By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

GRANITE QUARRY — East Rowan senior Isaac Cawley started his swimming journey at 5 years old and completed it in early February when he competed in the 3A State Championships.

There was a lot of pain, a lot of practice, a lot of adversity, but Cawley, the Post’s Rowan County Male Swimmer of the Year, would do it all over again. The discipline required to excel at swimming has prepared him well for the rest of his life — and he went out close to the top.

“After all I’ve been through, this senior season made it all worth it,” Cawley said.

Cawley’s mother, Karen, is a swimming enthusiast and is East’s assistant coach, so Isaac was in the water at a young age for teams such as the West Cabarrus Blue Dolphins, the Northwest Tiger Sharks, and eventually the Rowan Aquatic Club.

“Isaac was in the eighth grade the first time I saw him swim for RAC in a meet at the East Y,” East head coach Amanda Trexler said. “I could see the confidence. I could see the talent. He was one of those athletes that you just know is bound for greatness. Later, I would learn he also had determination and grit to match that talent.”

Cawley’s freshman year at East was the COVID year that eliminated face-to-face swim meets and erased the always highly anticipated Rowan County Championships from the schedule.

As a sophomore. Cawley began to make an impact, and East started to climb. The Mustangs were a close third in the county meet, behind South Rowan and Carson. Cawley won the 100 freestyle and swam on a winning 200 free relay team.

But then he suffered a concussion before the regional.

As a junior, Cawley dealt with crippling pain. The diagnosis was CRPS, a chronic condition that causes aching, swelling and inflammation.

But the Mustangs had a chance to do special things, and Cawley was determined to be part of it. He wasn’t going to let friends and teammates down. He continued to swim.

“I started feeling pain around October, and there was so much pain in my knees all season,” Cawley said.  “I would hand my crutches to the timer and jump in the water.”

He was outstanding despite the pain. When East celebrated its breakthrough victory in the 2023 Rowan County Championships — the first county title for East’s boys since 1999 — Cawley was instrumental. He won the 100 free and 100 backstroke and swam on two relay winners. He was co-MVP of the county meet along with teammate Cameron Ritchie.

Cawley was healthier for his senior year and went all-out.

“I practiced three hours a day, five days a week,” Cawley said. “You just about have to do that if you’re going to compete on the state level.”

He had a terrific senior season. He qualified in eight individual events for regionals. He helped all three East relay teams post regional qualifying times.

At the Rowan County Championships in January, Cawley and Josh Gardner led the Mustangs to a landslide triumph. Both were 4-for-4, with two individual wins and two relay wins. East’s boys swept all 11 events and went 1-2 in many of them.

“I didn’t even realize it until a few days later that we’d won every event,” Cawley said. “But winning the county meet was a great feeling, especially winning the relays. There’s so much excitement in the relays, with everyone hyped up. It was satisfying to be able to get in there and finish those relays off for my teammates.”

In the South Piedmont Conference Championships, three days before the county meet, the Mustangs had turned in an impressive performance, placing third in a stacked swim conference. Cawley took second in the 200 free and third in the 50 free. He anchored relay units that placed second and fourth.

There was one last bite of adversity for him in the six-day interval between the county meet and the 3A Western Regional.

“I got sick and had a positive COVID test,” Cawley said. “For a day or two, I didn’t know if I’d even be able to swim in the regional.”

He was cleared in time. East scored a respectable 90 points for 10th in that regional, and Cawley was a state qualifier in the 100 free and 200 free. He also helped the Mustangs qualify in two relays.

In the 3A State Championships in Cary, Cawley was 10th in the 100 free, 14th in the 200 free and helped East place 11th in the 400 free relay. That anchor leg was his last swim for the Mustangs.

Trexler was amazed by his perseverance, and there’s no question Cawley helped East elevate its program during his four years.

“I knew that I could always have an honest conversation with Isaac about a meet, or how he could better his performance,” she said. “He is a testament to his mom. He’s student-athlete who respects his coaches and was always willing to help his coaches and his teammates in any way he could. His energy and his talent will be missed next year, but what a senior season he had! It’s been quite the ride with him, and to say I’m proud of him would be an understatement.”

Cawley has an aptitude for electrical work and plans to enter the work force after graduation.

But he’ll have a terrific high school career to look back on with pride.

His mother sent him a text at 5:30 a.m. to let him know he was the Post’s Swimmer of the Year.

He was annoyed for a half-second — why is she texting me this early? — but then he read the message and smiled. His long journey had ended on a positive note.

“I’ll remember dropping times, winning relays and winning championships,” Cawley said. “And I’ll remember my senior season. There was a ton of joy.”

•••

The criteria for the Post’s all-county team is to finish in the top two in an individual event in the county meet, swim on a winning relay in the county meet or win a conference championship.

• Swimmer of the Year — Isaac Cawley, East

• Coach of the Year — Amanda Trexler, East

All-Rowan County

• East Rowan — Sam Lisenby, Bear Schofield, Will Kesler, Rodney Hawkins, Clayton Lowe, Cole Humphreys, Josh Gardner, Isaac Cawley, Owen Kesler

• South Rowan — Marshal Faw, Conner Coy

•••

• Honorable Mention, these swimmers led their team in scoring in the Rowan County Championships

• West Rowan — Wayne Hall and Jacob Oliver (tie)

• Carson — Colton Monteith

• Salisbury — Mac Blankenship

• North Rowan — Rylan Furr