University of Minnesota wrestler Garrett Lowney will miss the 2001 World Championships of Wrestling due to the event's rescheduling to a date during the 2001-02 collegiate wrestling season. Lowney was preparing to compete for the United States in the Greco-Roman division of the tournament. If Lowney had chosen compete in the World Championships, he would have missed a significant amount of academic work and Minnesota's dual meets against Oklahoma State, Hofstra, Virginia Tech and James Madison, an unwelcome prospect for the defending NCAA champion Golden Gopher wrestling team. Former Minnesota wrestler Brandon Paulson plans to participate in the tournament despite the rescheduling.    "I have priorities with both USA Wrestling and the University of Minnesota, but I need to keep those priorities separate," Lowney said. "It's not possible to meet my goals of a winning a World Championship and a NCAA title by doing both part-time. It's unfortunate that the rescheduled World Championships is in conflict with the University of Minnesota season, but, for now, my focus is on winning a national championship with the Gophers."    "By opting not to compete in the World Championships, Garrett is making a statement to the coaches and to his teammates that he is fully committed to the University of Minnesota wrestling program," Assistant Coach Joe Russell said. "He'll now focus on winning a NCAA crown and move his pursuit of a World Championship title to a later date."    The World Championships were originally scheduled for Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sept. 26-29. After the tragic terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, USA Wrestling requested a postponement of the tournament. FILA, the international wrestling federation, announced that the tournament would be split up into two events. The 2001 World Freestyle Championships, including both men and women, will be hosted in Sofia, Bulgaria, Nov. 22-25. The 2001 World Greco-Roman Championships will be held in Athens, Greece, Dec. 6-9.    "Garrett has dreams to win both a world and a NCAA title, but the tragedies of September 11 and the subsequent rescheduling of the World Championships have made it impossible to meet both goals this year," Assistant Coach Mark Schwab said. "It would have been exceptionally difficult for him to successfully make the transition from Greco-Roman to collegiate freestyle wrestling in such a short period of time."    Lowney, a sophomore for the Golden Gophers, won the 213.75-pound titles at the 2001 U.S. National Championships and 2001 World Team Trials, in addition to capturing a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games. A native of Freedom, Wis., Lowney won the 2001 Big Ten heavyweight title and earned his first All-America honor with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships.    Paulson, a 1996 Olympic silver medalist and native of Anoka, Minn., earned a spot on the World Championships team, winning the Greco-Roman title at 119 pounds at the World Team Trials. Paulson wrestled at Minnesota from 1994-95 and 1997-98, capturing All-America honors in 1998 with a seventh-place finish at the national meet.