The Free State swimming and diving team celebrates in the pool after winning the 6A state championship Saturday in Topeka.

Topeka ? After the final race of the Class 6A girls state swimming and diving championships on Saturday, Free State High junior Cierra Campbell looked at the time on the clock and immediately went over to the edge of the pool to hug senior Courtney Caldwell, who started crying.

The joys of a sweet, sweet victory.

The Firebirds completed an undefeated season by winning a state championship and broke a state record in their last race at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. It was the second state title in school history, also winning in 2009. They edged runner-up Shawnee Mission East, 424-399, to snap SM East’s five-year reign as champion.

The Firebirds took second at state for the past two years and had laser-like focus all season to make sure they reached their ultimate goal. They celebrated on the medal podium before holding hands and jumping into the pool.

“It was a perfect season, honestly,” Campbell said. “Undefeated. It was like a perfect ending with my best friends who are seniors. They were so proud.”

Caldwell added: “I touched (the wall), and it kind of all hit me at once that it was my last race as a Firebird. It went so well. It was just perfect. It couldn’t have been better.”

Free State won seven of the 12 events, including all three relays. Caldwell won the 100 freestyle and backstroke, Campbell was first in the 200 freestyle, and junior Sydney Sirimongkhon-Dyck won a title in the 50 freestyle.

In the final race, the 400 freestyle relay — Caldwell, Cierra Campbell, Claire Campbell and Eliza Anderson — shattered the state record with a time of 3:30.00, more than one second better than the previous record set in 2010 by Washburn Rural.

Before that last relay, team scores were announced, and the Firebirds knew they clinched a state title, as long as they didn’t get disqualified in the race.

“Courtney gave me a hug before the relay, and I almost started crying,” said Anderson, the Rhode Island signee who also took fourth in the 200 freestyle and fifth in the 100 backstroke. “But I was like, ‘No, you can’t do this to me! I have to swim first.’

“The fact that I won’t get to swim with these girls again. I won’t get to swim for Free State or at this meet. There’s nothing like it.”

Caldwell, who won 13 state titles in her four-year career, broke her own state record in the 100 freestyle, which she set in prelims Friday. After finishing in a blistering 49.62 seconds, the North Carolina State signee received a long standing ovation from the crowd.

“I really didn’t notice that — not at first,” said Caldwell, who was selected as the Athlete of the Meet. “I got out (of the pool), and I was like, ‘I need to sit down.’ Then I was like, ‘Oh, wow, this is cool.'”

“She deserved that standing ovation,” said FSHS coach Annette McDonald, who earned Coach of the Year honors.

The Firebirds won their first two relays in dramatic fashion. Caldwell, Sirimongkhon-Dyck and freshmen Ava Cormaney and Alvena Walpole teamed to win the 200 medley relay, outreaching SM East by 0.04 seconds to open the meet. Then they broke their own state record in the 200 freestyle relay, which the school set in 2013, with Anderson, Claire Campbell, Cierra Campbell and Sirimongkhon-Dyck in 1:36.80, winning by 0.17 seconds.

Walpole added runner-up finishes in the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly. Cierra Campbell finished second in the 500 freestyle, while Cormaney was fifth, and Anna McCurdy took seventh. Senior Alexa Malik also had a sixth-place finish in the 100 freestyle, and senior Haley Johnson took second place in the one-meter dive.

“We’ve had it as our goal for the past three years,” Anderson said of the state title. “The fact that we all stuck together. Haley stepped up. Amazing. Her diving was incredible. We couldn’t do it without her. Every single day, that was like our goal in mind. We’d talk about it. After every meet, it would be like, ‘We’re one step closer.’ So the fact that it happened, that was awesome.”

“Everyone stepped up,” Caldwell added. “We crushed it. We didn’t just win by two points. We’re pretty proud of ourselves, and we’re undefeated, so that’s something to be proud of.”

Lawrence High’s girls swimming team finished eighth, led by fifth-place finishes from freshman Morgan Traughber in the 200 individual medley and freshman Mary Reed-Weston in the 100 breaststroke.

