photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State's Ella Marsh swims the 200-yard individual medley during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

LENEXA — Free State swimmer Ella Marsh made Sunflower League history with a record-breaking swim while leading the Firebirds to a third-place finish in the Sunflower League swim meet.

Marsh, a freshman, broke the Sunflower League meet record in the 200 individual medley during preliminary races on Friday. She came back and broke it again during the finals swim on Saturday, all without a taper before the league meet.

“It was really unexpected,” Marsh said. “The fastest I’ve gone this season prior to today was four seconds slower, so I was really shocked. I didn’t taper, so I’m not feeling my best, but I’m really happy with it.”

As a team, Free State scored 272 points, which was behind Olathe East with 316 and Shawnee Mission East at 437.5. The Firebirds pulled ahead of Olathe Northwest’s 239 points.

“I was hoping for a third-place finish, looking at the scores yesterday and seeing how things played out,” Free State coach Janna Skinner said. “Our back half of our program is pretty strong. I was happy with how our girls swam. They swam well yesterday to put themselves in position today.”

Free State’s young corps has helped the Firebirds score points all year long, and the freshmen class had another strong performance in the two-day meet. Five freshmen Firebirds scored 10 or more points, and two of the three Firebirds to finish with over 30 points were freshmen.

“Watching those girls gain that confidence and start to believe in themselves and see the results has been huge for us,” Skinner said.

Lawrence finished 12th in the league meet and scored 57 points. Ashlyn Tell scored 19 points for the team in individual races.

The first event of the final day was the 200-yard medley relay, which Free State won with a 1 minute, 50.42-second time. The Firebirds dropped nearly a second from their prelim time. Lawrence finished 10th with a 2:11.54 time that was over two seconds faster than the prelim time.

Free State’s Bridget Collins placed sixth in the 200-yard freestyle with a 2:03.78 time. Fellow Firebird Stella Dorssom swam it in 2:34.95, which was 24th.

Marsh’s 2:03.68 swim in the 200-yard individual medley was a 0.53-second improvement from her already record-breaking prelim time. Not only does the time put her in contention for a state record, but it is also a National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association All-America consideration time.

Helena Mattes swam the 200-yard individual medley in 2:13.73, which was fourth-best. Lawrence’s Tell rounded out the top 10 with a 2:25.66 time. Fellow Lion Isabella Paniagua placed 20th at 2:54.09. In the 50-yard freestyle, Firebird Dylan Tenbrink swam in 27.63 seconds, which was 14th in the meet.

Free State’s Harper Huston took seventh in the league diving event, scoring 358.10 points. She started in ninth after Thursday’s prelim diving with 155.30 and moved up to sixth with 256.65 points during Thursday’s semifinal dives. Fellow Firebird Lucy Koch scored 94.60 points in the prelim diving section.

Marsh later was the runner-up in the 100-yard butterfly with a 57.15-second time. Marsh was first through Friday’s prelim races but was beat out by a near three-second improvement from Shawnee Mission Northwest’s Fia Boshart.

Free State’s Ruby Jiang finished fifth in the butterfly at 1:02.26, and Lawrence’s Tell took seventh at 1:03.61. In the 100-yard freestyle, Firebird Maria Fuentes Sanchez finished 23rd with a 1:03.36 swim.

Siggi Mattes placed third in the 500-yard freestyle at 5:17.52, and fellow Firebird Bridget Collins finished fourth at 5:31.16. Tenbrink took 13th at 6:07.13, and Amelia Rockhold placed 18th at 6:52.94.

Free State took eighth in the 200-yard freestyle relay at 1:50.47, and Lawrence finished 11th at 1:53.53.

Siggi Mattes was the runner-up in the 100-yard backstroke at 1:00.08, and Ashlyn Johnson finished 14th at 1:11.88. Fellow Firebird Penelope All placed 18th at 1:17.42, and Lawrence’s Isabella Paniagua swam for 19th in 1:18.57.

Helena Mattes took third in the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:07.89, and Jiang finished sixth at 1:12.41. Free State’s Chloe Carnagey placed 22nd at 1:26.67 in the event.

The meet ended with the 400-yard freestyle relay, which Free State finished third in at 3:44.48. The Lions placed 11th at 4:27.22.

Swimmers will have the next week off from competition before returning to the Shawnee Mission School District Aquatic Center for the 6A girls state swim and dive meet, starting on May 21.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Abigail Johnson swims her leg of the 200-yard freestyle relay during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Bridget Collins swims the 500-yard freestyle during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Siggi Mattes swims the 500-yard freestyle during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Siggi Mattes dives into the pool to start the 500-yard freestyle during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Penelope All, left, helps track laps for teammate Dylan Tenbrink, right, during the 500-yard freestyle during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Ella Marsh swims her portion of the 400-yard freestyle relay during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Helena Mattes dives into the pool to start her leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Ruby Jiang swims the 100-yard breaststroke during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Chloe Carnagey swims the 100-yard breaststroke during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Ashlyn Johnson swims the 100-yard backstroke during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Isabella Paniagua swims the 100-yard backstroke during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Olivia Oehlert swims her leg of the 200-yard freestyle relay during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Maria Fuentes Sanchez swims her leg of the 200-yard freestyle relay during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Ruby Jiang swims the 100-yard butterfly during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Harper Huston jumps during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Harper Huston twists during a dive at the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Ella Marsh smiles after breaking the Sunflower League record in the 200-yard individual medley during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Ashlyn Tell swims the 200-yard individual medley during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Amelia Rockhold swims the 500-yard freestyle during the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Ashlyn Johnson, left, helps keep track of laps for Amelia Rockhold, right, during the 500-yard freestyle at the Sunflower League girls swim and dive meet on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lenexa.