Relays, and breaking four records in winning the mile run at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays in an eight-day span.

He also received Academic All-America honors twice: as a College Division third-team selection in 2004 and as a University Division second-team honoree in 2005.

Lowery is currently training with the Big Sur Distance Project in Marina, Calif., under the direction of coach Bob Sevene, and plans to attend graduate school while he continues his athletic endeavors. Lowery qualified for the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the 3,000 meters in February by running 8:03 at the Husky Invitational in Seattle, and he will open his outdoor campaign next weekend at the Stanford Invitational in the 5,000 meters.

To qualify for an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.20 or higher, and must have performed with distinction as a member of a varsity team. Candidates are screened by seven regional selection committees, and the award recipients are selected by the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Committee.

Lowery's award marks the seventh consecutive academic year that a Jackrabbit student-athlete has been awarded an NCAA Posgraduate Scholarship. Other recent recipients include: Casey Estling, men’s basketball, 1999-2000; Rose Ebnet, volleyball, 2000-01; Josh Ranek, football, 2001-02; Tyler Bryant, wrestling, 2002-03; Scott Connot, football, 2003-04, and Ashley Kalina, softball, 2004-05.

2004 South Dakota Sportswriters' Awards

BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) - This year's college male athlete of the year as chosen by the state's sportswriters is distance runner Brad Lowery of South Dakota State University.

He ran 15-hundred meters in an eye-popping three minutes, 42 seconds last spring. That was good enough to qualify the Pierre native for the Olympic trials.

Lowery's time in the 15-hundred meters is the second-fastest in SDSU history.

Brad Lowery
PIERRE, S.DAK. > Track and Field
Lowery, a senior at South Dakota State, won the 1,500-meter run at the NCAA Division I Independents Track and Field Championship. Earlier this month he won the open mile run at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays in a state collegiate record time of 4:01.67.

May 2005 SI Faces in the Crowd

Lowery ready for next step

SDSU distance runner preparing for elite training on national level

MICK GARRY
mgarry@argusleader.com

Article Published: 12/27/05, 3:40 am
Carving out miles on prairie roads got Brad Lowery where he is. Now he's hoping some time running the rolling trails of the Monterey Peninsula will get him closer to where he wants to be.

The South Dakota State senior distance runner will head west to California beginning in January in an attempt to take the step from college standout to national and, he hopes, international prominence.

He will be a participant in the Big Sur Distance Project, a commune of sorts affiliated with Team USA and inhabited by highly regarded runners who are supplied housing, training facilities and top-level coaching.

Thus equipped with all the things runners need to keep on keeping on, it should give him a chance to see how far his legs are capable of taking him.

My training (as a collegian) has not been too intense, Lowery said. One thing my coach, Rod DeHaven, has been trying to tell me is that at SDSU I've been enough ahead of my teammates that I've been training by myself. Out there I'll be running and competing against some great runners day in, day out. I think I should be able to see my times drop quite drastically.

Lowery will be leaving South Dakota as one of its most decorated runners. His 4:01.67 time in the mile run at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays last spring was one of the highlights of the track and field season in South Dakota.

It was one of several successes for the Pierre native, who won nine North Central Conference titles between cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.

He also earned All-America honors at the NCAA Division II level six times and won two Division I independent championships. Last spring, he won both the 1,500- and 5,000-meter races at the Drake Relays.

He fits our program perfectly, said the Big Sur Distance Project's coach, Bob Sevene. We want runners here like Brad, people whose talent, personality and likability are going to help them and their training partners achieve their goals.

Lowery began seriously thinking about a post-collegiate running career as a junior at SDSU. He saw an ideal opportunity to head in that direction with Sevene, considered one of the nation's foremost distance coaches.

With DeHaven's encouragement, he applied to be included at Big Sur and found out midway through the college cross country season that he'd be entering The Project in January.

The weather, the scenery and the training equipment are all pretty nice, Lowery said. I'll be sharing an apartment with another guy on the team. It's nice to know where I'll be living in January and that I'll be able to afford to train full time. I'll get a part-time job for some spending money, but I'll be able to put a full-time focus on running and training and see what I can do.

Sevene is a longtime college and post-collegiate coach who has worked with some of the top runners in the U.S., most prominently with 1984 Olympic Marathon gold medal winner Joan Benoit.

Sevene was named head of the organization in 2003 and has steadily built up a stable of runners. They include Blake Russell, who won the 2004 Twin Cities women's marathon and clocked a 2:29.1 to finish sixth in this year's Chicago Marathon.

Lowery, who attempted to qualify for the Olympic Trials in 2004, will be joining a program that is aimed at getting U.S. distance runners closer to the front internationally.

We're a superstar-oriented society, Sevene said. That's all people want to promote. But when you look back at the 1980s, U.S. success at distances was based on depth. You build the depth, and the runners raise the bar themselves.

Lowery will then become part of The Project to raise the bar.

Too many runners like Brad are falling through the cracks in this country, Sevene said. When he gets here he'll be surrounded by athletes who have basically the same commitment toward excellence. Maybe they're putting their lives on hold, but they're also finding out how good they can be. You just never know where that can take you.