Free State's Logan Sloan competes in the 200-yard individual medley event he won Wednesday at the Indoor Aquatic Center.

Lawrence High's Zach Andregg swims in the 200-yard freestyle. Andregg won the event Wednesday at the Indoor Aquatic Center.

Standing poolside following Wednesday’s season-opening boys swimming and diving meet, a five-team invitational at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center, Lawrence High junior Zach Andregg appropriately summed up the day’s events.

“I think it’s kind of just getting our feet wet a little bit,” Andregg said. “See what the competition is like this year and get back into the groove of racing.”

If Wednesday’s opening meet was any indication, it’s bound to be a fun winter in the pool for both the Lions and Firebirds.

The two schools were close up to the final event, but in the end, Free State narrowly edged Lawrence, 520 points to 496.50, to take the victory. Shawnee Mission South was a distant third at 433.5

FSHS coach Annette McDonald said her swimmers looked at a “psych sheet” when it was sent to all of the Sunflower League schools earlier this week and highlighted names and spaces where they felt they could improve.

“(Today was) a good opportunity for us to see where we’re at and prove to ourselves how good we can be,” FSHS senior Tony Libeer said.

To begin the day’s events, the Firebird 200-yard medley relay A-team — Frank Nolan, Tony Libeer, Logan Sloan and Will Libeer — won in 1:47.92.

Free State’s B team finished third, and Lawrence’s A and B teams finished in fourth and fifth, respectively.

After that, the results were nearly all good for the Lions and Firebirds, no matter the event.

Andregg and Frank finished 1-2 in the following race, the 200-yard freestyle, and Sloan and the Lions’ John Eakes followed that with a 1-2 finish in the 200-yard individual medley.

Sloan also won the 100-yard butterfly (1:00.14), and Lawrence’s Nathan Evers finished just behind him (1:00.90) in second place.

Andregg also won the 100-yard freestyle, and Frank won the 100-yard backstroke.

Anchored by Sloan, the Firebirds’ 400-yard relay team took second place (3:41.24) to end the day, while the Lions (3:46.43) finished just seconds behind them.

The divers for both schools also performed well. LHS divers Charlie Thiel and Robbie Andrews finished in third and fifth, respectively, and FSHS diver Austin Niedow — in his first meet — placed fourth.

Frank, a senior, was ecstatic about how the Firebirds performed. He was one of the most vocal on the FSHS side, clapping and encouraging teammates in his newfound role of leader.

“It’s all about your mental mind-set,” Frank said. “How you jump in the pool (relates to) how you’re going to swim.”

Sloan said he was happy with how the underclassmen handled the nerves of a big event, from jumping off the blocks to hearing the buzzer sound for the first time.

Did he feel any nerves himself?

“I was just a little excited just to get in there and swim fast,” Sloan said.

Aside from the excitement of being back in competition, there also was the allure of the cross-town rivalry.

“We’re all friends, but we really want to beat (FSHS),” LHS’s Shump said. “That’s probably our No. 1 goal for the season.”

For now, Annette McDonald holds some bragging rights over her husband, Kent, who coaches the LHS boys, but she said she wasn’t likely to let him hear about it over dinner.

“I don’t think so,” McDonald said with a grin. “We’re really good about congratulating on all the good swims. We’ll look at only the positives.”

After all, it’s only the first meet in a long season.

“(We need to keep) working every day in practice, keeping that big picture,” Frank said. “Keep our heads down, stay focused, and I think the sky’s the limit for us this year.”