Gabriella Chernoff is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Liberty High School for AZPreps365.com

In a closely contested clash between Liberty and Mountain Ridge swimming at Cactus High School, Liberty’s boys narrowly escaped the Mountain Lions’ claws 95-87, while the girls fell just short, 102-91.

The boys’ win was highlighted by junior Ayden Prassas, who dominated both of his individual events with a 55.23 in the 100-yard butterfly and 58.49 in the 100-yard backstroke. Prassas finished top 16 at state in those events as a freshman, and has set a goal for himself to medal in the top 4 at this year’s state competition. 

“He has grown a lot, and he has high, high goals for himself… big goals and we’re excited for him to hopefully medal this year,” said Head Coach Jessi Wilk. 

Junior transfer Zane Sanders made his debut as a Liberty Lion, gaining eligibility just this week after transferring from Sunrise Mountain High School. Senior captain Chloe Callison says he fits in great with the team, which was evident as he heavily contributed to team victories in the 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay. Sanders swam the butterfly leg of the medley relay with a split of 25.6, and kicked off the freestyle relay strong, swimming the first 50 yards in 24 seconds flat. Sanders also won the 200-yard individual medley, finishing in 2:13:34.

The Lions won six of 11 events on the boys side, including a first-place finish by junior Brady Chavarria in the 100-yard breaststroke. 

For the girls, the successes were scattered all across the board. Six different swimmers had first-place finishes across five won events. Sophomore Abeygail Hajeski finished first in the 200-yard individual medley, highlighted by a 31.4 second split in the backstroke portion that bolstered her to her final time of 2:49:43. 

While the girls did fall short of the victory as a group, there were plenty of individual highlights, including a stint of three consecutive wins in the middle of the meet: Lauren Staggs in the 100-yard butterfly (1:05:45), Faith Stevenson in the 100-yard freestyle (58:48:00), and Emma Browning in the 500-yard freestyle (5:44:86). 

Win or lose, the camaraderie of the Liberty Lions swim team was evident all throughout the meet. During every event, without fail, there was always at least one swimmer at the end of each lane where their teammate was, cheering them on. The sense of community was infectious, and it was apparent that the leadership on the team- both coaching and students- played a big role in such an atmosphere. 

“As a captain, I see all these teammates as friends, not really people I have to boss around… we kind of want to make the team like a safe place and a place where everyone can have fun,” said senior captain Brody Berge. 

Coach Wilk was encouraging and supportive of all her athletes, no matter their performances through the duration of the meet. Her constructive feedback and kind energy made for a coach that any outsider could tell the kids trusted and respected. 

Wilk says she has been pleased with the team’s performance up to this point in the season, and will look to continue their success in the upcoming dual meet against Boulder Creek on October 3, followed by the West Valley invitational Oct. 4-5.