Junior Ben Bartels competed in the 200-yard freestyle Tuesday at Free State.

Freshman Kain Anderson competed in the 200-yard individual medley Tuesday at Free State.

After competing in the 100-yard butterfly individual Tuesday, freshman Frank Nolan looks back to check his time.

Most meet days, members of the Free State High boys swimming and diving team choose to wear their swim shirts to inspire a little school spirit.

Tuesday, the Firebirds elected to wear slacks and ties.

“We figured we’d go out with a little style,” senior Eric Gruber said.

Gruber and crew did not disappoint.

In what was the final home meet in the careers of four Free State seniors, the Firebirds came oh-so-close to qualifying their relay teams for state and finished second at the five-team invitational.

“We mixed things up a lot tonight so we could rest some guys and so the seniors could swim their favorite events,” FSHS coach Annette McDonald said. “We were expecting to finish third or fourth and came out a convincing second.”

That was in no small part thanks to the four seniors — Gruber, Alec Wroten, Julian McCafferty and Scotty Thellman. Together, the group contributed to seven top-five finishes, with Gruber and Wroten swimming two legs of the 200-yard medley relay team that won.

Gruber set a personal record in the 50 freestyle (25.01, fourth place) and delivered one of the best 100 butterfly times of his career.

In addition, Gruber (1:10.6) and sophomore Tony Libeer (1:11.21) finished 1-2 in the 100 breaststroke.

Wroten, with his fourth-place time of 1:00.93 in the 100 butterfly, hit the state consideration time and now sits less than three seconds from the state-qualifying time.

“I think I can break a minute, and if I can do that, I think I can get down to 58 seconds,” he said.

And Thellman, in his first year with the program, set a PR in the 100 with his split time of 1:03.02 in the 400 freestyle relay.

“Overall, tonight was a lot of fun,” Thellman said. “I came in hoping to improve just like at every meet, and I did.”

Ever the competitors, the four seniors couldn’t help but keep their focus on the night’s times and events.

“Go out there and swim like you’re supposed to,” Gruber said.

After the meet, it was a different story, as the emotions and finality of the event began to sink in.

“It’s exciting and sad at the same time,” Gruber added. “We’re moving on, but we also have a lot of great memories in here.”

Added Wroten: “I think it’s something where we’re all going to look back on this and think how lucky we were.”

Luck had little to do with Tuesday’s results. Skill did. And McDonald credited her seniors, along with a talented group of underclassmen, for the sweet second-place finish.

“The seniors stepped it up tonight and really brought along the whole team,” she said. “They are such a great group. They’ve really put in the work throughout the years, but at the same time have made sure to have a little fun along the way.”

Next up for the Firebirds is Tuesday’s Topeka Invitational.

With the emotion — and success — of Senior Night now behind them, the Firebirds are eager to get away from their home pool and focus on getting those relays over the hump.

“I’m really looking forward to our next meet because it’s at a fast pool,” McCafferty said.

Such a statement was music to McDonald’s ears.

“We dropped some times and didn’t in others tonight,” she said. “But the next meet is at a different pool, and maybe that’s just what this team needs.”