Lauren Starr will go down in Tulare Western High School lore as one of the most accomplished student-athletes in history.
Why?
Just take a look at her athletic resume.
Starr was a member of Tulare Western’s first Central Section girls varsity swimming championship squad in 2024 when the Mustangs captured the Division II title.
During that historic season, she set a school record in the 200-meter freestyle relay as her unit also placed first in that respective event in the section final. Starr also turned in a second-place finish in the 50-meter freestyle in the section championship meet.
Starr is aiming to anchor Tulare Western to its fourth straight West Yosemite League crown in swimming this spring.
Starr isn’t just an outstanding swimmer.
She was also one of Tulare County’s premier water polo players during her four-year reign at Tulare Western, guiding the Mustangs to four straight WYL championships with a combined 39-1 record, including three consecutive 10-0 seasons from 2022-24.
In 2023, Starr helped lead the Mustangs to a runner-up finish in the Central Section Division II championship match. She scored 96 goals during that 27-win campaign.
Starr capped off her water polo career with more than 200 goals and was named the 2025 WYL Most Valuable Player as a senior.
And that’s not all.
She’s a star on the pitch, too.
In four varsity soccer seasons, Starr was part of three consecutive WYL championship teams, including this season’s 22-win ball club that advanced to the Central Section Division II title game and a CIF State Division III playoff contest.
In all — water polo, soccer, and swimming, Starr has won 10 WYL championships.
“Lauren is probably one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached,” Tulare Western girls’ water polo and swim head coach Jenna McGuire said. “Lauren is someone who gets it and gets the job done. She’s consistent. She’s strong. But what I think is really impressive about Lauren that not everybody sees is the team member that she is. While everyone knows how incredible of an athlete she is, and everybody knows what she’s capable of accomplishing, whether it’s getting a turn, making a goal, getting a kickout, winning a sprint. I don’t know if they realize how incredible of a teammate she is, as far as, encouraging the younger girls.
“She’s always the first one to say, ‘Good job.’ There were multiple times where she could have made the goal, but she passed it off to someone else because she wants them to have their glory, too. I think that our entire community knows what a stud athlete she is, but I also want them to know what an incredible human being she is and how much that’s impacted people just wanting to be here.”
The 5-foot-8 Starr is the same on the soccer field, too.
A striker, she finished second on the team this winter in points, scoring 19 goals with 10 assists.
Her tallies probably would have been higher, Tulare Western Scott Rogers said, but Starr’s maturity, unselfishness and ability to hold up play in the attacking third helped free sophomore Audrina Aceves for a breakout season with a team-leading 22 strikes and 19 assists.
That resulted in a run to the section final and a state playoff game.
Starr culminated her soccer career with 62 goals and 21 assists. During her four-year run with Tulare Western, the Mustangs won 71 matches.
“She’s been huge,” Rogers said. “She’s just an athlete. She draws a lot of attention on the field. She’s big. She’s strong. She’s fast. She’s not the most skilled soccer player, but her work rate, I feel, like it’s unmatched. She goes 100% all the time, and just really gets after it. Her whole thing is that she just wants to be the best at what she does. It doesn’t matter what it is. Polo, swim, soccer. She wants to be the best that she could possibly be, and it shows up on the field.”
How has Starr been able to find success every season, year after year, in all three sports?
“Ever since I was little, sports has kind of just been one of the things I enjoyed the most,” Starr said. “I just think that being on a team, being competitive, is something I enjoy so much. I can’t imagine my life without it and that’s why I work so hard.
“It’s one of those things that led me to knowing I wanted to play in college. I’ve always been driven. I’ve always been so competitive, driven to win, and I just love to be on a competitive team. Even in soccer. I’m so passionate about water polo, but even with soccer, although it’s not one of my main sports, I just wanted to win, and we got my team to the Valley championship and we played in state. That winning mindset of, ‘You show up every day. You work with your teammates every day.’ Just to get there, that’s what I love. I love that, and I’m so glad that I get four more years of that. It’s addicting.”
In December, Starr signed to play college water polo at Loyola Marymount University.
Although that’s a lifelong dream she accomplished, her ultimate goal is to give back to the Tulare Western community in the years to come.
What exactly does that mean?
“My future plan is to major in mathematics and become a math teacher,” Starr said. “And my dream is to come back here because, honestly, the impact that McGuire had on my life has been huge. I want to be able to make that impact on other people. Like, my dream is to come back here because I love it so much here. I want to help students and get them to where I’ve gotten. Have that kind of impact that McGuire has had on me. That’s my dream. I want to do the same thing.”
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Lauren Starr leaves a lasting legacy at Tulare Western
Reporting by Vongni Yang, Visalia Times-Delta / Visalia Times-Delta
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