“I was happy,” LHS coach Kent McDonald said. “We weren’t as sharp today as we were yesterday, but the girls still swam some of their best times. So I can’t complain at all.”

The Lions set personal-records in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays with Traughber, Reed-Weston, Nicole Oblon and Hannah Lee. The 200 medley relay finished eighth, and the 400 freestyle relay took sixth.

At Capitol Federal Natatorium

CLASS 6A

Finals

Team scores

Free State 424, Shawnee Mission East 399, Olathe Northwest 211, Wichita East 204, Blue Valley North 183, Blue Valley Northwest 165, Shawnee Mission Northwest 110, Lawrence 107, Olathe East 87, Blue Valley 79, Shawnee Mission West 69, Shawnee Mission South 51, Shawnee Mission North 49, Washburn Rural 39, Derby 29, Manhattan 26, Hutchinson 25, Olathe South 19, Olathe North 12, Topeka High 7, Campus 4, Garden City 2.

200 medley relay

Championship finals — 1. Free State (Courtney Caldwell, Ava Cormaney, Alvena Walpole, Sydney Sirimongkhon-Dyck), 1:46.37; 2. Shawnee Mission East (Sarah Allegri, Maddie Mann, Bonnie Longan, Rilye Fries), 1:46.41; 3. Wichita East (Madison Allen, Aiden Chan, Sammy King, Caitlyn Goodman), 1:50.69; 4. Olathe Northwest (Taylor Badowsi, Hannah Pugh, London Durr, Brenna Gaul), 1:51.35; 5. Blue Valley North (Grace Brimacombe, Cherilyn Camichel, Delaney Cross, Olivia Vance), 1:51.48; 6. Blue Valley Northwest (Kadisyn Kircher, Lauren Nordell-Morris, Kylie Miller, Katie Thill), 1:52.15; 7. Shawnee Mission West (Erin Fast, Caroline Wilkus, Hannah Heaton, Addison Benson), 1:56.62; 8. Lawrence (Hannah Lee, Mary Reed-Weston, Morgan Traughber, Nicole Oblon), 1:57.70.

Consolation finals — 9. Shawnee Mission South (Taylor Laws, Crimson Barker, Hannah Underwood, Sophia Vogt), 1:58.61; 10. Olathe East (Abbey Johnstone, Selina Liu, Delaney Green, Mackenzie Bohn), 1:59.03; 11. Washburn Rural (Brooke Burkdoll, Leah Nelson, Libby Pope, Haley Unruh), 1:59.47; 12. Hutchinson (Lonna Porter, Madelyn Fee, Toni Lehr, Emily Hendricks), 2:00.20; 13. Blue Valley (Lilly Hallock, Caitlin Fitzpatrick, Grace Euler, Kristina Jewell), 2:00.92; 14. Manhattan (Lauren Casper, Luann Jung, Mariah Scipio, Leilani Kreck), 2:01.56; 15. Campus (Kaitlyn Cooper, Callie Simpson, Kirsten Nicholas, Victoria Staerke), 2:01.99; 16. Garden City (Grace Schmidt, Lindsay Bradstreet, Claire Schmidt, Abigail Ginest-Dougherty), 2:07.35.

200 freestyle

Championship finals — 1. Cierra Campbell, Free State, 1:51.36; 2. Crissie Blomquist, SM East, 1:52.64; 3. Joely Merriman, SM North, 1:57.53; 4. Eliza Anderson, Free State, 1:58.31; 5. Miller, BV Northwest, 2:00.34; 6. Gillian Schwartz, Olathe Northwest, 2:01.03; 7. Kircher, BV Northwest, 2:01.03; 8. Izzy Smith, SM East, 2:01.29.

