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Dakota Howard has announced her verbal commitment to swim and study at Liberty University. Howard is from Alberta, Canada, where she attends the Hope Christian Academy and trains with the Parkland Pirates Aquatic Club. Howard is set to be the first member of her family to continue her education at the college level.
Howard is primarily a sprint backstroke and freestyle specialist. Last summer, she represented Team Alberta at the Mel Zajac Jr. International meet. She finished 11th in the 50m back (30.49), and added two more top-20 finishes in the 50m free (27.27) and 50m fly (28.50).
The 50m back was also her top event at the Speedo Canadian Championships in August. She stopped the clock at 29.49, good for 4th overall. Also highlighting her meet was the 100m free, where she dropped nearly a second to post a personal best time of 57.42 en route to a 13th place finish.
More recently, Howard raced at the Edmonton Open this past February. Again, the 50m backstroke was her strongest event, as she finished 1st in a personal best time of 29.26 in finals. She was also 4th in the 50m (26.98) and 100m free (58.70).
Top LCM Times
- 50m free – 26.28
- 100m free – 57.42
- 50m back – 29.26
- 100m back – 1:03.70
Under the direction of Liberty’s first and only head coach Jake Shellenberger, the Flames decisively won the 2024 Atlantic Sun Championship (ASUN) title with a total of 897.5 points. Freshman and fellow Canadian Kamryn Cannings went on to compete at NCAAs, where she took 19th in the 100 fly (51.45) and 37th in the 200 fly (1:56.72).
Abbie Shaw owned the team’s fastest 50 backstroke relay split this year with a 24.96 from the Liberty Invitational. Shaw was also the top performer in the 100 back by well over a second, with a season best of 52.77 also from the Liberty Invite.
Howard joins Gwyn Frick, Riley Leach, and Carly Larson in Liberty’s recruiting class of 2025.
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