Liberty boys’ swim and dive will take a record-breaking 14 swimmers to the State competition today, where they hope to bring home a team trophy, a feat they haven’t accomplished since 2012.
The team came in second place overall at the District competition on February 11. They were within 17 points of taking down the two-time defending state champions, Anacortes High School. The meet’s results also added seven swimmers and four divers to the State team, which already featured three swimmers.
Districts resulted in many individual and relays successes. The top finisher on the team was freshman Warren Briggs, who was the champion in both the 200 and 500 yard freestyles. Briggs was pleasantly surprised by his victory.
“I’ve been working really hard in the off-season on my club swim team, so I was hoping I’d have a successful season, but I didn’t expect to do this well,” Briggs said.
Briggs isn’t the only freshman making waves this season—half of the State team is comprised of freshmen. With so many new swimmers, senior captains David Rand and Marty Klatt were focused on creating a supportive team atmosphere.
“This season I was most excited for meeting all the new swimmers, getting to know the incoming freshman, and creating the community and sportsmanship I’ve experienced in the past,” Klatt said.
The boys’ swim team has been on an upswing in recent years with an annual influx of talented incoming freshmen who have trained in summer leagues and club teams.
The team’s four divers that qualified for Districts—senior Dale Franko, junior Reid Parsons, and sophomores Ty Aramaki and Ryan Kirschner—propelled the team to their second place victory at Districts by consistently delivering high-scoring dives. All four divers scored between 291 and 300 points, which will earn all four Top 16 honors at State. Though it is some of the divers’ first time on the team, their parkour background gave them an advantage on the board.
“Marty and I knew we were getting a bunch of amazing new swimmers and divers, so the vibe going into the season was very hopeful,” Rand said. “I don’t think we’ll be disappointed at State.”