photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence's Ashlyn Tell swims the 100-yard butterfly in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

TOPEKA — The Free State and Lawrence girls swim and dive teams took advantage of a fast pool on Wednesday as the Firebirds won the Topeka Invitational and the Lions placed fourth.

The Capitol Federal Natatorium is a pool that hosts state events and is a faster pool than what the Lions and Firebirds have seen this season. That helped swimmers on both teams put up some best times as the work from the first few weeks of the season began to show up. Swimmers were excited for the opportunity to swim at a deep pool on Wednesday.

“It definitely makes an impact on your ability to do under the water, which is a major part of sprints,” Free State coach Janna Skinner said. “They were finally able to do what they wanted to do in the water today in terms of turns and underwater.”

Free State scored 536 points, which was 199 points more than the second-place Hays. Even with the win, Free State coach Janna Skinner said there were a few miscues that needed to be cleaned up.

“There were some learning experiences,” Skinner said. “We had some disqualifications and false starts that we weren’t expecting, right as we’re gaining momentum with some of our swimmers… but everybody had a best time of their season today. And girls are starting to reflect on the things they’re doing.”

Lawrence scored 263, which was 21 points behind third-place Washburn Rural.

“We were missing a few girls that were high point contributors, and I think without having them, the team looked kind of like how we always do,” Lawrence coach Elle Weber said. “Once we have them back in the water, things are going to look even better for us.”

The invite started with diving, which featured four local divers. Free State’s Harper Huston won the event by scoring 164.45 points. Her teammate Lucy Koch was the runner-up at 150.45 points. Lawrence’s Naomi Klopfenstein made the top five with 131.10 points, and Firebird Natalie Koprince took sixth at 108.05.

Free State started the swim events with a win in the 200-yard medley relay with a 1 minute. 59.73-second time. Lawrence’s top relay team placed fifth at 2:22.57.

Firebird Bridget Collins picked up her first event win in the 200-yard freestyle with a 2:08.33 time. Free State’s Dylan Tenbrink placed third at 2:19.65, and fellow Firebird Amelia Rockhold finished fifth at 2:37.41, dropping 2.02 seconds from her seed time. Lawrence’s Hayley Swart finished 11th at 2:53.56, and fellow Lions Lucy Miller-Coleman and Quinn Thompson-Aaron finished 16th and 17th, respectively.

Free State’s Ella Marsh won the 200-yard individual medley and nearly knocked off a second from her time with a 2:09.83 swim. Fellow Firebird Siggi Mattes was the runner-up at 2:19.65, and Lawrence’s Ashlyn Tell finished third at 2:27.62, which was nearly a two-second improvement from her previous best.

“That was nice to see that at this point in the season as we teeter between what events we want her to do,” Weber said of Tell.

Free State’s Ashlyn Johnson placed fifth in the 200-yard individual medley at 2:54.79, and Lawrence’s Isabella Paniagua finished sixth at 2:58.83.

Alina Jones from Free State placed eighth in the 50-yard freestyle at 29.77 seconds, and her teammate Penelope All rounded out the top 10 at 30.77 seconds. Firebird Maria Fuentes Sanchez finished 11th at 30.79 seconds, and Lawrence’s Natalya Jaimez-Padilla took 22nd at 35.12 seconds.

Marsh picked up her second win in the 100-yard butterfly with a 58.17-second time. Free State’s Ruby Jiang was the runner-up at 1:03.43, while Tell took third at 1:05.54. Lawrence’s Elizabeth Hite placed ninth at 1:38.54, while fellow Lion Bella Gragg finished 10th at 1:38.99.

Tenbrink placed third at the 100-yard freestyle, and Fuentes Sanchez came right behind her at 1:06.21. Fellow Firebird Stella Dorssom placed seventh at 1:12.02, and Lawrence’s Mira Abrams took eighth at 1:13.39.

Collins got her second win in the 500-yard freestyle with a 5:38.26 time. Rockhold placed fourth at 6:58.21, and Lawrence’s Anna Gordon-Ross finished fifth at 7:18.02. Hite took eighth at 7:57.64, and Jaimez-Padilla rounded out the top 10 with an 8:10.38 time.

Lawrence placed third in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a 2:03.75 time. In the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Firebirds won with a 3:57.20 time, while Lawrence finished fifth at 5:00.64.

Mattes won the 100-yard backstroke with a 1:04.05 time, while fellow Firebird Johnson took fourth at 1:18.71. All came right behind with a fifth-place finish at 1:18.91. Paniagua swam in eighth at 1:24.51.

Jiang won the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:12.47. Fellow Firebird Chloe Carnagey placed sixth at 1:30.03, and Lawrence’s Keira Wells took 12th at 1:37.27. Fellow Lion Lea Olivier placed 15th at 1:43.97, and Bella Gragg from Lawrence took 16th at 1:44.95.

Free State will host a quad against Lawrence, Bishop Miege, Mill Valley and Turner next Wednesday at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Juniper Jacob swims the 100-yard breaststroke in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Naomi Klopfenstein dives in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Keira Wells swims the 100-yard breaststroke in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Chloe Carnagey swims the 100-yard breaststroke in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Victoria Rosenberger swims the 50-yard freestyle in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Abigail Johnson swims the 200-yard individual medley in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Amelia Rockhold swims the 500-yard freestyle in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Natalie Koprince dives in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Ashlyn Tell swims the 100-yard butterfly in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Ashlyn Tell swims the 100-yard butterfly in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Dorcas Fakunmoju swims the 50-yard freestyle in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Penelope All swims the 100-yard backstroke in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Ruby Jiang swims the 100-yard breaststroke in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Lucy Koch dives in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Abigail Johnson swims the 200-yard individual medley in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Quinn Thompson-Aaron swims the 200-yard freestyle in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Siggi Mattes swims the 200-yard individual medley in the Topeka Invitational on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Topeka.