Athlete Spotlight: Maddie Vacula
Photo by Madeline Vacula
Maddie Vacula, a freshman from Belton, Texas, has had an immediate impact on Centenary’s swim team. However, at first Maddie was reluctant to come to Centenary due to its small size. Nevertheless, as soon as she visited, she “loved how the campus felt” and now considers Centenary home.
While Maddie started swimming around the time of the 2012 Olympics, it was not because of the Olympics that she first got into the sport. She played soccer and decided that she didn’t want to do it anymore, so she chose to swim. At Centenary, she specializes in long-distance freestyle and backstroke.
Maddie’s favorite part about swimming is her teammates. Team bonding is a priority on a team that practices twice a day. She notes that “we’re all just dying together in the pool.” She says that college swimming is different from high school swimming as the emphasis is on the team and the people rather than the individual.
Photo by Madeline Vacula
Maddie’s favorite part about this year’s SCAC Swimming Championships was getting third place in the mile and swimming the race in under 18 minutes—a life-time best. There was a combination of nothing going through her mind and everything at the same time, but she was determined to keep up with the girl swimming besides her.
While the SCAC Swimming Championship is a long and stressful meet, Maddie kept the mood fun and lively by filming a vlog and commenting constantly into her microphone. “Something just changes within me whenever I hold that tiny microphone.” She warns future freshmen that this conference meet is incredibly different than any other meet and that it is important to stay relaxed and have fun. One of her goals for next season’s championship meet is to place higher in the 200 backstroke.
Photo by Madeline Vacula
Maddie is also currently on the track team. She said that once swim season was over , she was looking for something to do. Despite “not being a runner,” Maddie has done great in the 1500m and 800m races in the two meets she has competed in thus far. She explains that, for her, the difference between track and swim is that she feels no pressure during track meets, and that it’s more social, as everyone’s face is not in the water. Maddie also has a pre-meet routine of stretching a specific muscle every time in order to do well. And it works!
Outside of sports, Maddie enjoys spending time with friends, crocheting, making birthday cards, watching YouTube, and making TikToks. However, being a Biochemistry major means that studying takes up a lot of her time. She came into Centenary as a chemistry major, but after taking a few biology classes, she decided to switch to biochemistry. Furthermore, despite being set on not taking the MCAT, she is slowly changing her mind as she can see herself working in a hospital after college.
Make sure to keep up with Maddie Vacula and the rest of the track team this semester and the swim team next semester. Roll Houlas!
Maddie’s Favorites!
Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Food: Bread
Favorite Candy: York Peppermint Patties
Favorite Movie: Crazy Rich Asians
Favorite TV Show: Brooklynn 99 and the Office
Favorite Athlete: Cody Miller
Favorite Subject: anything science
Favorite Song: Weatherman by Eddie Benjamin