Consolation finals — 9. Porter, Hutchinson, 2:02.18; 10. Chloe Stanford, SM East, 2:02.51; 11. Katie Vahle, SM East, 2:02.74; 12. Claire Williams, SM Northwest, 2:03.09; 13. Carter Stacey, Free State, 2:03.12; 14. Sophia Smith, Olathe East, 2:03.65; 15. Adelaide Gunderson, BV North, 2:04.14; 16. Hallock, Blue Valley, 2:06.66.

200 individual medley

Championship finals — 1. Fries, SM East, 2:05.76; 2. Walpole, Free State, 2:08.12; 3. Meaghan Bower, SM Northwest, 2:11.32; 4. Nordell-Morris, BV Northwest, 2:14.59; 5. Traughber, Lawrence, 2:15.01; 6. Chan, Wichita East, 2:15.95; 7. Reed-Weston, Lawrence, 2:17.05; 8. Mary Booton SM East, 2:31.12.

Consolation finals — 9. Emma Linscott, SM East, 2:16.86; 10. Cross, BV North, 2:16.92; 11. Claire Albright, BV Northwest, 2:17.99; 12. Badowski, Olathe Northwest, 2:18.20; 13. Anna McCurdy, Free State, 2:18.54; 14. Brenna Vandeventer, Wichita East, 2:18.67; 15. Mary Grace Apodaca, SM East, 2:21.43; 16. Fast, SM West, 2:21.90.

50 freestyle

Championship finals — 1. Sirimongkhon-Dyck, Free State, 24.10; 2. Keil, Derby, 24.26; 3. Allegri, SM East, 24.47; 4. Claire Campbell, Free State, 24.84; 5. Brimacombe, BV North, 24.75; 6. Lauren Pugh, Olathe Northwest, 24.84; 7. Goodman, Wichita East, 24.93; 8. Gaul, Olathe Northwest, 25.03.

Consolation finals — 9. Vance, BV North, 25.33; 10. Hannah McPhail, SM East, 25.36; 11. Scipio, Manhattan, 25.37; 12. Thill, BV Northwest, 25.41; 13. Alexa Malik, Free State, 25.44; 14. Morgan Clausen, SM East, 25.50; 15. Simone Herlihy, Free State, 25.86; 16. Vogt, SM South, 25.87.

Diving

1. Annie Turner, BV North, 445.25; 2. Haley Johnson, Free State, 410.20; 3. Emily Bridges, Blue Valley, 392.70; 4. Olivia Taylor, Olathe South, 390.10; 5. Katie Geracie, SM West, 386.30; 6. Ashlan Alexander, Washburn Rural, 383.60; 7. Maggie Taylor, BV Northwest, 378.15; 8. Jessie Payne, Olathe Northwest, 366.95; 9. Maidson Fentiman, Olathe Northwest, 365.10; 10. Abby Loudenback, Blue Valley, 361.90; 11. Grace Myers, Topeka High, 359.95; 12. Kara Clough, Wichita East, 358.60; 13. Morgan Hoffman, Blue Valley, 358.40; 14. Catherine Sabates, SM East, 352.15; 15. Courtney Stallard, BV North, 343.40; 16. Kelsey Moore, Olathe East, 323.90.

100 butterfly

Championship finals — 1. Fries, SM East, 56.38; 2. Walpole, Free State, 56.79; 3. Brull, SM Northwest, 57.22; 4. Longan, SM East, 57.49; 5. Bower, SM Northwest, 59.11; 6. Miller, BV Northwest, 59.32; 7. Linscott, SM East, 1:00.05; 8. Albright, BV Northwest, 1:00.96.

Consolation finals — 9. Sirimongkhon-Dyck, Free State, 1:01.17; 10. Durr, Olathe Northwest, 1:01.63; 11. Apodaca, SM East, 1:01.67; 12. King, Wichita East, 1:01.73; 13. Piper Rogers, Free State, 1:02.06; 14. Cross, BV North, 1:02.16; 15. Green, Olathe East, 1:02.92; 16. Thill, BV Northwest, 1:03.25.

