Life at the Top: Maddy Lu
Grae Zedlitz (‘26), Sports Editor
As the end of the 2023-2024 school year approaches, another time-honored tradition has arrived at Casady. Each year, seniors give what is known as a “Senior Speech.” Senior speeches are opportunities for seniors to impart wisdom, share memories, and laugh (or cry) about their time as a Cyclone. While it’s always fun to reminisce about your high school years, sharing a lesson or value that you hold sacred is just as important. As fellow swimmer and senior Thomas Rudnicki (‘24) mentioned, “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” While this applies universally, it shines when held to athletics. Like many other sports, swimming can come down to fractions of seconds. An extra breath of air can be the difference between jubilation and defeat. Maddy Lu (‘24), however, cannot relate. She’s never known defeat in a Cyclone swim cap, and that is a league of its own.
It is literally impossible to become a master at something in a day. Sports, academics, extracurriculars, whatever. It takes work around the clock. It takes work when no one is looking, and working when you want to work the least. Day in, and day out, years of work can culminate in the span of a few minutes. “I began swimming competitively when I was six,” Maddy commented. “I swam with my club team all throughout lower school, and swam for both Casady and the club in mMiddle Sschool.” The ability to work hard and dedicate yourself to a cause from a young age is a rare and valuable trait in a generation with a rapidly dwindling attention span. Maddy’s ability to recognize her faults in the pool and work them to perfection is what truly sets her apart from the competition. While it helps to practice twice a day (club and school practices), that alone is its own challenge. As any athlete knows, one practice per day can often be grueling to the point of exhaustion. Participating in a two-a-day swim practice, on top of being a Casady student, is not for the faint of heart.
Forming a good practice regimen at a young age, however, pays back tremendously in the future. “I swim an hour and a half in the morning and evening on Mondays and Tuesdays, and one practice per day every other day of the week,” Maddy continued. “I do endurance work on Monday, Sprinting and IM (Individual Medley) on Tuesdays, stroke and technique work on Wednesdays, recovery on Thursdays, more endurance work on Friday, and this leads to races on Saturday!” Swim practices can often consist of thousands of yards (or meters, in some cases) per workout. Committing your body to such a heavy physical toll six6 days out of the week is a challenge few can claim to have conquered. However, these brutal schedules are essential to being a champion, which Maddy has repeatedly proved. Many kids dream of achieving the elusive first place in sports, but when put in a hard position, give up on that dream. What separates good from great is not talent. A person with all the talent in the world and no work ethic will lose to someone with less talent and a better work ethic every time.
That work ethic can show itself in many ways. For elite high school athletes, it often takes shape in an award from the school, or an athletic scholarship, offered by a college. Maddy took home the Most Valuable Player award, an All-SPC honor, and was an SPC Champion in the 100-yard breaststroke as a junior in 2022. She, so far, has taken home a state title in the same race and is cruising towards another MVP award this spring as a senior.
Maddy also announced via an Instagram post that she will be attending Emory University in the fall as a swimmer. “I am so excited,” she wrote, “ to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at Emory University! Thank you to my family, teammates, friends, and coaches for your love and support throughout this process and I am so thankful for this opportunity. Go Eagles!” The culmination of several years of blood, sweat, and tears is a rare accomplishment that very few people get to experience and enjoy. “Earning a spot on the Emory Swim Team was such an achievement for my swimming career. Emory is the number one ranked Division III collegiate team in the country and has won the NCAA Championship 16 times,” Maddy remarked. “I am so lucky to become a part of their very bright future!”
As Maddy’s high school career draws to a close, it is only fair that she is recognized for what she truly is: a winner. Time and time again, she has come out on top, gone back to work, and done it better. She has never, not once, lost a 100-yard breaststroke in a Casady cap. This level of sheer dominance, in any sport, is simply astounding. She works her flaws until they are her biggest strengths, and it shows. Her hunger to constantly improve and win is arguably what separates her from everyone else. As she finishes her swimming career as a Cyclone, it is fitting to grant her the title of “Most Valuable”. After all, only the best move on.
