The Lawrence High and Free State girls swimming squads made an odd juxtaposition Tuesday at Knox Natatorium.

Members of the Lions planned to go out for pizza to celebrate a second-place finish, while the Firebirds left dejectedly after placing first.

The city teams took the top two spots in Tuesday’s eight-team meet. Free State won with 398 points, and Lawrence scored 288.

But the results meant more to Lions coach Ryan Adams, who said he was pleased after finishing ahead of every team but Free State.

“Free State is super-tough, so we kind of block them out,” Adams said. “Second is awesome today. We wanted second, and we expected second, and that’s what we got.”

Conversely, Firebirds coach Jama Crady was fuming despite winning by 110 points.

“We’re swimming tired, that’s the only thing I can think of because we’re not swimming fast,” Crady said.

The Firebirds took home four first-place finishes, including a dominating performance by Ashley Robinson in the 100-yard freestyle. Robinson, unaccustomed to the shorter race, swam hard from the beginning alongside teammates Kelsi Mishler and Sarah Clark.

But Robinson’s teammates fell off the pace about halfway through while Robinson coasted, seemingly effortlessly, to the finish in a time of 55.14 seconds.

Lawrence High's Megan Heacock swims a leg of the 200 medley relay. The Lions placed second, and Free State placed first at an eight-team meet Tuesday at LHS.

Afterwards, Robinson said the frantic early pace was the only way she could manage the shorter distance.

“I don’t sprint very often, so it was hard,” Robinson said. “It’s the way I have to do it, or I’ll just stay at a slow pace.”

The Lions earned a few first-place finishes as well, namely Julia Szabo’s victory in the 100 butterfly. The race started as a true city showdown, with Szabo leading Firebirds Katie Sloan and Amanda Bari through the first 100 yards. With one lap left, Sloan was making a furious bid to catch Szabo.

“I saw her on my last turn getting closer,” Szabo said. “I knew I had to start swimming pretty hard, because she’s beaten me in the last couple meets.”

Free State High's Julie Council performs a dive during a swimming and diving meet Tuesday at Lawrence High's Knox Natatorium.

Szabo beat her this time, holding off her late surge down the final stretch. Adams said it was a fitting conclusion to the senior’s career in front of her home crowd.

“She’s a senior, and this is her last hurrah,” Adams said. “She really enjoys swimming and she likes coming out, so I was really happy with that.”

The Lions would need no supreme effort to win the first two places in the diving competition. Meredith and Mallory West dominated, with Mallory taking first after scoring 224.85 points — a finish Adams said his divers had been making routinely.

While Adams said he was excited with the direction his team was going, Crady said her team would have to shape up in a hurry.

Will they be ready to swim at peak level at the Sunflower League meet in two weeks?

“I hope so,” Crady said. “We’re not ready right now, so I hope we’re ready in two weeks. It’s ugly right now.”