100 freestyle

Championship finals — 1. Caldwell, Free State, 49.62 (record; old record: 50.01, Caldwell, Free State, 2015 prelims); 2. Allen, Wichita East, 52.45; 3. Cl. Campbell, Free State, 53.20; 4. Brimacombe, BV North, 54.30; 5. L. Pugh, Olathe Northwest, 54.77; 6. Malik, Free State, 55.05; 7. Keil, Derby, 55.27; 8. Vance, BV North, 55.76.

Consolation finals — 9. Gaul, Olathe Northwest, 55.40; 10. Goodman, Wichita East, 55.55; 11. McPhail, SM East, 56.09; 12. Stanford, SM East, 56.37; 13. Herlihy, Free State, 57.20; 14. Dunn, SM East, 57.23; 15. Paulk, SM East, 57.35; 16. Ellie Hicks, Olathe East, 58.04.

500 freestyle

Championship finals — 1. Blomquist, SM East, 4:57.47; 2. Ci. Campbell, Free State, 4:57.80; 3. Smith, SM East, 5:21.64; 4. Smith, Olathe East, 5:24.32; 5. Cormaney, Free State, 5:24.66; 6. Vandeventer, Wichita East, 5:29.57; 7. McCurdy, Free State, 5:30.78; 8. Gunderson, BV North, 5:32.03.

Consolation finals — 9. Vahle, SM East, 5:29.41; 10. Williams, SM Northwest, 5:31.10; 11. Caitlin Fitzpatrick, Blue Valley, 5:33.25; 12. Stacey, Free State, 5:35.14; 13. Emily Prekopy, Washburn Rural, 5:35.55; 14. Porter, Hutchinson, 5:36.03; 15. Archer, Lawrence, 5:37.68; 16. Hallock, Blue Valley, 5:39.00.

200 freestyle relay

Championship finals — 1. Free State (Anderson, Cl. Campbell, Sirimongkhon-Dyck, Ci. Campbell), 1:36.80 (record: old record: 1:36.94, Free State, 2013); 2. SM East (Allegri, Fries, McPhail, Blomquist), 1:36.97; 3. Olathe Northwest (Durr, Schwartz, Bogdan, L. Pugh), 1:40.61; 4. Wichita East (Allen, King, Goodman, Martin), 1:40.63; 5. BV North (Brimacombe, Mallory McKee, Elizabeth Hendrickson, Vance), 1:41.99; 6. Olathe East (Green, Johnstone, Smith, Bohn), 1:45.07; 7. Blue Valley (Megan Hegarty, Sally Cochran, Jewell, Hallock), 1:45.47; DQ. BV Northwest (Thill, Amy Douglas, Megan Rodrigues, Albright).

Consolation finals — 9. SM North (Kali Dyche, Amanda Enyart, Caitlyn Howard, Merriman) and SM South (Amelia du Bois, Claire Nash, Olivia Wilkerson, Vogt), 1:46.67; 11. Olathe North (Jayde Fickel, Alexis McCalla, Blake Smith, Olivia Parmentier), 1:47.10; 12. Washburn Rural (Unruh, Anna Fritz, Nelson, Pope), 1:48.29; 13. Lawrence (Oblon, Archer, Ginsberg, Lee), 1:48.30; 14. Manhattan (Scipio, Emily Cox, Casper, Kreck), 1:49.13; 15. SM Northwest (Paige Eickhorn, Jessica Kirchner, Carolyn Osbern, Williams), 1:49.34; 16. SM West (Colette Balas, Hannah Heaton, Jensen Shipp, Brooke Wade), 1:49.50.

100 backstroke

Championship finals — 1. Caldwell, Free State, 54.40; 2. Allegri, SM East, 57.16; 3. Longan, SM East, 57.35; 4. Allen, Wichita East, 59.47; 5. Anderson, Free State, 59.49; 6. H. Pugh, Olathe Northwest, 1:00.09; 7. Badowski, Olathe Northwest, 1:00.57; 8. Merriman, SM North, 1:01.09.

