Members of the Free State girls swimming team, led by coach Annette McDonald throw their hands in the air after being announced as the 2009 Class 6A state champions on Saturday at Capitol Federal Natatorium in Topeka.

Topeka ? In the end, it didn’t really matter which lucky towel the Free State High girls swimming team took to the starting blocks.

Whether it was rainbow-colored, zebra-striped, Speedo-sponsored or donned a map of London’s tube system, the result was the same. The Firebirds were phenomenal. As a result, they emerged from Topeka’s Capitol Federal Natatorium with the 2009 Class 6A state championship after a stellar showing on Saturday.

The state championship is the third athletic team title in FSHS history and the first for a girls squad. That fact was not lost on an ecstatic group of Firebirds following the meet and the wild celebration that ensued.

“I’m still speechless,” FSHS sophomore Chloe Portela said. “I still can’t believe we won it.”

Free State followed up a fantastic Friday with a blazing start to Saturday’s finals, sending a message from the get-go that the gals in green were the team to beat.

Much like they did a season ago, the Firebirds opened Saturday’s finals with a convincing victory in the 200 medley relay, pushing past pesky Olathe Northwest and breaking their own state record in the process.

Eleven events later, they closed the meet in the same fashion. Portela joined senior Molly Albrecht and juniors Morgan Flannigan and Heather Clark in eclipsing last year’s state record in the 400 freestyle relay that sealed the deal.

“Our coach told us before that race that as long as we weren’t DQ’d, we would win the state title,” Portela said. “But we still wanted to win the race. We didn’t want to win the title without going out strong.”

It’s fitting the two record-breaking relays bookended Saturday’s event. After all, it was those three relays — first in the 200 medley (1:45.87) and 400 freestyle (3:33.12) and fourth in the 200 freestyle (1:39.80) — and the double-points they provided that helped push the Firebirds to the top.

In addition to those relay showings, the Firebirds also picked up strong finishes in a handful of individual events.

Albrecht took second in the 200 free (1:52.76) and third in the 100 backstroke (56.65). Portela placed third in the 100 butterfly (56.95) and fourth in the 100 backstroke (57.05). Flannigan picked up a pair of third-place finishes in the 200 and 500 freestyles (1:53.69 and 5:01.85, respectively). And Moore took fourth in the 50 free (24.47) and the 100 breaststroke (1:06.29). In both events, Moore broke her own school records, which she set on Friday in the prelims.

“I think they’ve done everything they needed to do to win this thing,” FSHS coach Annette McDonald said. “They worked really hard all year and are so deserving of this. They really came through on (Friday) and today, even though we swam some of our best times but didn’t win the races, I think I always knew we’d be OK as long as we were up there.”

After leaping into first place in the team standings after the opening event, Free State stayed on top the rest of the day. The Firebirds held a slim lead on Olathe Northwest throughout the afternoon, the closest margin coming after eight events, when FSHS led by just three points.

But in the ninth event, the Firebirds finished fourth in the 200 freestyle relay to Olathe Northwest’s ninth. That pushed the gap to 15 points — 195-180 — and Free State never looked back.

“It meant a lot to know that we had the whole team behind us,” Albrecht said. “We weren’t just a bunch of individuals going for best times or trying to win individual titles. We wanted to win the team title. And we did it.”

As the public address announcer read off the final team standings and paused between the Top 3 to pass out team trophies, the Firebirds stood hand-in-hand in a circle, huddled together near the medal stand. When it was announced that Olathe Northwest finished second with 242 points, the Firebirds began to smile. Five minutes later, when it was officially announced that “Lawrence-Free State” was the 2009 state champion, smiles turned to screams and a vibrant celebration followed.

One-by-one, the Firebirds climbed atop the podium to collect their state championship hardware. And one-by-one, they climbed down and lined up along the edge of the pool, once again, hands held tightly.

On the count of three, the Firebirds took one more simultaneous leap into the pool, this time with McDonald jumping with them.

“She knew she’d probably have to go in,” Flannigan said.

McDonald followed the team dip with another leap of her own, this time to prove to the girls she could swim.

Said sophomore Kara Mishler: “That was definitely a day-maker. But I think she was a little off her pace.”

As the other teams filed out of the pool, the Firebirds dominated the deck the way they owned the water and celebrated the moment with the large contingent of supporters. From friends and faculty to family members and alums, title No. 3 belonged to the entire school. It just so happened it was a group of nine girls who helped deliver it.

“This was our time to shine, and we’re state champions,” junior Adriane Black said.