Free State swimmers Benjamin Vorthmann (left) and Jake Viscomi (right) compete in the 100-yard butterfly Thursday afternoon on Jan. 10, 2019. Vorthmann and Viscomi finished in the top-two in the event to help Free State finish first at the FSHS Invitational.

Since the start of the season, the Free State boys swim and dive team has had a clear goal on what it wants to accomplish this season.

The Firebirds want to be Sunflower League champions for the first time in program history. They demonstrated how they can accomplish that feat during a convincing win Thursday afternoon on Senior Day. FSHS scored 569 points to win the five-team event by over 100 points.

Washburn Rural finished as a runner-up in the event with 459 points. Bonner Springs (294), Turner High (126) and Wyandotte (67) rounded out the top five in the team standings. With league meet just over three weeks away, it was good example of how FSHS can achieve its team goal.

“You don’t realize that it is the depth,” FSHS coach Annette McDonald said. “I know that we recognize our top swimmers, but sometimes that third place, that fifth place and that 11th place makes a difference. We are really getting the team to work on technique and speed.”

The Firebirds won 10 of the 12 events Thursday, which is not the first time the team has netted double-digit event victories at a meet this year.

But while those wins are vital, FSHS needs the next tier of swimmers to place to ensure a chance at winning the Sunflower League. That’s why McDonald tried a different lineup, and was especially pleased with the team’s depth in its latest victory.

“Today we mixed up some of our relays and put people in different events,” McDonald said. “The boys in our second tier trying to move up really improved our times. It was a very exciting meet for us.”

Senior Chad Anderson won the 200-yard freestyle, but his Free State teammates were not too far behind him. Trenton Hartman finished as a runner-up in the race, while Nicholas Burket and Niels Braaten placed fifth and sixth, respectively.

Benjamin Vorthmann netted a win in the 200-yard individual medley. Max Bates (fifth), Alexander Moore (sixth) and Jacob Heinz (eighth) all scored as well.

The Firebirds also swept the top three in both the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard freestyle. Vorthmann, Jake Viscomi and Riley Sirimongkhon-Dyck did so in the former in that order, and Reilley Moore, Brady Flynn and Finn VanDyke accomplished the feat in the latter.

Sophomore Devon Lyle dropped his best time of the year by seven seconds to win the 500-yard freestyle. In that same race, John Kelley and David Stuart trimmed their respective times to finish in the top five as well.

“I thought we did really, really well,” Viscomi said. “We had a lot of outstanding drops. Everyone did their best, I’m happy for them.”

In addition, Sirimongkhon-Dyck won the 100-yard breaststroke and Moore finished first in the 100-yard backstroke.

The Firebirds also won all three relay races. Viscomi, Anderson, Moore and Sirimongkhon-Dyck netted the top spot in the 200-yard medley relay. Moore, Anderson, Flynn, Vorthmann clinched first in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

Flynn, Stuart, Sirimongkhon-Dyck and Vorthmann closed out the meet with a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

The performance served as a blueprint for how the Firebirds can become league champions. And it would serve as a perfect way for send off a five-person senior class, four of whom have been with the program all four years.

“It is definitely my biggest goal,” Anderson said. “If we keep working as hard as we can, we should do it.”

FSHS Invitational

Team scores: 1. Free State 569; 2. Washburn Rural 459; 3. Bonner Springs 294; 4. Turner HS 126; 5. Sumner/Washington/Wyandotte 67.

FSHS results

200-yard medley relay: 1. Jake Viscomi, Chad Anderson, Reilley Moore, Riley Sirimongkhon-Dyck, 1:41.77.

