ELLSWORTH – As senior hurdler Gwen Russ waited for the bus to take her Belfast High School girls track team home from the Eastern Maine Class B Regional meet here Saturday, she reflected on the first EM B crown her team had just annexed.

“Two years ago, everybody would have laughed at us,” chuckled Russ, the team captain and only senior. Russ won the 100 meter hurdles. “Coach [Jon Cox] told us he had us third the way things seeded out. If we all gave our best, it would be close.”

Belfast, led by freshman double-winner Erin Herbig, racked up 90 points to outdistance Foxcroft Academy by 18 points and third-place Hampden Academy by 26. Mount View (59) and Mount Desert Island (56) rounded out the top five.

The Mount View boys defended their Class B title with a 12-point win over Ellsworth. Mount View racked up 78 points to Ellsworth’s 66. Completing the top five were Belfast with 61, Medomak Valley of Waldoboro (58) and Hampden Academy (47).

“We had never even been close before,” said 13th-year head coach Cox, whose Lion girls finished ninth in last year’s regional with only 20 points, 80 behind winner Hampden Academy. “We’ve been building over the years. This was a pleasant surprise. It was a team effort. We didn’t falter in any area.”

Herbig won the 1600-meter run in 5:17.6 and claimed the 800-meter run in 2:24.2.

Herbig took the lead from Winslow standout Robin Bates with one lap left in the 1600-meter run and was able to hold off a couple of Weed spurts to win by 2.8 seconds.

“I knew she was a good runner and she’d come back at me. I just tried to stay a little ahead of her,” said Herbig.

“I thought I’d be able to pass her back but my legs didn’t have it in them,” said Bates who did cruise to an easy win in the 3200 meters later.

Herbig also ran a leg for the triumphant 1600 relay team in one of the most dramatic races of the day.

Joanne Curtis, who trailed the Hampden Academy team by 15 meters when she took the baton for the last leg, made up the distance and held off Mount View phenom Leslie Weed for the win.

“I wanted so badly to do it for the team,” said Curtis. “This feels great.”

Junior Weed won three individual events: the 100, 200 and 400.

“I’m pretty happy with it. Now I want to win at the states,” said Weed.

The first girls pole vault resulted in a tie between Eastern Maine pole vault pioneer Meghan Palmer of Mount Desert Island, whose vaulting eventually forced the MPA to add it to the list of events, and Belfast’s Andi Woodbury. Both vaulted 8 feet but failed at higher heights. They both qualified for the nationals at North Carolina State later this month.

“It’s really exciting to see 15 vaulters. This showed all the people who said we couldn’t do it that we could,” said Palmer.

“Throwing your body through the air and not knowing where you’re going to land is the most exhilarating thing around,” said Woodbury.

In the boys meet, Mount View senior Scott Kendall and Ellsworth junior Joey Luchini stole the show.

Kendall won the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles, the 400-meter dash and ran the anchor leg for the victorious 1600-meter relay team, which sewed up the win over Ellsworth in the final event. It was only the second time he had ever run the 400.

Kendall said even though Mount View has just eight boys on its team, “we know we can stay in the big meets because our guys pull big points. You need 80-100 points to win a regular season meet but only 65 or so to win a big meet.”

The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Kendall, who is going to Huntington College (Ind.) next year, said he knew the team was in good shape entering the final relay even though the Mustangs led Ellsworth by just two points.

“This is our baby. We’ve never lost,” said Kendall.

“It’s our pride,” said Nathan Hemmens, who took the lead for good on the second leg.

Ben Jacobson and Jason Curtis were the other members of the relay team.

Curtis won the 200 and was second in the 100 and the other winner from Mount View was high jumper Derek Davis.

“The kids ran really well. I had us getting 73 points,” said first-year Mount View coach Craig Drew.

Joey Luchini won the 800, 1600 and 3200 meter run. In the 3200, younger brother Louie finished second and acted as his look-out.

“Louie really helped me out a lot. I couldn’t have done it without him. He told me where the other runners were,” said Joey.

Joey added that his 2:00.6 was his best time in the 800 in his first year of running the event.

“I didn’t think I had the raw speed to run it,” said Luchini.

MCI’s Lamont Bean won the triple and long jumps and Belfast’s Peter Verzoni won the discus and shot put. Both are seniors.