BAR HARBOR — Lexi Brent, a senior from York High, crossed the finish line after completing only the second 300-meter hurdles race of her life.

She turned and embraced runner-up Charlotte Williamson, another York senior, and within moments expanded the group hug to include classmate Olive Gaetano. By placing 1-2-6, the trio of Wildcats all but secured the Class B track and field state championship Saturday afternoon at Mt. Desert Island High School.

“We’ve been really hungry for a win,” said Brent, who also went 1-2 with Williamson in the 100 hurdles and anchored two winning relays. “Every single state meet, it seems like we’re second or third and the boys win. It’s been hard to watch.”

Saturday turned out to be a banner day for the Wildcats, who swept both girls’ and boys’ state titles for the first time in school history. Both teams had been runner-up a year ago, to the MDI boys and Cony girls. In indoor track this winter, York’s girls finished second while the Wildcat boys won a state title.

“We have a really great group of seniors, so it’s very special to help them get this,” said York sophomore Cary Drake, who won the 1,600 and 3,200, placed third in the 800 and ran on the winning 3,200 relay. “I’m happy I was able to contribute in my painful amount of events.”

Among the 24 schools competing in the girls’ meet, York finished with 113 points to 70 for runner-up Cape Elizabeth. Host MDI was third at 57, followed by Old Town (50), Cony (46) and Gardiner (39).

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Brent’s winning times were 15.30 seconds in the 100 hurdles and 47.23 in the 300 hurdles. She came from behind in the backstretch of the final lap of the 1,600 relay, capping the meet by giving York a 1-second victory over Cape Elizabeth in 4:13.64.

“I am so happy,” Brent said. “I’m probably going to cry. This means so much to us. And the fact that we could do it scoring in every area makes it even better.”

The York boys outdistanced runner-up Leavitt by a similarly lopsided margin, 97-57. Freeport took third at 47.5, followed by Greely (43), Yarmouth (40), MDI (39) and Old Town (36).

“We had 11 girls and 19 boys who all scored points,” said York Coach Ted Hutch. “So it was a definitely a shared experience.”

In hurdles alone, the York girls amassed 38 points – a total surpassed by only five other teams in all events. Williamson was the one who introduced the event after moving to Maine from seacoast New Hampshire five years ago.

“She taught all of us,” Brent said of Willliamson, who learned how to negotiate hurdles from her father, who fashioned them out of PVC pipes.

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“It’s a really proud moment for us to get first and second,” Williamson said. “That’s been our goal since freshman year.”

York also earned points in the javelin (fourth), high jump (fifth), racewalk (fifth and sixth), pole vault (fourth), 400 (fourth) and 800 (second and third).

At practice on Friday, Hutch told his teams the seedings showed them 20 points behind. This was not true, and Hutch knew his athletes could go online and see the seedings themselves, but still.

“Scramble for every point you can,” he said. “Get us some cushion. Help us out. Just warm up for every event and work hard. Good things will follow.”

Junior Matt Charpentier led the York boys with individual victories in the shot put and discus. His final toss in the shot sailed 59 feet, 1 inch – landing three quarters of an inch shy of the meet’s 43-year-old standard set by Jim Dawson of Lawrence. Nobody else threw within 10 feet of Charpentier, whose 162-11 discus toss won by more than 30 feet.

In his two attempts prior to the winning shot put heave, Charpentier had fouled (the heavy ball slipped from his grasp while he rotated) and restarted after not liking his initial whirl.

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“On the first one, I chalked up my neck too much,” he said. “So I wiped that off, then told myself to slow down, isolate my form, and my form will take me to that next level.”

The Wildcats also got individual victories from Christian Burke in the pole vault (12-9) and Hunter Pruett in the 800 (2:02.07).

Miles Burr, a sophomore from Mt. Desert Island, set the day’s only meet record by winning his 100 dash preliminary race in 10.95 seconds. He won the final in 11.03 and later added the 200 title in 22.41.

“That was the goal, sub 11,” Burr said. “I was going hard.”

Other multiple winners included Cape Elizabeth senior Tori Hews (100 and 200), Freeport junior Henry Horne (1,600 and high jump), Old Town junior Corbin Flewelling (long jump and triple jump) and Leavitt senior Jonathan Schomaker, who won four wheelchair events: shot put, discus, 800 and 1,600 meters.

Schomaker and Brent, who is headed to Providence College to run track, were the only two athletes to leave MDI with four gold medals.

When York High holds its end-of-season athletic awards night this spring, Hutch no longer has to talk about a boys’ title and a girls’ runner-up finish, as has been the case in recent years in cross country, indoor and outdoor track.

“It’s almost the same speech each year,” he said, “so this one feels real good.”

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