Lawrence High’s Mallory Neet swims the breaststroke during the 200 medley relay Friday, April 22, 2011 at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center.

Free State's Morgan Miller swims in the finals of the 200 freestyle Friday, April 22, 2011 at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center.

With only a few weeks remaining until the Sunflower League meet, it’s becoming less and less about the other teams in the pool for the Free State High and Lawrence High swimming and diving teams.

Instead, it’s all about the times.

Such was the case Friday afternoon, when the Firebirds and Lions placed second and third, respectively, in a triangular at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center.

Blue Valley won the meet with 275 points, while FSHS had 216, and LHS totaled 145. But the focal point of the meet for most of the girls was trimming their times.

“I feel like today I was competing against myself,” said Lawrence’s Annie Odrowski, who took second in the 100 freestyle and third in the 200 freestyle.

Odrowski also swam the final leg of the Lions’ 200 medley relay team, which took third with a time of 2:05.26, and the final leg of the third-place 200 free relay team.

Miranda Rohn also swam on both relay teams for the Lions and won the 200 individual medley (2:22.55) and was second in the 100 backstroke (1:04.25).

Mallory Neet took second in the 100 breaststroke (1:21.08).

It was common to see several Lions and Firebirds swimming side-by-side, prompting cheering from both teams.

“We have some rivalries even within the team,” LHS coach Kent McDonald said. “It’s more friendly, but they like to beat each other.”

On the Firebird side, many of coach Annette McDonald’s top swimmers are continuing to improve times as the state tournament rapidly approaches.

Senior Reilly Moore won the 50 freestyle (25.67) and swam in both of Free State’s runner-up relay teams, the 200 medley and the 400 freestyle.

Fellow senior Kara Mishler won the 100 butterfly (1:02.49) and was on both relay teams.

The highlight of the day for both Mishler and Moore, though, was their participation in the 20-lap 500 freestyle, an event that strays a bit from their typical comfort zones.

“It was a good experience,” said Moore, who finished second while Mishler took third. “I think it showed the team that you can kind of stretch your limits.”

Free State’s Kate McCurdy also took third in the 100 butterfly (1:07.32) and fourth in the 200 individual medley (2:27.69), and Morgan Miller took fourth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:14.07.

For FSHS coach Annette McDonald, it was nice to see many of her varsity times drop, but equally exciting to see the progress of her divers, like Annie Soderburg and Grace Oliver, and her less experienced swimmers, like Catherine Norwood, improve their times drastically.

“They’re looking at times and asking how they can get better,” McDonald said. “They’re all about listening and learning and putting forth that extra effort.”