Centre College Athletics Photos
By LARRY VAUGHT
She had thought she might have a chance to be the Women’s High-Point Swimmer at the Southern Athletic Association Championships but Centre College senior Callie West didn’t dwell on that going into the meet.
“I tried not to let it come to the forefront. (Coach) Dean (Brownley) had a special feeling about our team coming away with the win. I am superstitious and afraid of jinxing our finish,” said West.
She had no reason to worry as competing in three individual events and four relays, she helped lead the Colonels to the team win in their first year hosting the conference championship. She won the 100-yard butterfly in 55.36 seconds, a new meet record. She already had the meet record in the 50 freestyle in 23.57 seconds. If that wasn’t enough, she won the 100 freestyle in 52.22 to give her the 100th win over her illustrious Centre career.
“One hundred wins was cool. It (wins) is not something you count in your career. My coaches and teammates knew and it came down to my last collegiate race,” West, a Lexington, Ky., native, said. “The team score was close, and I knew that if I could win, we would have a good chance to win the conference for the first time in 12 years. I am glad they didn’t tell me I was going for my 100th win.”
West also became the first Centre College swimmer to join the 2,000-point club based on points earned in dual meets and invitational events.
“I had no idea about that. That was also pretty cool, but I don’t think any swimmer keeps up with the points total,” she said.
She followed the conference meet by bettering her own record in the 100 backstroke at the Last Chance Meet at Centre with a finish of 56.17 seconds and also combined with Caroline Lee, Katie Bridwell and Olivia Headley in the 200 freestyle relay to finish in 1:34.26, another program record.
West, who will compete in the Division III NCAA Championships in March, shared her thoughts on her career, her memories and more.
West shared her thoughts on her career, her memories and more.
Question: Overall, how has your time at Centre been compared to what you might have anticipated?
West: “Centre was at the bottom of my (college) list. My parents never tried to pressure me, but they were like just keep that option open and talking to coach (Dean) Brownley was awesome. I loved him, and I think that’s really what swung me and how well rounded I could be at Centre. And now that I look back at it, I couldn’t have made a better decision. The things I’ve gotten to do in the pool and outside of the pool, I can’t imagine myself anywhere else. I do try and think about what would have happened had I gone D1. There’s no doubt in my mind that this was the right decision for me, and I’ve gotten more out of this than I could ever, ever have given back to Centre.”
Question: Has the pool experience or out of pool experience been the best for you?
West: “I’d say the best part has to be the relationships that I’ve made during my time here with my teammates and my coaches. Just friends that I’m going to have forever and ever. But I wouldn’t have those relationships if it weren’t for being in the pool every day. Our practices are grueling and exhausting, and we’re here at five o’clock in the morning, but that’s when the relationships are made. We become like siblings with each other. We don’t always want to see each other at 5 a.m. but we do, and it’s those smiles that we see first thing in the morning that make our relationship so deep. Our coaches greet us with a smile no matter what they’ve had going on. That’s so special.”
Question: Do you feel like you’ve continued to get better as a swimmer during your time here?
West: “I would say so times-wise. I was still going best times at my midseason meet this past fall. A lot of girls kind of hit their peak in high school, which is what I was afraid had happened to me when I was 15/16 years old. I didn’t think I was ever going to get better than that. I have continued to drop time throughout my time here, and everyone else has gotten faster also. So much of that is because the girls that I train with every day are so talented and pushed me so hard that it’s hard to fall off.”
Question: Do you have any regrets that you only got one year in the new swimming facility that is the best collegiate facility in the state?
West: “I mean, I might have to come back. I joke around that I’m applying to medical school, but if that doesn’t work out I’m going to be in here. I am still in awe. I loved Boles Natatorium (which was built in 1966). That was our home and I have such great memories there, but I just can’t believe this (new facility) is ours. The support the school and donors have shown us is incredible. It just showed the power of our swim team. They’re coming back 15, 20, 30 years later to help out and give us an even better space to train and compete.”
Question: Do you think 15 or 20 years from now you will be able to explain to Centre swimmers what Boles was like because this new facility opened this year?
West: “I hope we have some sort of pictures. We need a shrine or a memorial to Boles somewhere because it was unique, but it was starting to fall apart on us a little bit. I hope we can still share the stories like when the boiler broke and it was 50 degrees in the pool and we had to drive to Asbury to swim at 3 a.m. I’m sure we’ll still be telling those stories.”
