The Washington and Lee wrestling team is running a t-shirt drive for a teammate who deferred enrollment due to illness.

J’Mari Lowman, ’25, got out of the hospital days ago for the first time in over two months. He was hospitalized for ulcerative colitis. 

Members of the Washington and Lee wrestling team came up with the idea for the drive after stumbling across a GoFundMe page made for Lowman by his high school wrestling coach’s wife. 

As of Oct. 11, the GoFundMe had raised $23,373.

After the idea had taken root, wrestling coach Nathan Shearer contacted the wrestling apparel brand RUDIS to design a shirt specially to fundraise for Lowman.

“For this company to make a one-off shirt for J’Mari doesn’t really happen, they’re that big,” Shearer said. “They’ve done this twice for senior level athletes. For them to make a shirt for a kid who’s straight out of high school, it’s kind of a big deal.”

The team has been working hard to get the drive out to students. 

“The team has been very supportive in the process,” said Joe Tarquine, ’22, a member of the wrestling team. “We have done our best to share the shirt.”

The online sale, which closed on Sept. 20, sold over 600 shirts. 

But the team isn’t done yet. Before Thanksgiving break, Shearer hopes to have another 100 shirts to sell outside of Elrod Commons to raise even more funds. 

Shearer says he hopes Lowman will make a full recovery soon and be on campus as part of the Class of 2026.

“Some people have just naturally an attractive personality, right? That’s him,” said Shearer of Lowman. “It’s not gonna take him long for people to gravitate and be attracted to him, even though that’s not a goal of his.” 

To donate, visit https://gofund.me/d717d349.