By Ronnie Gallagher
rgallagher@salisburpost.com
Sometimes a star is born. Other times a star is discovered.
And sometimes a Tanner Lowman appears out of nowhere, with no fanfare, no glorious expectations.
Just natural ability.
Lowman didn’t enter East Rowan as a freshman thinking big things would happen for him in the pool ó or on any other athletic surface. But once his friends persuaded him to climb into the water, a star had appeared on the eastern side of Rowan County.
How far has he come? On Saturday, Lowman will jump into the pool at UNC’s Koury Natatorium favored to win a state championship in the 100 breaststroke. The senior set a regional record last week by swimming the event in 59.2 seconds, breaking the old mark of 1:00.1.”I saw (the times) up on the board,” Lowman said. “It took a while to sink in.”
He’s had a week to let this sink in: There are great expectations awaiting him in Chapel Hill.
“I’m under a little bit of pressure because I’m seeded first,” he said. “I’m really looking to break the state record.”
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That confident smile is a far cry from when he first started swimming competitively. Lowman credits Steve Clark and Matt Hall for the strides he’s made.
Clark was a junior swimmer at East when Lowman was a freshman.
“If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know if I’d be swimming,” Lowman admitted. “Actually, I wasn’t even going to. But he talked me into it.”
Lowman had always thought of himself as a pretty good swimmer, but, during his first two years at East, he forgot about the sport after the high school season.
Then he walked into the Hurley YMCA and ventured up to Hall, the RAC coach.
“I told him I wanted to get better,” Lowman said.
Hall saw a budding star.
“I had never swam breaststroke,” Lowman said. “But he said, ‘You’re built to be a breaststroker.’ ”
That’s all it took to get Lowman pumped up about his future.
“He’s a great coach,” Lowman said of Hall. “He told me a few things, and everything just fell into place. He said, ‘You’re going to be a breaststroker.’ And sure enough …”
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Lowman realized swimming was much safer than riding dirt bikes. During his freshman season, a wreck left him with a concussion, a broken collarbone, three broken ribs and a punctured lung.
“Honestly, I don’t remember what happened,” Lowman said.
He’d rather remember his feats in the pool. There have been plenty.
Lowman went to College Park, Md., for the long-course nationals. That was followed by a trip to Austin, Texas, this past summer after qualifying for the Junior Olympics.
Lowman won the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly at the county meet and was named the boys MVP. He won the 100 breaststroke in his conference and regional meets.
Lowman would like to cap his high school career with a title in Chapel Hill and then go on to college. Clemson and UNC Wilmington have shown interest.
Lowman has a visit to Wilmington lined up.
“I want to go to Clemson,” he said. “That’s my No. 1 choice.
“I’ll swim other things in college, but the breaststroke is what I’ll get money for.”
He is expected to be all money when he begins the 100 breaststroke Saturday. He’ll be in his element. There’s nothing, he said, like surging through the water.
“It’s hard to explain,” Lowman said. “A lot of people have no idea about swimming. I just like it. I’m good at it.”
It’s that natural ability that has led him to be rightfully called a star.
“I never thought I’d be where I am,” he said humbly. “But now, I’m looking to go to a Division I college. So you never know.”
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Lowman will have plenty of teammates cheering him on Saturday.
Will Stokes will join him in the 100 breaststroke. Scott Clark, Clark Agner, Sam McSwain, Kyle Fischer, Luke Evans and Ben Brazil will also compete in relays.
Two girls relay teams qualified: the 200 medley (Jaimie Mullen, Madison Hall, Katie Egloff and Katelyn Shuping) and the 400 freestyle (Mullen, Hall, Shuping and Natasha Lundgren).Samantha Zerger, Leah Hines and Caitlyn Fry will also be going.
Charlotte Catholic is the three-time defending 3A champion in boys and girls.