When the Class A Bangor boys and Class B Belfast boys dive into the pool for their respective state meets Saturday and Monday, their situations will be somewhat reversed from where the Rams and the Lions were last year at this time.

Bangor dominated Class A last year, set several state and meet records and cruised to its 18th state title.

Belfast entered its meet in hope of winning its first championship, but couldn’t quite match Greely of Cumberland Center.

When the Rams swim in the Class A meet Saturday at UMaine’s Wallace Pool in Orono, things won’t be as certain. For Monday’s Class B meet at UMaine, the Lions have a real shot at the crown.

State championships in swimming, diving, indoor track and field, wrestling and gymnastics are also up for grabs Saturday and Monday. The Class B track meet scheduled for 10:40 a.m. at UMaine today has been moved to a 2:45 p.m. start because of a snowstorm expected to come through the area Friday and Saturday.

Skiing will crown its boys and girls champions Feb. 21-23 for Classes A and B and Feb. 24-26 for Class C.

Diving state championships, the first since the Maine Principals’ Association voted last spring to take diving out of the swimming championships, will also be contended. Divers will perform all 12 dives during the break between the preliminary trials and the finals at all four state meets.

Belfast coach Bob Winslow, in his 27th year with the Lions, is being cautious after finishing second to Greely by 19 1/2 points last season.

But Winslow has plenty of reasons to be optimistic. His three relays – the 200-yard medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle – have comfortable margins in the preliminary seedings.

Senior Northe Saunders is ranked first in the 100 free and second to John Bapst’s Andrew Magiera in the 500, although Magiera is questionable after suffering a shoulder injury last Sunday. Belfast Junior Aran Lawrence has the fastest times in the 50 free and 100 backstroke.

Brothers Chris Hurley and Matt Costello-Hurley are 2-3 in the 200 individual medley, Chris is first in the 100 butterfly and Matt has the top time in the 100 breaststroke. And the Lions have swimmers like Maurice Darres, John Holmes, Jon Crowe and Dana Randlett packed in the top 12 all over the meet.

“I’ve got depth,” Winslow said. “I’ve got a few more places at the state meet than I have had in the past.”

The Lions registered a big win over Class A Morse of Bath during the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference dual-meet season and soundly beat the Shipbuilders at the KVAC championship meet last weekend. And Belfast finished second to Bangor at the Westbrook Invitational in January, beating out Greely, Morse, Old Town and Class A Westbrook.

Still, Winslow is watching out for the defending champion Rangers, along with Scarborough and Boothbay.

“I want to be cautious after last year,” he said. “The [seed] sheets are one thing, it’s another thing to swim a meet.”

Belfast won’t face Morse or Westbrook on Monday, but Bangor will face tough competition from the Shipbuilders and the Blue Blazes. Morse will rely on Matt Hallowell, Matt Clark and Chris Card, who each hold a top seed in at least one event, and Westbrook is lead by Nicholas Christopher, Adam Blais and Steven Godin.

But the Rams return versatile brothers Jim and Dan Soucie, breaststroke and IM specialist Tae Chung and butterflyer and backstroker Scott Loukes. Bangor coach Phil Emery will look to young distance swimmers Eric Palmer and Martin Fitch in the 500 and senior Kevin Barry in the 200.

“I think we have it in us,” Loukes said after Bangor’s win at the Penobscot Valley Conference championship meet Tuesday. “We’ll win as long as we swim our best times.”