Question: Have you ever wavered on your plans to attend medical school and become a doctor?
West: “I haven’t. I’ve always had a dream of getting to be a physician and being at Centre has helped because the connections that Centre College has are incredible. They call it the Center Mafia when the alums look after Centre students. I’ve gotten to shadow doctors who went to Centre and talk to people about what my path is going to be. They’ve helped me on that journey so much and I feel like I’m prepared for that schedule because of what I’ve done swimming-wise here.”
Question: Was this a stressful time, wondering about medical school as you were also finishing up your swim career?
West: “It was a little bit last year when I was studying for the MCAT while also I went abroad my junior fall term, and then I got back and I got sick. I had three weeks essentially to train for conference. I swam conference and decided not to swim a last chance meet to try and make a national cut because I was studying for the MCAT. So that was pretty stressful. I had great support during that time, but it was hard. Now I have decided to take a gap year before attending medical school, which I think was a good decision for me. I’m gonna coach my Lexington Country Club swimmers this summer, which is so fun for me. It’s like the best job in the world. Then I’m gonna do medical research for a year.”
Question: Any chance you could like medical research so much that you decide not to be a doctor?
West: “I don’t think so. I’ll be working under doctors, and so I think it’ll be more of a learning opportunity for me, and hopefully get to see ways that they interact with patients and interact with nurses and other doctors and things like that. But I have learned that I have to be able to adapt. So if things change, then I think I’ll be able to roll with the punches.”
Question: What do you think your best swimming memories are going to be here?
West’: “It’s so hard to pick just one. It was my freshman year when I went to Nationals by myself, but I wasn’t by myself because my teammates were coming and swimming with me every day at swim practice. Those were really good memories just because they didn’t have to be at practice, and they came anyway and spent time with me. That was the first time that I saw the power of our team and my teammates, and how much we cared for each other.
“But since then, there’s been so many good memories. We got to go to Italy together as a team. Just an incredible bonding experience. There are highs and lows to traveling that people don’t always talk about, that don’t always come out on Instagram posts, but getting to go through that was memorable. Some of the best memories have been the hardships that we’ve had, the worst practices end up being the best memories. Even this year on our training trip (to Florida), we had some super long and rough practices, but it doesn’t look too hard because there’s a big palm tree at the end of the lanes, and it’s sunny and warm.
“There was something different about the attitude of the team this year. There was like a lightness to it, and so much positivity. If someone was down, someone would pick each other up. Those are probably my most favorite memories.’
Question: How difficult was leaving home at age 15 for prep school in Tennessee, dealing with COVID your senior year and then also having an injury?
West: “I had a shoulder injury my junior year, kind of during COVID, where I stepped back from swimming. And I don’t like to say quit because I think I always knew I was going to come back, but I took a pretty big break. It was during COVID and I kind of had nothing else to do, so it was like I’ll get back in the pool. It wasn’t until late my senior year that I decided that I like swimming and I wanted to keep doing it in college.”
Question: How difficult do you feel your athletic/academic journey has been at Centre with some of the ups and downs you have had?
West: “There have been lots of highs and lows but we joke about it because coach Dean (Brownley) says all the time to use adversity. We make fun of him because it sounds silly, but those are the times that I feel like we’ve gotten closer and gotten stronger. Every change and transition that I’ve gone through in my career, it’s been cool how I’ve been able to use it to help underclassmen and some of the younger girls on the team. I feel like if someone’s having a hard day, or something happens in someone’s life and they have stuff going on at home, I can look back into my toolkit of things that I’ve gone through something similar. How can things that I’ve gone through help you? Maybe I didn’t deal with it the right way when I was going through it, but I want to be here to help you, so that maybe it’s a little bit easier on teammates.”
Question: With your outgoing personality did you ever consider a career in communications or public relations?
West: “I feel like I have two sides to me. I’m in the American Chemical Society here at Centre, but I’m in charge of public relations. I run Instagram and stuff in my sorority. I plan the events and make the T-shirts and the banners. I have a little bit of a creative communications, public relations side to me, and so I don’t like to close myself off to just one thing. I hope that there’s a world where I could maybe do both, or if I’m a doctor, and maybe one day have my practice, maybe I can also help with the advertising and the community relations. I just love people, I love talking to people, and I’m interested in the way that people receive things.”
