WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Healthy As a Horse: Matilyn Wilhelmsen

Episode Date: September 28, 2026

Mati joins Ella to discuss all things sports and health as she enters her junior year. 

Welcome to Healthy as a Horse where we discuss health and wellness for Hillsdale Chargers. I'm Ella Malone. And our guest today is Madeline Wilhelmson. Maddie is a junior on the swim team, specializing in distance and brush stroke. She is a rhetoric and media major. And I just want to say welcome, Maddie. Hi. Thank you for having me. Of course. We are both, I'd say pretty like-minded when it comes to holistic health, which is kind of what the show is all about. So it'd be wonderful to make this very conversational about that, even though I definitely do have specific questions for you. I love to get a wide range of perspective on the show by inviting different athletes. But I'm excited to talk with you specifically because you really understand what the show is about. So thank you for coming. I do want to start

with getting into your wellness journey over the last two years. I know it's been a lot, but I'd say like I've seen you grow a lot and I think you're in a good place now. So yeah, you've dealt with repeated illness and an injury or two at this point. So I want to think a little bit about how you've overcome those and what you've learned in the process and kind of how you manage that now. For sure, the first two years here were definitely difficult. Came in, came down with COVID, unfortunately. And then pneumonia, second semester right before conference. Definitely like a challenge, especially freshman year when everything is just so new.

And then you're also just so ill that like things are perceived differently. you're mentally kind of just a mess. And then last year came in, got injured, super spinous, almost tore, like kind of a mess, took most of the season off, and then was able to come back right before conference. So I would say I've learned a lot of how to be patient with myself and not only that, but my coaches and my team and the staff that was working with me. and coming to the understanding that like not everyone knows exactly what to do with all situations. And like it's very much like I learned a lot of partnership with the people that are above me that I respect, coaches, training staff, even like captains.

I've just learned a lot of like it's coming up with ideas. It's working together and problem solving. And so I would say a lot of what I learned was, you know, it's a partnership. Everything's a work in progress. Having patience and grace with myself and the people around me, as well as like embracing the challenge and knowing that like God has this happen for a reason and that it's not new to him. And so it has become less scary, I think, coming into this year at least.

like not necessarily being nervous about getting ill or injured or I don't know. I firmly believe that if you're scared of an illness, it's way more likely to get you. Yeah. You got to stare at it in the face and be like, you will not have me. Because people who are anxious about getting sick, I think they get sick more often. And maybe that's because they've gotten sick more often in their life. So then it becomes a stressor for them. But for me, I just look at it and I'm like, no.

and it seems to help at least a little bit. Not today, Satan. Part of it is a mentality. Oh, for sure. And like, I think I learned that definitely at the end of freshman year is like, okay, there's a point where you mentally need to start healing and stop keeping yourself almost in the victim mindset of like, whoa is me. I'm ill.

Woe is me. I can't do this. Yeah. And it's like, no, just because things are harder or more difficult or recovery is still going on, It's like, how do I adapt? Well, and I think anxiety surrounding illness or injury, I think those, like anxiety doesn't just weaken your mind. We know that anxiety weakens your mind.

But I think it does weigh on you physically and weaken you physically. Oh, yeah. Anxiety weighs on you so much. Yeah. That like academically all these different areas of your life weigh into then everything else. Well, and it keeps you from keeping that routine and the discipline to do the things you need to get done to keep you from getting sick to get your assignments done. I just think it affects you in every area of your life. So yeah, finding peace, not being a victim to the things that are happening

to you. I think that's huge and helps you move forward so well. What you said earlier about, the word I would use is collaboration. You're talking about with adults and trainers and teammates and professors and captains. I think communication is huge. I was actually thinking about it yesterday compared to being home over the summer, I would talk to my mom, my best friend, and we would just talk and hang out and it's just chill. And every now and then I'd, you know, rant to my mom about my internship and how I was frustrated. But that was like once a week. But then now here, there is just, the level of communication is just 10 times as much. I feel like I'm always talking to someone, always working out a situation, always making a decision.

And you can't carry that on your own, especially when it comes to decisions about things like injury or not feeling well or being sick. Right. And I just have learned, I have learned a lot about communication with other people. And I definitely, we have together, you know? Right. So I think it's really cool. You know, these are some of the most formative years for us.

Yeah. So naturally we're learning this idea and concept of like healthy communication. And I just think being in athletics has also just helped us in that area. So just emphasizing. Yeah. And I think as a swimmer communication is such an interesting topic. Yeah. Compared to what I've heard from my friends who play volleyball, we're playing a whole different game when it comes to that.

Right. Their communication is like one of the biggest things about their sport. They lose a point. They gain a point based on their communication. Right. For us, it's just as serious, but it's completely different. Right. Yeah.

In my race, I'm not communicating with anyone. When we're doing our thing in the pool, we're not really communicating unless it's cheering or coach on the side doing little hand motions to tell you to kick harder. But communication for us outside of the pool is huge. Right. Yeah. It's so true. Like volleyball, you were saying, it's just so on court. And obviously their communication off court is very important.

