While Liberty HS athletes participate in almost every sport, the school is known, most notably, for its astounding swimming and diving team. This season, both the girls and boys swimming teams ended with a record of 10 wins and two losses, proving their distinction within the Lehigh Valley. In addition to their incredible records, a girls relay and individual swimmers broke records as well.

For many years, the Liberty’s swimming and diving team (LSD) has sent numerous students to districts and states. This year, over 30 team members geared up to compete in the diving districts at Emmaus HS Feb. 23 and the swimming districts March 1 and 2 at Parkland HS.

Cara Kuykens, a senior diver, qualified and participated in the diving districts this past weekend. A diver since her sophomore year, Kuykens shares her favorite memories this past season.

“This year we got a new [diving] coach, and she has really helped the team have a positive outlook about diving. Since the team is so small, we became close with each other fast, and we always look forward to any time we spend together.”

The team is fairly new to diving so its goals for this season were to learn and execute more dives and perfect the ones they can already do, according to Kuykens.

With diving districts complete, the team is looking forward to the swimming districts this upcoming weekend. Around 30 swimmers are getting ready to compete against their biggest rivals: Parkland, Emmaus and Nazareth. One of the qualifiers for districts, Ryan Wycherley, says that this season has been a lot of fun and the team has made many improvements in its technique, training and stamina. LSD began practices before Thanksgiving. Swimmers come to practice before school, on days off, after school, and over the weekends. On top of their busy practice schedule, they compete in meets 1-2 days a week. Being a swimmer is definitely a huge commitment, but it properly represents the team’s strong willpower and determination.

Even when the team isn’t preparing for meets, swimmers and divers still like to get together to have pasta parties and sleepovers. They’ve grown as a family and share a lot of cherishable memories.

“I’ve been on this swim team since my freshman year, so this has been a really good season, but bittersweet at the same time,” says Kay Wetmore, a senior swimmer. According to Wetmore, they maintain the tradition of passing down team awards from the seniors to the underclassmen.

“Prior to districts, some people on the team have the tradition of bleaching their hair, and then on the day of districts we shave our heads,” Wycherley says. Both of these traditions have been a token to their dedication and enthusiasm for the team and the sport.

For the team, swimming and diving have become more than just sports, but also a place where they get to cherish the time with their teammates and support each other in their achievements. Naturally, they’ve created a family and sense of community; an attribute Liberty is so proud to represent. Although it’s been an intense season for the Liberty swimming and diving team, everyone’s determination has produced a season with sensational records, new achievements and personal feats. The end of this season only prefaces LSD’s success at districts and states.