DOVER-FOXCROFT – The Bucksport boys track team hadn’t won a major competition all spring, and entered Saturday’s Class C state championships at Foxcroft Academy off a third-place finish at its conference meet.

So while pre-meet seeds suggested a possible victory, it wasn’t a focal point of discussion.

“I hadn’t really thought about it until the meet,” said junior hurdler Nick Tymozcko. “But as the points were adding up I thought ‘Man, we really have a chance to win,’ and we did.”

Bucksport used strength in the sprints and hurdles to earn its first state title, while the John Bapst girls opened the meet with a state record and cruised to their third straight crown.

“I don’t know if we were expecting to win, we were hoping,” said Lily Krichels, one of only two John Bapst seniors. “We knew everyone really had to bring it up a little as far as our performances go, because you can’t be too sure about anything and we didn’t want to risk it by being lazy.”

The meet produced six state records and two triple-event winners. Brandon Hall of Foxcroft swept the long, triple and high jumps for the second straight year – including a Class C-record 6 feet, 81/4 inches in the high jump. Logan Crane of Freeport set state records in the girls’ 100 (12.28 seconds) and 200 (25.63) and also won the long jump.

In the boys meet, Bucksport senior Josh Johnson won the 100 and 200, placed third in the high jump and anchored a first-place 4×100 relay team that included Tymozcko, Chris Woodman and Deven Eaton. Tymozcko finished second in the 110 and 300 hurdles as the Golden Bucks totaled 54 points to emerge from a tightly bunched field.

“Honestly I don’t think the kids knew we could win this,” said Bucksport coach Chris Jones. “It’s as much a shock to them as it is to me, but they went out and did it.”

In the 100, Johnson led from the outset to win in 11.37. In the 200, he trailed early, then rallied to outlean Matt LaCasse from Waynflete of Portland and Andrew Marston of Greater Portland Christian School and win in 23.40.

“I basically just threw myself at the finish line,” he said.

Hall had a personal best in the triple jump (42-81/2) and easily won the long jump (20-91/2), but it was the high jump that was the focus of attention. He comfortably cleared 6-81/4 to win that event for the third straight year and break the Class C record of 6-71/2, then barely missed on his second try at 6-101/4, which would have been best jump in state history.

With a hometown crowd offering rhythmic applause, the 6-foot-8 Hall cleared the bar and landed, only to have the bar fall a split-second later, apparently the result of ever-so-slight contact with his upper leg.

“I have no idea what hit the bar,” said Hall. “I cleared it and I felt like I didn’t touch anything. I looked up and it looked like the bar was wobbling a little bit but then I thought, ‘Sweet, it’s staying on.’ But nope, it fell off.”

Foxcroft scored 42 points to tie Sumner of East Sullivan for fifth place. Ryan O’Keefe of Sumner won the 1,600 and was second in the 3,200, while teammate Charlie Buteau won the shot put.

Other Eastern Maine winners were Travis Rieley of George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill in the 800 and Adam Haggerty of Hermon in the pole vault.

Hall-Dale of Farmingdale (47) edged Waynflete (46) for second place. Waynflete had just two competitors, but LaCasse won both hurdles finals and placed second in the 200.

In the girls meet, John Bapst set a championship tone as Courtney Martin, Nicole Lavertu, Evelyn Sharkey and Sara Miller won the 4×800 relay in 9:59.34, nearly four seconds faster than the previous Class C standard.

When Katie Andrle then won the 100 hurdles, the Crusaders were already comfortably ahead. Andrle also won the 300 hurdles, but John Bapst harvested points from many locations, scoring in 10 of the 12 running events.

John Bapst finished with 105 points to top second-place Orono (69), with Traip Academy of Kittery (48.5) third.

Depth in the distance events benefited John Bapst, which scored 47 points in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. Lavertu finished first and Martin third at 1600, while Maddy Glover won the 3,200 with Lavertu and Martin third and fourth. At 800, Sharkey, Lavertu and Miller placed 3-5-6.

The Crusaders became only the second team to win three straight Class C girls titles. Winthrop won five straight between 1995 and 1999.

“The girls geared themselves toward having a good day,” said John Bapst coach Bruce Pratt. “The last few days with exams and everything else have been crazy, but I noticed in practice this sense that they’re on the verge of doing something very special.”

Orono was led by senior Olivia Alford, who set a state record in the 400 (58.47) and anchored a record-breaking 4×400 relay team. Alford, Kate Kelley, Rachel Bergman and Emily Artesani were timed in 4:09.55, eclipsing the mark of 4:12.38 set last year by John Bapst’s Elaine Colwell, Sharkey, Krichels and Andrle – who finished second this year.

That same Orono relay team doubled in the 4×100, while Bergman also won the pole vault.

Beth Bartley of Greenville won her second straight high jump title, while Whitney Langworthy of Fort Fairfield won the discus.