2 Wyoming College Wrestlers Sent to the Hospital After Grizzly Bear Attack
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Two college wrestlers in Wyoming were treated for their injuries after being attacked by a bear during a hike on Saturday.
The incident occurred when sophomores at Northwest College in Powell — Kendell Cummings of Evanston, Wyoming, and Brady Lowry of Cedar City, Utah — went hunting with their teammates August Harrison and Orin Jackson at the Shoshone National Forest, according to Fox News.
Speaking to the outlet, Lowry explained he and Cummings ventured to a higher spot where they saw what appeared to be bear's feces prior to the attack.
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"Before you could even think or blink, there's a bear that came running out of the trees right in front of me," he said. "It was beating me up pretty good."
Lowry curled up in a ball before Cummings attempted to rescue him by yelling at the bear and grabbing it. The bear then went after Cummings while Lowry called 911, shouted for help and tried to get attention from his two other wrestling teammates who were in the nearby area.
"He was just drenched in blood coming down the hill everywhere," Harrison told Fox News. "Me and Orin took turns carrying him down to the bottom where the field was."
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Upon the arrival of first responders, Cummings was air-lifted via helicopter to St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings, Montana, while Lowry was transported to Cody Regional in Wyoming before also being flown to St. Vincent, local news station KSL-TV reported.
A representative from Northwest College tells PEOPLE that both students "are expected to recover fully," adding that college president Lisa Watson shared the news of the incident with her students and staff via an email on Sunday.
"For those of you who have not heard, four members of the Trapper Wrestling team were on a hike on Saturday afternoon when two of them encountered a grizzly bear," read the statement in the email, which was later posted to Northwest College Trapper Athletics' Facebook page on Monday. "Due to the suddenness of the encounter, they were not able to deploy their bear spray. After the attack, they were able to return to their vehicle with the help of their teammates and sought medical attention."
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Watson also extended her gratitude to Coach Ziegler and the Trapper Wrestling team for their support in helping "their injured brothers."
Following the incident, Wyoming Game & Fish Department issued a statement claiming they are "gathering further details" and launching an investigation into the incident.
"In the vicinity where the attack occurred, reports from landowners and hunters indicate there may be six to 10 different bears moving between agricultural fields and low elevation slopes," Cody Region wildlife supervisor Dan Smith said. "Game and Fish will continue to monitor bear activity in the area and work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make management decisions in the best interest of public safety."
"This is a sad and unfortunate situation, we wish both victims a full and speedy recovery," he added.
