Olathe ? Heading into Saturday at the Sunflower League boys swimming and diving championships, Lawrence High and Free State weren’t contending for high finishes.

Neither team placed a swimmer or relay team in the championship round in any of 12 events, and seventh place was the best either squad could hope for. So, when the Lions finished 11th and the Firebirds took 10th in the 12-team field, neither side was too disappointed.

“We did better than expected with what we had,” LHS coach Ryan Adams said. “We couldn’t shine like we wanted to because of things out of our control.”

Adams said one of his better swimmers was unable to attend because of a conflicting piano competition, and sophomore Alex Boyer had been sick. That forced Adams to change all three of his relay lineups, which he said hurt their overall performance.

Free State coach Annette McDonald had a similar reaction to her team’s performance. She said her team had the difficult task of protecting seventh place in four of the events.

“We were the team to beat,” she said. “We were disappointed that we didn’t qualify anyone for the finals, and I think that’s difficult for the guys. It’s like everyone is out to get them.”

Though both schools finished near the bottom of the standings, they each had solid performances. LHS won the consolation 400-yard freestyle relay in a time of 3:38.56, and Boyer finished first in the consolation 500-yard freestyle race inf 5:15.06. A first-place consolation finish is the same as seventh overall.

“I’m feeling pretty lucky that I’m still seventh,” said Boyer, who was not at 100 percent because of his sickness as well as a thumb injury.

The Firebirds’ best finishes came in the consolation 200-yard freestyle relay where they finished first in 1:36.97, and the consolation 100-yard backstroke, which Spencer Flannigan won in 1:02.50.