Right. But for us, it's very different in the pool. We can't really communicate. Right. I think like to emphasize that like volleyball on court, like they have to communicate for the success of the game. And that to them then their communication outside of the game comes more natural. Whereas like for swimmers, since we're literally face down in the water.

Yeah. We cannot talk to each other. And we're at the wall for like five seconds. So like no talking. Whereas when we're outside of the pool, we have to make such a conscious effort to do that. And I think our team has done a great job, especially this year, like making that conscious choice of connecting with one another. Yeah, we can't talk much in the pool. So we need to really be intentional outside of the pool.

And it could even be talking about things that happened in the pool. Right. But it could be, you know, it's easy to just ignore. or not talk about practice because you don't want to, but it's good to talk about those things and get that off your chest if you had a tough practice or there was even something small and technical bothering you. And I was just thinking about even when you're in the pool, a short three words can sometimes really mean a lot to someone.

Yeah. So even when I can't breathe, if I need to tell my lane mate, you got this. Yeah. I will do it. I will. Yeah, for sure. I mean, like, Izzy, one of our teammates, she, She's great at that.

She's great at that. Like she is a sanguine personality and she will just be like, nice job, ladies and late four. So this kind of plays in like being able consciously as a team and individuals coming together to communicate outside of the water. Also helps with like that anxiety and that stress and lowering it. Yeah. Because like we can verbally talk through things we're going through or man, this practice is really hard and it weighed on. how hard the day was, being able to, like, have people sit with you just for a little bit and just talk about it helps that load off your shoulders a little bit more, which is keeping you

healthy. You're listening to Healthy as a Horse. I'm your host, Elle Malone. And today I'm talking with my teammate Madeline about team culture and the importance of communication. We're also going to get into more nutritional things and some sports psych. On the show this past, I guess, since the spring semester, I've been getting into life balance. And there are seven aspects which are physical, intellectual, environmental, vocational, social, emotional, and spiritual health. If you could choose one and explain why it's important to you and your journey here as a student and athlete, that would be great.

Yeah, I would love to talk about social balance. Okay. Especially being a student athlete here. Yeah. I'm a student athlete. I work in the athletics department in the mornings. I am a part of Chi Omega, the sorority. I attend intervarsity.

I volunteer at church on Sundays, and then I teach them lessons. It's got a lot going on. And I would say having a healthy balance in your social life would be more of the sense of, you're going to have smaller friend groups in these social ponds. I guess everybody kind of knows that. Like, oh, at an university, I have this group of friends. Or they also fill into my swim life. And, oh, some of them are in my sorority.

Like people kind of flow from each group. But everywhere you kind of go, you have a community. Yeah. And it kind of depends on what you do with that community, I guess, and how you spend your time with that community. For me, balancing social life with the stress of life helps me embrace the challenge and go through every day more motivated. Because you're supported? Because I'm supported.

Yeah. Because like, I don't know. Balancing social life to me means I'm studying with a friend or I'm at practice and I'm walking in with a friend. And I'm consciously making decisions to be around people while I do the things that need to get done. Yeah. Right. And for me, a lot of my motivation is people. I'm a people person. I care about people. I'm a big lover. I'm a big teddy bear. I just care deeply about people. And so that means you also need to be cared for. Right. Yeah. And I have found my community in that community like is what he almost keeps me like sane here and like healthy. Yeah. Because I just, when I'm having a rough day, I need to talk through things.

I have my people. I almost, I value my relationships that I made here. Like, yes, grades are important. And I love learning. But also, like, when I look back on these formative years here, I want to have these people forever. Like, you know. Relationships are always more important than the numbers. Right.

So for me, like. like balancing a social life is making sure that I am spending time with people, that I am investing my time and effort into people. Investing was the exact word I was just thinking of because you have to, yeah, you have to choose what you're investing in. And we are here to learn and it's about becoming a better person and more educated person and more well-rounded, a more well-rounded individual. and to be well-rounded, you must have a balance of the social and the education and the physical health.

Right. And if being social and being with people is how important to you to be well-rounded, boom. Yeah. Because everyone should be that way. But even if you're more inclined to be social, then lean into that as long as you're still investing in the other things that make you well-rounded. What has been your experience transitioning to college and living on your own? the last two years with nutrition and fueling yourself for sports. Freshman year was hard.

Yes. Definitely, like, tricky, very tricky, especially balancing, like, how many meal swipes do you have in a week? Like, how many do you have a day? It's a whole new thing. Yeah, it's a whole new thing. Everybody understands this universal experience, or people like to say slang-wise, canon event.

Whatever. Yes. But for me, finding something I really enjoy and look forward to eating at least once a day or, you know, three times a week. And for me, like right now, my favorite thing to have that has protein and my vitamins is my protein smith. Like, over the summer, I experimented and I found a recipe I love. And, like, I keep those ingredients on me consistently. And so that like kind of helps me get through the day of eating. It's like, okay, I have to eat breakfast.

