It wasnâÂÂt his first-ever victory that surprised Free State High swimmer Seth Alford, but rather his time.

The seniorâÂÂs 500-yard freestyle mark of 6:08.45 wasnâÂÂt his best, but not far from the career marks he was setting at the end of last year.

âÂÂIt felt great because it was a really good time, especially in the first race of the year,â Alford said.

AlfordâÂÂs top time provided the Firebirdsâ only individual winner Thursday at Lawrence HighâÂÂs Knox Natatorium, but a strong showing by the Free State squad easily helped the Firebirds to a season-opening quadrangular victory with 357 points.

Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission South tied for second with 289 points, while a young LHS team finished with 241.

âÂÂThat really shows one of the strengths of this team,â FSHS coach Annette McDonald said of her teamâÂÂs depth. âÂÂWhile we only had one winner, we had a bunch of guys that were right there.

âÂÂThe guys were really excited with how well this opener went.âÂÂ

Things werenâÂÂt quite as sweet for the Lions, though.

After finishing sixth at state last year, Lawrence opened its season with nearly half its squad swimming at the varsity level for the first time.

âÂÂIt was a good first meet,â LHS diving coach Ryan Adams said. âÂÂA lot of them didnâÂÂt know what to expect. There was some nervousness, but it was a learning experience.âÂÂ

Neither of the Lionsâ divers showed nerves. Then again, John Gatti and Nick Leet are the Lionsâ leaders.

The two finished 1-2 when Gatti won the diving event with 279.35 points and Leet finished with 271.40.

âÂÂOur divers were really ready to get out there and get going,â Adams said. âÂÂYou could tell the past couple of practices were kind of dragging. They were raring to go.âÂÂ

So was Alford, who said he was somewhat surprised how his time had held up since last season.

âÂÂI mean you work at trying to keep about the same time over the different 100 yards of the event, but to stay pretty close the complete way is satisfying,â he said.

What was satisfying for McDonald was how well things went for her younger swimmers.

âÂÂLast time this year, we had about half of our swimmers out there for the first time, but today they were finishing near the top,â she said. âÂÂThat kind of talent could really help us this season as we continue to improve.âÂÂ

And how does Alford top his own personal success?

âÂÂStart getting ready for state,â he said with a smile. âÂÂThatâÂÂs the goal everyone started working toward today.âÂÂ