Clarksville, Ark. – The Centenary swimming teams will begin their seasons on Friday as the Ladies and Gents face host University of Ozarks and Rhodes College at 3 p.m. at the Ozarks Swimming Facility.
The Maroon and White will then head East just over an hour to face host Hendrix College and Rhodes again on Saturday in Conway, Ark. at 1 p.m.
"This season's teams, both the men and women return many upperclassmen and includes our largest freshmen class in over a decade," said head coach Tom Radam. Although we are relatively young as a team, for the Gents, we have incredible leadership from our seniors, Antonio Barbee (Plaquemine, La.) and Aiden Peterkin (Zachary, La.). On the Ladies' team, both Anacelia Galeano-Balam (Baton Rouge, La.) and Madeline Vacula (Belton, Texas) will also provide a strong leadership pair."
Barbee had an impressive junior season with six runner-up finishes, 13 top-five finishes, and 16 Top 10's while Peterkin had an impressive junior season in and out of the pool. He was named to the 2022-23 Academic All-District® Men's Swimming & Diving Team by the College Sports Communicators which recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in the pool and in the classroom. Peterkin also recorded eight top-five finishes last season which included a pair of runner-up finishes. He was also chosen as the Gents' representative on the SCAC Winter All-Sportsmanship Team.
Anacelia Galeano-Balam had an outstanding junior season as she competed in every meet and recorded three individual wins, 15 top-five finishes, and was a member of four winning relay teams. She represented the Ladies on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, was named to the SCAC Student-Athlete Academic Honor Roll and the Spring 2023 Dean's List.
Vacula had another stellar season for the Ladies as she earned All-SCAC honors for the second season in a row and capped her season with a win in the 1650 free in a personal-best time of 17:55.66 at the SCAC Championships in February. She recorded a whopping 17 wins last season and now owns 24 individual wins in her career, highlighted by becoming a SCAC champion in the 1650. Her 1650 time at the SCAC Championships is the second-fastest in school history (D1 or D3) and she also owns all-time top-10 times in the 200-back, 500 free and 1,000 free. She swam seven all-time top-10 times in the 1650-free, 200-back, 500-free, and 1,000 free.
Vacula set a new career-best time in the 500-free at the SCAC Championships with a time of 5:14.27 to place fifth. She was named the SCAC Women's Swimmer of the Week on Oct. 5 after she had a fantastic season-opening meet for the Ladies at home versus Ozarks as she earned three individual victories and was also part of the squad's victorious 200-yard medley relay team. Vacula was voted as the Centenary Female Student-Athlete of the Year at the annual athletics banquet, named to the SCAC Student-Athlete Academic Honor Roll and the Spring 2023 Dean's List.
"Though we may be young, we will compete and race fiercely! Our talented class of freshmen is led by Ubaldo Ayala (Hallsville, Texas), Nick Gordon (Aurora, Colo.), Hannah Waddell (Shreveport, La.), and Reece Esser (Huntsville, Texas).
"We also have great expectations that our returning sophomores, Jameson Feeney (Shreveport, La.) and Adriana de la Fuente (Baton Rouge, La.), along with all the other members of our freshman class will make solid and substantial contributions to the success of our team this season."
Feeney made an immediate impact in his rookie season as he finished with three individual wins, three runner-up finishes, and 13 top-five finishes. He picked up his first two collegiate wins against Millsaps on Oct. 22 in the 100-breast with a time of 1:12.93, and in the 200-breast with a time of 2:39.95. His final win of the season came on Jan. 21 against Austin College at home in the 50-breast with a season-best time of 32.60 Feeney was also strong in the classroom as he was named to the SCAC Student-Athlete Academic Honor Roll.
The fellow sophomore de la Fuente competed in seven meets while earning six top-five finishes. Her first top-five finish came against Ozarks in the season opener on Oct. 1 as she finished fourth in the 100-free with a time of 1:15.84. Her highest finish of the season was against Millsaps Oct. 22 in the 100-free as she placed third with a time of 1:19.05. In that same meet, she was a member of the Ladies' winning team in the 400-free relay with a time of 4:35.58. She swam a season-best time of 1:34.81 in the 100-breast to earn a fourth-place finish on Jan. 21 at home against Austin College and capped an impressive meet with a fifth-place finish in the 100-free with another season-best time of 1:12.55. A strong student as well, she was named to the SCAC Student-Athlete Academic Honor Roll.
"I sincerely believe the strength of our team lies within our solidarity – all our newcomers possess incredible work ethics, a commitment to excellence and a passionate pursuit to become the Best Versions of Ourselves, Ever!"
Centenary will face McMurry University in consecutive road meets on Oct. 13-14 in Abilene, Texas and face Millsaps College in a dual meet in Jackson, Miss. on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 1 p.m.
The Maroon and White will hold their annual Intrasquad/Alumni Meet on Homecoming weekend, set for Saturday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. The Ladies and Gents will have a pair of home regular-season meets – Wednesday, Jan. 10 versus Millsaps (4 p.m.) and then on Senior Day against Austin College (Saturday, Jan. 20 at 1 p.m.). Centenary will also compete in the Austin College Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 13 in Sherman, Texas at 1 p.m.
The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships are set for Feb. 14-17 in Garland, Texas. The Ladies and Gents each finished seventh at the SCAC Championships last season.
The 2024 NCAA Division III Championships will be held March 20-23 in Greensboro, NC.
See the Ladies and Gents' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wswim/2023-24/schedule
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