Junior year is renowned for being the most busy overwhelming year of a person’s high school career. But that doesn’t stop the junior class of Liberty swim and dive girls. 

Statistically, the girls’ swive class of 2027 has the strongest group of swimmers out of all four grades. 

Junior swimmer Anna Chiu attributes this to when the girls first joined the team as freshmen.

“The classes right before us were swimming during Covid, and that reduced the team numbers a lot,” Chiu said. “When our class joined, we were thrown onto the A relays immediately, which forced us to improve quickly.”

The A relays are the relays with the four fastest girls on the team, and they tend to be some of the biggest point grabbers at meets.  

Chiu explains that because the junior girls had to adapt to the competitive environment when they joined the team, the class has not only maintained, but also built upon a strong mindset throughout their years of swimming, which has helped them to improve every year as a group. 

“I think there is a lot of competition due to this. It doesn’t give other classes much of a chance to be on the A relays,” Chiu said. 

Swim and Dive Coach Kris Daughters has a different perspective.

“I think it’s just happenstance, random,” Daughters said. “Normally for a team you’ve got your speed spread out across all four grades, but for whatever reason this group has a lot of strong swimmers in the class of 2027.”

Despite Daughters’ opinion that the class’ strength is by chance, she still finds great value in the group of girls outside of speed. 

“Many of them are quite vocal and good supporters of the kids, and they are pretty talented at teaching,” Daughters said. “Swimmers like Aisha and Tala have been on swim teams since they were little, so they’ve had a lot of experience with technique, which they can teach to other swimmers.”

While Daughters shows her appreciation for the junior class, she acknowledges the strength of the team as a whole. 

“It’s not like everyone that is fast is in the junior class, but it is a strong group,” Daughters said. 

Other primary point-getters on the team include Mikayla Phan (12), Raina Jeter (12), and Mckenna Howe (9).

So far in the 2025 season, the junior girls have had many achievements. Tala Estes placed 3rd in the 500 freestyle at the Mukilteo Invitational, and other girls have placed high at dual meets contributing to wins against Skyline, Eastlake, Hazen, Sammamish, and Bothell.  

Despite the hectic pace of junior year, the 2027 girls’ swive team continues to be the primary point contributor on the team