200-yard freestyle: 1. Chad Anderson, 1:53.05; 2. Trenton Hartman, 2:05.82; 5. Nicholas Burket, 2:19.34; 6. Niels Braaten, 2:21.35;

200 IM: 1. Benjamin Vorthmann, 2:08.56; 5. Max Bates, 2:30.40; 6. Alexander Moore, 2:31.30; 8. Jacob Heinz, 2:34.24.

50 freestyle: 2. Brady Flynn, 23.38; 3. Jake Viscomi, 23.41; 6. David Stuart, 24.61; 11. Ricardo Oliveira, 26.10; 12. Zach Bollinger, 26.14; 15. Viet Nguyen, 26.93.

Diving: 2. Jack Keathley-Helms, 150.10

100-yard butterfly: 1. Benjamin Vorthmann, 55.13; 2. Jake Viscomi, 55.34; 3. Riley Sirimongkhon-Dyck 57.30; 9. John Kelley, 1:07.90.

100-yard freestyle: 1. Reilley Moore 48.92; 2, Brady Flynn 50.97; 3. Finn VanDyke 52.54; 6. Trenton Hartman 56.80; 9. Jacob Heinz 1:02.09; 10. Niels Braaten 1:02.45; 12. Ricardo Oliveira 1:03.91;

500-yard freestyle: 1. Devon Lyle 5:22.80; 3. John Kelley 6:05.53; 5. David Stuart 6:17.63; 6. Nicholas Burket 6:23.89

200-yard freestyle relay: 1. Reilley Moore, Chad Anderson, Brady Flynn, Benjamin Vorthmann, 1:31.75

100 backstroke: 1. Reilley Moore 57.76; 5. Finn VanDyke 1:05.49; 6. Max Bates 1:08.39; 7. Alexander Moore 1:10.84; 13. Morgan Uecher 1:38.53.

100-yard breaststroke: 1. Riley Sirimongkhon-Dyck 1:03.42; 2. Chad Anderson 1:05.63; 5. Devon Lyle 1:09.08; 7. Viet Nguyen 1:15.31; 8. Zach Bollinger 1:15.65

400-yard freestyle relay: 1. Brady Flynn, David Stuart, Riley Sirimongkhon-Dyck, Benjamin Vorthmann 3:32.47.

LHS wrestling drops 45-29 decision at Baldwin

The Lawrence High wrestling team suffered a 45-29 loss to Baldwin Wednesday night.

Kevin Honas, Logan Farrell, Fansoir Jones, Justin Miller, Jalerio Wahwahsuck and E.J. Jewsome netted wins for the Lions. For the Bulldogs, Lucas Hopper, Parker Evans, Josh Broyles, Lane Anderson, Cayden Blake, Will Harvey, Cy Hockey and Toby Thomas recorded wins in their respective matches.

LHS returns to action this weekend at the Basehor-Linwood tournament.

Baldwin (BALD) 45.0 Lawrence (LAWR) 29.0

106: Kevin Honas (LAWR) over Lane Green (BALD) (Dec 8-6)

113: Logan Farrell (LAWR) over Benton Flory (BALD) (TF 15-0 0:00)

120: Lucas Hopper (BALD) over Open Open (LAWR) (For.)

126: Parker Evans (BALD) over Zach Razak (LAWR) (Fall 5:02)

132: Josh Broyles (BALD) over Open Open (LAWR) (For.)

138: Lane Anderson (BALD) over William Maas (LAWR) (Fall 5:47)

145: Cayden Blake (BALD) over Henry DeWitt (LAWR) (Dec 4-0)

152: Fransoir Jones (LAWR) over William Damet (BALD) (Fall 3:43)

160: Justin Miller (LAWR) over Jake Grossner (BALD) (Dec 6-1)

170: Will Harvey (BALD) over Tomas Ortiz (LAWR) (Fall 0:33)

182: Cy Hockey (BALD) over AJ. Powell (LAWR) (Fall 5:40)

195: Jalerio Wahwahsuck (LAWR) over Cayden Blake (BALD) (Fall 0:17)

220: Toby Thomas (BALD) over Ethan Rorabaugh (LAWR) (Fall 2:24)

285: EJae Jewsome (LAWR) over Bailey Vesco (BALD) (Fall 1:17)