Reilly Moore, right, set school records in the 50 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 200 free relay.

Topeka ? Her eyes were as big as the two blueberry pancakes she had for breakfast. Her smile was as wide as the three strips of bacon.

But it wasn’t just a good morning meal that helped pace Free State High’s Reilly Moore to two school records on Day 1 of the Class 6A state swim meet Friday afternoon.

Backed by two weeks worth of hard work and dedication and driven by the disappointment of dropping out of the league meet because of injury, Moore sprinted her way to school records in the 50 freestyle (24.5) and 100 breaststroke (1:07.29), setting up the Firebirds for one heck of a finale today.

Moore crushed her seed times in both events, finishing four spots higher than expected in the 50 free and a whopping 11 spots higher than expected in the breaststroke.

As she shot out of the pool after swimming the fastest breaststroke of her life, Moore was overcome by emotion and amazement.

“I was just hoping I was looking at the right time,” she said. “Because I couldn’t believe it. I kind of got in a zone out there and I tried not to think about how tired I was or how my shoulder was doing. I just tried to push through it all and do the best that I could.”

Such grit surprised no one. As teammate Chloe Portela put it: “Reilly’s definitely been working harder than ever these last two weeks. She’s been putting all of her effort into getting faster and she’s been staring down those school records. She definitely got them today.”

Moore, just a sophomore, eclipsed Ashley Robinson’s school record of 24.78 seconds in the 50 free by .28 seconds. She outdid Katie Swank’s 1:08.88 in the butterfly by more than a second and a half.

Moore’s record-breaking afternoon was not the only extraordinary effort turned in by the Firebirds on Friday. Far from it.

Three different Free State relay teams placed in the top three of the preliminaries, including the 200 freestyle relay team (Moore, Adriane Black, Kayla Hedges and Heather Clark), which placed third overall (1:40.19) by breaking a school record of its own.

“It was just an incredible day,” FSHS coach Annette McDonald said. “And the really cool part about it is that these girls are such a team. They really look out for each other and support each other the whole way.”

In addition to the standout relays, which figure to score big points in today’s finals, Portela (56.91 in 100 butterfly) and Molly Albrecht (1:53.77 in 200 freestyle) each finished at the top in an individual event and the Firebirds qualified a total of 13 entries for the finals and five more for the consolation finals, all of which will score valuable team points in the quest for a state title.

“There’s opportunity there,” McDonald said. “But we still have to come through. They’ve qualified for the finals, now they have to swim their best times.”

No problem, according to Moore, who said she had even more adrenaline still in her tank.

“The bar’s set pretty high for (today),” Moore said. “But I think I can do it. I’ve come this far, why not do a little more?”

Friday’s prelims did not go quite as well for the Lawrence High girls swimming team. Although the Lions qualified six entries for today’s consolation finals (9th through 16th place), and also secured three other spots as alternates, they were shut out of the championship finals, where all of the big points are scored.

The showing was somewhat expected considering the Lions’ top swimmer, sophomore Emma Reaney, did not attend the meet because of illness.

Still, LHS powered through and did its best despite missing one of its team leaders.

“You can’t help but feel a little deflated,” said senior Erina Houk, who came the closest to reaching the finals by finishing 10th in the 500 free (5:29.20). “But I thought we responded well. It was a last-minute thing and we were just trying to fill in and gear up for different races.”

Sarah Schwartz (10th in the 100 backstroke and 13th in the 100 butterfly), Rachel Buchner (12th in the 100 backstroke) and Elle Weber (14th in the 200 individual medley) all will join Houk in the consolation finals today.

Today’s action begins at 12:30, when the Firebirds will begin their final push toward a state championship with the 200 medley relay. Last year, the Firebirds broke the state record in the event and were able to relive the moment by looking at their names, which were prominently displayed in this year’s program.

“I like the looks of that,” FSHS junior Morgan Flannigan said. “We want to keep it there.”