There are dynasties packed into the trophy case at Waterville Senior High School, from boys hockey in the late ’60s and early ’70s, to girls soccer in the ’80s, to girls basketball in the mid ’00s.

Track, both indoor and outdoor, trumps them all. The Purple Panthers swept the Class B state meet Saturday in Brewer, with the girls winning their eighth straight state championship and the boys their second in a row. Since Ian Wilson began coaching the indoor and outdoor track teams, Waterville has taken home 25 state championships.

“When I was younger I probably would have taken a tremendous amount of pride in that,” Wilson said. “As I’ve gotten older … you begin to appreciate the more human side of athletics … keeping in touch with alums, seeing kids compete in college and doing things well after track.”

Wilson and his assistants leave little to chance and knew going in what to expect from their athletes. Jordhan Levine scored 38 points to lead the boys to a win over runner-up Belfast while Sarah Shoulta won a pair of events to lead the girls past Greely.

That doesn’t mean Wilson is short on inspirational speeches.

“Every meet there’s a different story, whether it’s about his childhood or people in other countries,” senior Gabby Bridger said. “He always brings up the legacy of the people before us. He wants us to keep the Waterville track tradition alive.”

There’s a formula for the team’s success that begins with paying attention to the athletes in middle school.

“I’m always trying to look a couple of years ahead,” Wilson said. “Probably the most important thing we do is cover our events well.”

Athletes aren’t forced into events but they are encouraged to do what comes best naturally to them. They’re tested as freshmen in running, jumping and strength.

Wilson pays particular attention to technical events like pole vaulting and high jumping, since excelling at an event like the 100-meter dash often involves genetics as much as anything else.

“The more technical events, if you understand that and coach it, the kids can master them,” Wilson said. “You get a lot of kids lining up for the 100-meter dash at a track meet.”

Wilson also selects his assistant coaches carefully. One of the best pieces of advice he ever got, he said, was including the head football coach on his staff.

“We had Frank Knight for years and now Matt Gilley,” Wilson said. “They help bring in football players. I’ve always tried hard to get a woman on staff. That way we get more girls out. And the cross country coach is my distance coach.

“There’s no way we could have this successful run we’ve had without assistants.”

Wilson may delegate responsibility but he stays in the loop.

“He knows every detail of every event,” Bridger said. “If something’s wrong, he knows exactly what it is.”

With the success came numbers, usually between 65 and 100 athletes between the two teams.

“They see us win every single season and they want to be a part of that,” Bridger said.

Bridger will attend Ithaca College next fall where she was recruited for the indoor and outdoor track teams. Four years of track at Waterville, she said, prepared her for just about anything.

“Track basically taught us to survive in any situation,” she said. “Any time you want to give up, if you just struggle through it, you’ll be OK. Nothing’s as bad as a track workout.

“I wish I could go back.”

Gary Hawkins — 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @GaryHawkinsKJ

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