COLORADO SPRINGS (EYT) — Less than a year after becoming a student at Colorado College, Madeline (Maddy) Golier has taken her career in and out of the pool to new heights, both literally and figuratively.
The 2023 Brookville Area High School graduate has demonstrated incredible drive both as a middle-distance swimmer for the Colorado College Tigers and as a young woman who wants to make an impact on the world in the fields of economics and politics.
Swimming has been a part of the Jefferson County native’s life for more than a decade, starting with her days taking swim lessons at the Brookville YMCA and progressing to helping the Brookville Lady Raiders swimming and diving program experience its most successful season in program history.
“The Brookville YMCA program is one that has continually grown and gotten better and better as I’ve grown. I had great coaches who were very dedicated. Megan Matson and Jill Northey were very dedicated to me and the group of kids that I grew up swimming with. They really built a solid foundation for our program.”
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This solid foundation has helped turn the tide for the Lady Raiders varsity swimming and diving program in recent years. Unfortunately, the program had a tough decade or so and didn’t have many wins as a team. However, the tide has turned in recent years, and it’s all thanks to the foundation the Brookville YMCA swimming program has built and the hard work of many athletes, coaches and parents.
When it came time for her varsity career, Golier was a six-time District 9 medalist, four-time state meet qualifier, three-time school record holder and team captain. She set records that stood for decades, including the 200-yard individual medley, 400-meter freestyle and 500-meter freestyle. Indeed, these were records she had been chasing since entering high school and remain some of her proudest swimming moments. Setting these records was the culmination of years of swimming and the many people who invested in her as a young athlete.
During her high school years, two big changes helped her make big strides. One of those was swimming under current Brookville Swimming and Diving head coach Ray Doolittle and assistant coach Jill Northey. Doolittle has spent a lot of time in recent years helping develop swimmers and helping the Raiders programs, both girls and boys, grow and thrive. Additionally, Golier participated in Racer X Aquatics out of the area. Focused on swimming year-round, she sought out a local program that could lift her up during what some would consider slow months.
“My sophomore season didn’t go well, so I realized I had to settle and work really hard. I decided to commute an hour and a half to Pittsburgh every day for practice. I’d leave school at 3, go to practice around 5, practice for three hours, get home around 9:30, and head out there again on the weekends for practice. I did this every week for over two years. My coach, Jim Scarboll, is arguably one of the best coaches in the country. He helped me shave 30 seconds off my 500m freestyle each season. Participating in Racer X Aquatics helped me a lot in getting to the collegiate level.”
While there were plenty of opportunities locally for Golier to swim in college, she was determined to make her college experience one that explored not only her various academic interests, but other parts of the country that she was interested in. Like her mother, Jodi (Palermo) Golier, a former Air Force Academy women’s basketball player, Maddie is attending college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Colorado College became a place she couldn’t turn down after she visited and met with former head coach Anne Goodman James and current head coach Jen Buffin. These women helped Colorado College swimming and diving become one of the most popular programs at the NCAA Division III level. One thing that makes them different is that they recruit young people who fit the attitude and mentality that they all share. When they do that, accomplishments come naturally, both in the classroom and competitively.
Colorado College is one of the best colleges in the U.S. This private liberal arts college enrolls about 2,200 students and accepts only 16% of all applicants.
In many ways, the university is one of the few top liberal arts colleges in the nation, with a unique learning model called the block plan: students take only one course at a time and change classes every three and a half weeks, allowing students to focus on one course at a time and truly understand the subject matter being taught.
In track and field, the Tigers’ women’s swimming and diving team finished second at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Association (SCAC) Swimming and Diving Championships earlier this season, and Gollier believes a gold medal at the SCAC meet isn’t far off.
“As far as I know, I think our team is closer than any team at the collegiate level. We have a lot of traditions and spend a lot of time together, not just in the pool, but voluntarily. It is my teammates and the coaching staff’s ability to foster that kind of environment that made me have such a good time during my visit and why I wanted to come to college here. They don’t recruit players based on times first; that’s the second thing they consider. They recruit players based on how well they will fit into the program as people and whether they will contribute to the betterment of the university. I think that’s really special.”
As in high school, Golier spent little time getting involved in the Colorado College community. In her final year, she served as a communications intern for Congressman Russ Andrews’ campaign, served as an orientation leader, worked as an outdoor education leader, was an admissions ambassador, and participated in the Scholar All-American women’s program. These roles and accomplishments came after she graduated near the top of her class, founded a nonprofit called the Helper Locker Project that allocated funds to discreetly install lockers filled with feminine hygiene products in community buildings, participated in youth and government clubs, competed in DECA competitions, maintained a 4.0 grade point average, and was inducted into the National Honor Society.
Golier is taking a relatively unique major in class called International Political Economy, which combines economics, international studies, and political science. What will this major help her with? She hopes to work in international politics or business. Getting there will undoubtedly require a lot of work, including more work in politics and a master’s or law degree. But that’s still a few years away, and she’s only a sophomore in college.
No matter what direction her career takes her, there’s no denying that Maddie Golier is an incredible young woman. Her passion in and out of the pool continues to drive her to new heights. By choosing the University of Colorado, she knew she had no choice but to reach new physical heights that she wouldn’t have had at Pennsylvania.
But altitude is much more than a literal term.
Maddie Golier’s athletic career and her young professional career both soared when she chose to explore a new state and follow her heart during her collegiate career.
“The University of Colorado was the best place for me and I’m really glad I chose to come here, but it was really nice to come back home for the summer and train with members of Clarion University’s program. I’m grateful to coach Brie Kelly for welcoming me to train and use their facilities. I know it will help me,” she said.
Brookville Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
