Swim team looks forward to post-season success

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Lucas Maier, Staff Writer

The womens swim and dive team is causing waves this year with a powerful team and a dream to bring back a State trophy.

“This is the strongest team I’ve ever had,” swim coach Kris Daughters said. “We’ve got a really excellent team this year.”

Daughters has been coaching the team for 18 years, and has nothing but confidence in the abilities of her swimmers this year. Seniors Mackenna Briggs and Christina Sargent, juniors Ellie Hohensinner, Sierra Lesnik, Lauryn Hepp, and sophomore Sydney Hartford are swimmers she expects will go to State, several of whom she thinks will place highly.

“We’d like to bring a trophy back,” Daughters said. “We’ve got a really good shot at first or second at Districts, and at least fourth at State.”

The athletes are just as enthusiastic as their coach, with many returning members expressing hope for the season and praising the new members of the team.

Liberty recently beat Skyline for the first time in 15 years, which has led to a surge in morale and enthusiasm. The team is currently 7-0, and has come out on top against Newport and Issaquah, schools that Liberty has never beaten in the womens swim program’s history. The team is overwhelmingly positive about their record and abilities.

“We have a lot of underclassmen, so we’re way stronger in that area than previous years. Having a lot of younger swimmers is really fun,” Hepp said.

Team captain Briggs expressed similar sentiments, with a positive attitude about the team and its members.

“I’m so impressed with how the team has done this year,” Briggs said. “We’ve been going up against Skyline and beating Skyline, and we haven’t done that in years. We have a really strong freshman class, and they’re helping the team out. We have a lot more depth this year.”

The move to 2A has been a widely discussed topic this year, and has had a large effect on the student-athletes. Briggs says that she’s seen a really positive outlook from the swimmers, as more people are qualifying for District and State since the move from 3A.

“I’ve seen people getting out of the pool with smiles on their faces because they’ve achieved something they never thought they could,” Briggs said.