Consolation finals — 9. Traughber, Lawrence, 1:00.76; 10. Kircher, BV Northwest, 1:00.77; 11. Paulk, SM East, 1:01.87; 12. Myers, SM East, 1:03.02; 13. Fast, SM West, 1:03.38; 14. Addison Benson, SM West, 1:04.01; 15. Laws, SM South, 1:04.74; 16. Hicks, Olathe East, 1:05.58.

100 breaststroke

Championship finals — 1. Brull, SM Northwest, 1:07.88; 2. Chan, Wichita East, 1:08.21; 3. Booton, SM East, 1:09.05; 4. Camichel, BV North, 1:09.15; 5. Reed-Weston, Lawrence, 1:09.94; 6. Nordell-Morris, BV Northwest, 1:10.10; 7. Cormaney, Free State, 1:10.22; 8. Wilkus, SM West, 1:10.40.

Consolation finals — 9. Clausen, SM East, 1:10.66; 10. Mae Lavacek, Wichita East, 1:11.33; 11. King, Wichita East, 1:11.74; 12. Krannawitter, Free State, 1:12.91; 13. Kat LaFever, Free State, 1:13.17; 14. Lehr, Hutchinson, 1:13.75; 15. George, SM East, 1:14.10; 16. Grace Hatesohl, Topeka High, 1:14.68.

400 freestyle relay

Championship finals — 1. Free State (Ci. Campbell, Anderson, Cl. Campbell, Caldwell), 3:30.00 (record; old record: 3:31.39; Washburn Rural, 2010); 2. SM East (Blomquist, McPhail, Linscott, Longan), 3:38.47; 3. Olathe Northwest (L. Pugh, Badowski, Schwartz, Gaul), 3:41.50; 4. BV Northwest (Kircher, Albright, Nordell-Morris,, Miller), 3:45.87; 5. SM Northwest (Eickhorn, Bower, Williams, Brull), 3:47.75; 6. Lawrence (Traughber, Oblon, Lee, Reed-Weston), 3:48.17; 7. Olathe East (Green, Johnstone, Hicks, Smith), 3:49.89; 8. Wichita East (Martin, Vandeventer, Wilson, Chan), 3:51.38.

Consolation finals — 9. BV North (Cross, Allison Kruse, Hendrickson, Gunderson), 3:50.88; 10. SM South (Vogt, du Bois, Laws, Underwood), 3:52.85; 12. Blue Valley (Cochran, Jewell, Fitzpatrick, Rambo), 3:55.95; 12. SM West (Benson, Wade, Wilkus, Fast), 3:58.58; 13. Manhattan (Kreck, Casper, Jung, Scipio), 4:00.79; 14. SM North (Howard, Tessa Poterbin, Enyart, Merriman), 4:01.10; 15. Olathe South (Anne Augustyn, Annike Highstrom, Emma Barnes, Megan Barb), 4:02.15; DQ. Hutchinson (Porter, Hendricks, Fee, Lehr).

All-State

First team

Sarah Allegri, SM East; Madison Allen, Wichita East; Crissie Blomquist, SM East; Meaghan Bower, SM Northwest; Hailey Brull, SM Northwest; Courtney Caldwell, Free State; Cierra Campbell, Free State; Claire Campbell, Free State; Aiden Chan, Wichita East; Rilye Fries, SM East; Bonnie Longan, SM East; Sydney Sirimongkhon-Dyck, Free State; Annie Turner, BV North; Alvena Walpole, Free State.

Second team

Eliza Anderson, Free State; Mary Booton, SM East; Grace Brimacombe, BV North; Ava Cormaney, Free State; Haley Johnson, Free State; Megan Keil, Derby; Joely Merriman, SM North; Kylie Miller, BV Northwest; Lauren Nordell-Morris, BV Northwest; Lauren Pugh, Olathe Northwest; Mary Reed-Weston, Lawrence; Izzy Smith, SM East; Morgan Traughber, Lawrence.

Swimmer of the meet — Courtney Caldwell, Free State.

Coach of the year — Annette McDonald, Free State.