They had plenty to celebrate.

The main reason for the happy send-offs, of course, was to honor their participation in this weekend’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association swimming & diving championships at Ithaca College.

But beyond the quintet’s record-setting season in pools throughout Western New York, there is — for me, at least — another reason to applaud the young men from the Frewsburg/Falconer/Jamestown/Southwestern merged team.

They define T-E-A-M. Or, put another way, they affirm one of my favorite quotes that is too often lost in the name of competition. It’s all of 14 words and it reads as follows: “It’s amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit.”

Conner Dean, Grady Moore, Miles Moore, Landon Frederes and Daniel Peterson are cheered by Southwestern classmates before they head to states to represent Frewsburg/Falconer/Jamestown/Southwestern. Photo by Matthew Kindberg

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Bruce Johnson has been Frewsburg’s swim team coach for 47 years, a tenure that — among other things — has landed him in the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame and earned him the respect of his current and former athletes, as well as colleagues near and far.

So as his five talented swimmers completed their final practice Wednesday afternoon at the Frewsburg pool, Johnson reflected on how they wanted to be sure that they would represent the Bears in all three relays at this weekend’s state meet.

Seeking a state title — or in the case of the 200-yard freestyle relay defending it — is their top priority, according to Johnson. With that in mind, here’s how they stack up among NYSPHSAA schools entering today’s preliminaries:

≤ First in the 200-yard medley relay (1:33.99).

≤ First in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:08.96).

≤ And, finally, second in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:26.42). At last year’s state meet, Dean, the Moores and since-graduated Aidan McCleery set the NYSPHSAA record that still stands with a clocking of 1:24.05.

Ponder that if you will.

Ponder, too, the season that Dean has put together. Bound for New York University in the fall, the Jamestown senior’s name is all over the Red & Green record board.

“We’ve never had an all-around swimmer that good,” Johnson said.

The four other teens are exceptional in their own right, too, giving Johnson hope that wins in all three relays are possible.

“We’d like to sweep the relays,” Johnson said. “I don’t know if it’s been done before, at least in the public schools. We finished fourth in team scoring last year, so it would be nice to move up to second or third. I don’t know if there’s a clear-cut favorite.”

Dean is also entered in the 200-yard individual medley where he is seeded fourth; Miles Moore and Frederes are entered in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke where they head into the preliminaries seeded third and 23rd respectively; and Grady Moore is seeded 27tin the 100-yard butterfly.

I”ve never had five guys that good all at the same time, Johnson said.

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On the eve of their departure for Ithaca, the swimmers and their coaches, who also include assistants Nancy Johnson, Glen Shoup, Ian Moore and Mitch Simons, went to dinner together at a Lakewood restaurant.

When he was finished eating, Johnson was planning to attend Ash Wednesday services at his church a short car ride away. Knowing Johnson, a deeply religious man, was headed to Zion Covenant in West Ellicott was not the least bit surprising to me. And I also wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to know that in his private moments he had thanked God for his Hall-of-Fame career, the hundreds of student-athletes he’s coached and the many trips to states he’s made.

As my late mom used to say: “Count your blessings and then count them again, because you may have missed one.”

In Johnson’s case, he could start with the most recent.

Their first names?

Conner, Grady, Miles, Landon and Daniel.