When No. 5 Indiana opened its regular season Friday with a matchup against No. 3 Texas and Northwestern, sophomore Liberty Clark was looking to build on an already illustrious young career.
Last year, Clark turned the heads of everyone with record breaking performances throughout her freshman season. Clark set the Indiana program record as well as the 17-18 National Age Group (NAG) record in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 21.25 seconds. She captured the program record in the 100-meter freestyle, as well as anchoring the 400-meter freestyle relay team that broke the program record in the NCAA Championships last season. The remaining members of the team were Miranda Grana, Jonette Laegreid, and Alex Shackell.
After already having accomplished so much through her freshman season, Clark came into her sophomore year with something to prove: it can be sustained.
During Indiana’s 188-112 loss to Texas and 241-59 win over Northwestern on Friday, Clark competed in the 50, 100 and 200-meter freestyles as well as the 400-meter relay. Clark claimed first place in all three solo events, however the relay team finished second behind Texas. Clark had the best split (51.41) of any swimmer in the field.
Clark committed to IU having never trained swimming year-round. Clark was a two-sport athlete at Chico high school in California, competing in volleyball in the fall rather than swimming. She decided to do club swimming with the Pleasanton Seahawks and the Durham Dolphins where she was coached by her dad, Brian Clark.
It’s been quickly apparent that since she has arrived on campus, the year-round training has done dividends on Clark’s performance in the pool.
“She was very much under the radar but we knew what she could become…we had a pretty good idea that once she got to be in this environment, got a little training, that things could be pretty good,” head coach Ray Looze said.
Swimming has been a family affair for the Clarks. Liberty’s mom, Haley (Cope) Clark was an Olympic Silver medalist and won gold in the 50-meter backstroke at the 2001 World Aquatics Championships. She too was named Pac-10 swimmer of the year in 2000 for her incredible season at UC Berkeley.
“There’s just a lot of things…advice that she’s been able to offer me that comes from her experience,” Clark said regarding how helpful her mother has been while she navigates her own career.
It seems the swimming talent did not skip a generation, as Clark continues to impress early into her second season. At the inaugural Collegiate Swimming League meet to start the year, Clark kept the momentum built from last year rolling as she swept the competition in the 50, 100, and 200 meter freestyles.
With each meet her freshman year she continued building momentum, consistently topping her own personal bests. She earned seven Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards through the season, setting the Big Ten record for most in a season. Clark bested former Michigan swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Maggie MacNeil’s record of six set back in her freshman year during the 2018-19 season. MacNeil secured gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 100-meter butterfly. As she continues her success into her sophomore year, Clark has already solidified herself as one of the most promising and talented young swimmers the conference has ever seen.
The IU women’s team is currently ranked fifth in the country. Clark and the rest of the star-studded sophomore class are looking to continue their climb to the top of collegiate swimming. There’s no better opportunity than next week at Mt. SAC Aquatic Center in Walnut, California for match five of the Collegiate Swimming League. They’ll take on No. 9 NC State, No. 7 UC Berkeley and No. 2 Stanford at 4 p.m. PST.
