photo by: Chance Parker

Free State senior Finn VanDyke races in the boys swim dual against LHS Thursday afternoon at Lawrence High School on Dec. 10, 2020.

Free State’s swim and dive program won half of the events, but ultimately finished second as a team on Thursday during the Olathe Northwest quadrangular.

The Firebirds won six of the 12 events on the day, scoring 226 points as a team en route to their runner-up finish. Free State only lost to Olathe Northwest by a total of 12 points, as the winners scored 238 points to secure first in the team standings.

But the six event victories demonstrated Free State’s potent attack at this point in the season.

Alexander Moore, Max Bates, Finn VanDyke and Riley Sirimongkhon-Dyck all teamed up to win the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:35.22. The other five victories by FSHS came in individual events.

VanDyke netted two of those first-place finishes. He won the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:53.68 and notched first in the 100 freestyle with a mark of 50.22. Sirimongkhon-Dyck also recorded two wins. He placed first in the 200 IM with a time of 2:06.28 and clocked a time of 1:03.58 to win the 100 breaststroke.

Elliott Ahlvers also won the diving competition for the Firebirds, who actually swept the top-three spots in the event. Ahlvers scored 265.05 to take first in diving. Michael Leonard claimed second, while Jack Keathley-Helms ended up in third place for FSHS.

In addition, Free State finished in second place in a trio of events. Moore, Sirimongkhon-Dyck, VanDyke and Dawson Bonnell were all on the 200-yard medley team that ended up as the runner-up with a mark of 1:46.53.

Bonnell also registered second in the 100 butterfly with a time of 58.29, while Moore posted a time of 1:02.89 to secure second in the 100 backstroke.

Free State will be back in action in January after the break.

Olathe Northwest quadrangular

Thursday at Olathe Northwest

Team scores: 1. Olathe Northwest 238; 2. Free State 226; 3. Mill Valley 143; 4. De Soto 22.

200-yard medley relay: 2. Free State (Alexander Moore, Riley Sirimongkhon-Dyck, Dawson Bonnell, Finn VanDyke) 1:46.53.

200 freestyle: 1. Finn VanDyke 1:53.68; 9. Jackson Rea 2:19.69; 10. Jamie King 2:26.77.

200 IM: 1. Riley Sirimongkhon-Dyck 2:06.28; 2. Dawson Bonnell 2:14.00; 7. Noah Mast 2:29.70.

50 free: 5. Alexander Moore 24.86; 8. Jackson Waggoner 26.90; 15. Tiger Sievers 31.62; 17. Aidan Hanna 32.57; 21. David Wiseman 33.71; 24. Max Polson 38.10.

Diving: 1. Elliott Ahlvers 265.05; 2. Michael Leonard 207.85; 3. Jack Keathley-Helms 124.70.

100 fly: 2. Dawson Bonnell 58.29; 3. Jacob Heinz 1:01.55; 5. Noah Mast 1:07.50.

100 free: 1. Finn VanDyke 50.22; 8. Jackson Rea 1:01.23; 12. Owen Polson 1:02.83; 14. Jackson Waggoner 1:05.14; 15. Levi Bates 1:05.55; 16. Jamie King 1:05.86; 20. David Wiseman 1:18.86.

500 free: 3. Jacob Heinz 5:43.81; 9. Cole Grassy 7:22.09.

200 free relay: 1. Free State (Alexander Moore, Max Bates, Finn VanDyke, Riley Sirimongkhon-Dyck) 1:35.22.

100 back: 2. Alexander Moore 1:02.89; 4. Max Bates 1:04.96; 9. Levi Bates 1:18.86; 10. Aidan Hanna 1:32.05.

100 breaststroke: 1. Riley Sirimongkhon-Dyck 1:03.58; 7. Owen Polson 1:23.38; 9. Cole Grassy 1:27.43.

400 free relay: 3. Free State (Dawson Bonnell, Jacob Heinz, Noah Mast, Max Bates) 3:53.67.

Veritas basketball splits two-game stretch

The Veritas boys basketball team earned one win and one loss during a back-to-back stretch of games on Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday, Veritas suffered a 63-43 loss to the Metro Mavs at home. The Eagles were outscored all four quarters in the 20-point defeat. Will Rau recorded 29 points in the loss, while no other Veritas player scored more than 5 points.

One night later, Veritas bounced back to secure a 66-58 road victory over Cair Paravel on Friday. Rau had another strong showing, scoring a team-high 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor. He also added nine rebounds, six steals and four assists in the win.

Will Bartkoski joined him in double figures by scoring 20 points for the Eagles. He went 6-for-11 from the floor. Aden-Jay Baker added 7 points on as many shot attempts for Veritas.

Veritas (4-2) will be back in action in January after the break. The team is slated to face Bishop Seabury at home on Jan. 8.

Thursday: Metro Mavs 63, Veritas 43

Metro Mavs 6 28 13 16 — 63

Veritas 5 20 10 8 — 43

Veritas (43)

Will Rau 29, Will Bartkoski 2, Jordan Donaldson 3, Aden-Jay Baker 5, Brennan Clements 4.

Friday: Veritas 66, Cair Paravel 58

Veritas 12 12 18 24 — 66

Cair Paravel 13 15 16 14 — 58

Veritas (66)

Will Rau 27, Will Bartkoski 20, Jordan Donaldson 8, Aden-Jay Baker 7, Brennan Clements 4.