BAR HARBOR — A purple wave descended on the Class B state track and field championship, just as it had for the last five years. Even when it’s expected, the dominance of the Waterville Senior High School girls track and field team is impressive.

On Saturday, the Purple Panthers won their sixth straight Class B state championship, and they won it going away, scoring 145 points, 60 points more than runner up Greely.

There’s not a team competing in any high school sport in Maine right now that’s as good at what it does as the Waterville girls track and field team. Really, no other team approaches what the Panthers are doing in track and field.

“There are leaders, people in the group who encourage younger underclassmen to keep working hard and carry on the serious tradition that track is at Waterville,” said Bethanie Brown, who set Class B state records in the 1,600 (4:55.23) and 3,200 (10:34.79) on Saturday.

The Waterville girls had an athlete seeded in the top four in 12 of the 19 events. They scored in 14 of the 19 events.

No event demonstrated the Panthers’ depth and talent like the 100-meter hurdles. Waterville’s Alex Jenson finished first, while Olivia Thurston was second. Sarah Shoulta was third, and Kellie Bolduc was fifth. The Panthers picked up 27 points in the 100 hurdles. Their effort in that event was enough to outscore 18 teams’ total scores.

“We all work together. We all push each other. We just end up coming out on top,” said Jenson, who also finished first in the triple jump. She laughed, as if she had trouble believing how well her team performed. “It’s fun being part of a group of four girls who can compete at that level.”

How intense do you think Waterville practices get? In multiple events, you’ll have some of the best athletes in the state competing against each other every day. What you’ll see at a meet, you’ve already seen in practice.

“It makes us better every practice. Then you’re ready for the meets,” said Thurston, who won the state title in the 300 hurdles.

Saturday’s win was the sixth consecutive state championship for the Panthers. The first few were close. In 2007, the Panthers held off York by 14 points. In 2008, they beat Greely by a scant point and a half. In 2009, it was a 10 point win over York.

Then things got silly. In 2010, Waterville had a 74 point edge over York. Last year, the Panthers outscored York by 82.5 points. That margin of victory was 19.5 points more than York’s team total.

Before the Class B indoor track and field championship meet in February, Waterville coach Ian Wilson warned his team not to feel entitled. If you go out and do your best, Wilson said, you’ll leave with a state championship. That advice was just as solid for the outdoor season.

“I think it’s actually more motivation for us because we want to keep on the top. We want to do better,” Thurston said. “We want to be the best team in the state at the end of this meet, with our points, in all of the classes.”

Wilson won’t let the team feel entitled. They work too hard all season for that.

“You can definitely be a little more relaxed going into the meet, but you still to focus on ‘I need to hit my times if we’re going to do it.’ You can’t feel like you already have it won. You have to win it at the meet.” Jenson said.

Going into the meet, the Waterville girls set a goal of 163 points. They didn’t quite reach that goal, but it was close. For every other team in the state, that would be a pie in the sky, if everything goes as right as right can be, best case scenario and multiply by two number. For Waterville, it was realistic.

“We have the ability. It’s just a matter of doing our best, motivating each other as a team, collecting that trophy and knowing that we had a great day,” Thurston said.

Championships aren’t won in a vacuum. There’s no pressure to live up to history at Waterville. The pressure is a good kind, the kind that gets relieved when you simply do your best.

“There’s definitely pressure, but we focus every meet,” Brown said. “Get a P.R. (personal record) and keep improving all season. At the end, we’ll probably be good… In the end, we get to have all our hard work pay off.”

The Waterville girls win, and will continue to win, because they’ve found that balance between hard work and talent. Wilson reminded them of this before the meet.

“We get in a huddle. He says some things like, don’t finish the meet and wish you had a second chance,” Thurston said. “I always think about that when he says it because you give it your all, and you can be happy and not look back.”

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

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