I have to lunch. I have to eat dinner. Sometimes it's motivationally hard because it's like, oh, this takes time out of my day to eat something. Or like this plate at like the dining hall doesn't look great. Yeah. But I know I'm like, oh my goodness. At the end of the day I get to have my protein smoothie. That's a great outlook on it because you're controlling what you can control in that.

Right. Because you cannot decide what is made for you when you're on a meal plan. Right. But if you even have a small snack that you really, really like in the evening that can make everything else better if it wasn't what you wanted earlier in the day. That's a great idea. And like just for me, I was finding like a consistency. So like last year I would keep eggs in the house.

And it's like for breakfast, I'm having like eggs with some sort of carbohydrate. and whatever that was and some sort of fruit. And like lunch, it's some sort of protein, whether it's chicken or pork. Yeah. Or even beef, which I don't have too often right now, but like pork or chicken and some sort of carbs, some sort of veggie. Like just always having in mind like, how do I want to balance my plate? The athlete's plate. The athlete's plate.

So like right now this semester I'm on my sorority house meal plan and there's always a protein made, a veggie, carbohydrate, you know, all like the dining hall does, and there's fruit in the fridge and all these sorts of things. So people, like, can get their plates made, pre-made when they're at practice or in an event and you can just have the plate later on in the night. Yeah. I actually stopped asking for people to pre-make my plates because, like, I mean, they don't know athlete portions. So for me, I'm like, all right, I love, like, I'm going to need a little more protein. Yeah. a little more carbs, a little more veggies.

Just a little more of everything that people are. And the balance might be a little different than what they would put in there too. So it's more and a little different. Right. It's more and different. But also, I feel like a good little pro tip is like getting to know the cooks. Like I got to know our house cook. Yeah.

And so she knows what I like. She knows that I eat rice consistently. So she always keeps like a wild rice in the house room. And she's like, okay, Maddie eats a lot of chicken. So there's always chicken or we have like the organic canned chicken in the, and like the pantry. Yeah. And she's like, oh, Maddie eats strawberries, a lot of strawberries, a lot of bananas. So she wants you get to know the people who care about you and are trying to take care of you.

You can kind of have those open-ended discussions of, hey, this really helps fuel me for what I do. Yeah. And I think that that's one of the biggest things I've learned. That's awesome. It's just getting to know people connecting with them, open-ended conversations. What is your favorite random health tip? I have quite a few. Pick one.

I can't. Okay. I would say like going in seeing a nutritionist or a natural path, finding out what vitamins you need. Your body is lacking and your body needs. That was the same answer last week. Yes. I guess I could say a different one because she already went through that.

But my other one would be eight hours of sleep or nine. Exactly. Wonderful. everybody's like yeah sure sure and then we get into the swing of your midseason you have midterms papers it's it's hell like you're just like what am i doing with my life at some point yeah literally over certain things like even like i put this over front time i put which is a lot which is hard when you're a social balanced girl right like which is hard for me yeah over friends over like activities this is my like good sleep like not just like I dozed off here that like strict sleep I got a good

six hours no one cares it's not enough it's six is not gonna I'm so sorry six isn't cut in it no like not when you're swimming five miles in a day yeah five miles in a day two practice not not even three practices swim morning lift swim three practices in a day it's not enough no and your brain function. Like, you are burning calories and energy. Pretty much everyone on the show this question, and I've pretty much reached a consensus. But do you think being an athlete at this level comes at the sacrifice of your health? Yes. Okay. Do you want to hear the consensus I've reached from everyone else? I do. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, totally. The answer is it doesn't have to. So based off of what you have said, when you prioritize the correct nutrition, when you prioritize sleep, when you have a good community that supports you and you have learned to communicate to those around you and you have a support system, I would say the answer is no.

When you are overwhelmed by anxiety, you're not sleeping. You do not have a good support system and you don't communicate that to the others around you. the answer is yes. I think that like it does come with a sacrifice. It is a sacrifice, but I don't think it's one that will necessarily harm you in the future. Some people live in fear that they're not going to be as healthy as they could be when they're older because of what they're doing now. And I do not think that's true if you're taking care of yourself on the daily. I can agree with that.

I think that like it's a temporary sacrifice and temporary like. harm, not necessarily harm in like a bad way, but like you're missing out on social things or your body, yeah, your body's going to not feel great. And your body's not going to agree with you necessarily the entire time either. Your body will rebel against some of the things you're doing because you're exhausted. But I think in the long run, no, because you're learning so much. What is your favorite thing about being a hill steel charger? The support and community here is like no other. It's so supportive. It's uplifting. You're always energized and excited. Like a great embodiment of being a wholesale charger is John Tharp, our athletic director. He's the best. He is a charger. He's always energized, always optimistic, always supportive. Even when there's a hard time, he's serious, gets the job done. But he's also supportive. and loyal and loving about it. So I just...

He is an example of what we should be as athletes. Yes. And I think it's just amazing to be a charger. Thank you for coming on the show today, Maddie. I've absolutely loved having you here. I think we had a great conversation. And I'd honestly love to have you back next time. Yes, please.

I enjoyed this time. I can't wait for next time. You've been listening to Healthy as a Horse for Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM.