LARAMIE – Hugh Lowham was "just a runt" when he started wrestling in the 10^th grade.
 
However, his parents, Clarence and Freda, provided an involuntary strength program on their ranch in southwest Wyoming.
 
"I was kind of a scrawny guy," Lowham said. "But I threw a lot of hay bales, and that helped because it gave me some strength."
 
Lowham developed into a three-time conference champion and two-time NCAA Championships participant at UW under legendary coach Everett Lantz.
 
Six decades after finishing his stellar career with the Cowboys, Lowham will be inducted into the UW Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 5 in Laramie.
 
"I want to thank the fans and my family," Lowham said of his selection in a class which also includes Josh Allen (football, 2015-17), Casey Bramlet (football, 2000-2003), Curt Jimerson (men's basketball, 1961-63), Mike Mulvaney (baseball, 1985-88), Lori Kline Waddell (women's basketball, 1979, 1981-83) and John Wendling (football, 2003-06). "And I think back to my coaches and all my teammates. A lot of the credit goes to them."
 
Mel Baldwin, who won the Mountain States Conference title and represented UW in the 1941 NCAA Championships at 128 pounds, organized Evanston's wrestling program in 1954.
 
Lowham competed at 133 pounds as a sophomore and grew into a 177-pound state champion – the first in Red Devils history – as a senior in 1960.
 
Then Lance talked him into trying out for the Cowboys.
 
"I went down and visited with Coach Lance after my senior year after I was a state champion. He thought he could get me a tuition scholarship, which amounted to, I don't know at the time, 175 bucks or something like that," Lowham recalled. "I looked around at a few other schools, but then I decided I wasn't really going to wrestle but would just go to school. Then I went over and talked to him again, and he encouraged me to come out with a team.
 
"So, I went out for the team and made it. When I look back I kind of feel a little bit bad about it, because I beat a couple of other guys out and that kind of discouraged them. I was just lucky."
 
Lowham was an outstanding college wrestler from the start, finishing as the Skyline Conference 177-pound runner-up as a freshman in 1961.
 
Interestingly, Lowham's first match for UW was against Colorado standout Joe Dowler, who coached the Cowboys to seven conference titles and a 104-64-1 dual record from 1973-87.
 
Lance was the program's all-time winningest coach with a 141-73-8 mark over three stints (1936-43, 1946-52 and 1953-65). Mark Branch broke the record last season and has 151 dual wins as UW head coach.
 
"He was stern, but kind. And he had a way of bringing out the best in kids," Lowham said of Lance. "When he was coach, he had a lot of kids from Wyoming on the team. The majority of my teammates were Wyoming boys. That was kind of cool. He had the ability to take a mediocre wrestler and turn them into a champion."
 
In 1962, Lowham won the Skyline Conference at 191 pounds. He won back-to-back Western Athletic Conference titles in 1963 (191 pounds) and 1964 (heavyweight).
 
At the 1962 NCAA Championships in Stillwater, Okla., Lowham won a 5-4 decision over Cincinnati's Frank Shaut in the opening round and then defeated Virginia's Ted Mallen 12-0. He lost to Michigan State's Alex Valcanoff, 7-4, in the third round.
 
At the 1963 NCAA Championships in Kent, Ohio, Lowham had a bye in the first round and lost a 7-6 decision to Oklahoma State's Everett Knott in the second round.  
 
For Lowham, the highlight of his UW career was defeating Colorado State All-American Ken Hines in the 1962 conference championship match in Logan, Utah. His victory clinched the team title for the Pokes.
 
"Kenny and I had wrestled to a draw earlier in the year. (The championship) was coming down to my weight. It was a tough match, and I won," Lowham said. "That was probably one of the toughest matches that I had and the one I was most proud of because it helped bring the championship home."
 
Lowham earned an engineering degree and had a distinguished career with the U.S. Geological Survey, later forming Lowham Engineering, a company specializing in water and environmental projects. He has continued to be a strong supporter of the UW wrestling program through the decades.
 
"When you walk out on that mat, it's just you," Lowham said. "You don't have 10 other guys, or four other guys helping out. You're exposed and it all comes out. It's a great sport."
 
(Editor's note: This is the first in a seven-part series profiling the 2025 UW Intercollegiate Hall of Fame class. Tickets to the induction banquet on Sept. 6 in the Gateway Center can be purchased here: https://one.bidpal.net/wyohalloffame2025/welcome)
 
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