BANGOR – Now that’s racing.

The Bangor and MDI swimming and diving program provided fans – and each other – with some of the best action of the season so far as the Rams girls and Trojans boys picked up team wins Friday in dual meets at the Husson College pool.

The MDI boys scored 107 points to Bangor’s 76, while the Bangor girls racked up 106 to MDI’s 80.

Despite the disparity in team scores there were close races in many events as some of the top swimmers in the state pushed each other in the pool.

“It’s a fun meet for both our teams,” MDI coach Tony DeMuro said. “It’s a big meet [in which] we both kind of get to flex our muscles a little bit. We don’t have a lot of the competition in the league. So it’s a good meet. But as far the importance of it, it’s just another dual meet.”

In the girls meet, the Rams and Trojans opened the evening with a battle in the medley relay – Bangor edged MDI by three-tenths of a second – and things continued two events later when Trojan Julia Macauley came from behind to beat Sorrell Cardello.

“I slipped a little on my [backstroke] turn,” Cardello said. “Other than that it was a great race for me. Great competition.”

Both Macauley and Cardello were likely a little tired from having competed in the medley relay minutes before, but DeMuro liked both Macauley’s IM swim and his team’s medley relay finish.

“[The IM] was a great race for her. She’s got a lot of heart,” he said. “… They both were just in the medley relay, which was a phenomenal race even though we got touched out. We haven’t been under two minutes. For us to get 1:58 was phenomenal.”

Cardello went on to get a win in the breaststroke, but she had to fend off MDI’s Chelsea White to do it.

Double-event winners Lily Herbold and Grace Barnett led the way for Bangor. Herbold won the 200 and 500 free races while Barnett won the fly and back.

Herbold didn’t have to race anyone but herself – she easily won both distance free races.

Cardello, Herbold, Barnett and Gabby Babin won the medley relay. Babin, Mara Shapero, Herbold and Barnett made up the winning 400 free relay.

Babin edged Kelly Harrison in the 100 free. Bangor freshman Ashley Higgins racked up 170.35 points to win the diving. Distance specialist Joanna McFarland qualified for states in the 500 free.

Kelly Harrison won the 50 free, tipping Babin, while Amy Harrison, White, Macauley and Kelly Harrison made up the winning 200 free relay.

“We don’t get that kind of competition often,” Herbold said. “We were really ready for this meet.”

In the boys meet, MDI’s front-line group overpowered Bangor, with Frank Carbone, Ian Carbone and Justin Gilmartin each winning two individual events.

Ian Carbone picked up victories in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke, while Gilmartin won the 50 free and 100 backstroke and Frank Carbone took both the 200 and 500 free races. The three-time defending Class B state champs also got wins from Reid Swanson in the 100 free and Michael Breen in the 100 butterfly.

“We’re going out for the win, but for personal bests, too,” Swanson said.

One of Frank Carbone’s wins and Swanson’s victory came at the expense of Bangor’s Joey Quinn, who finished second to the MDI standouts in the 200 free and 100 free, respectively.

Carbone touched out Quinn by less than a second in the 200 and Swanson nipped Quinn by about two-tenths of a second. The two were separated by one one-hundreth of a second at the 50-yard mark, making for an exciting finish. Swanson touched in at 51.69 and Quinn went 51.93.

“We got some great races from these guys,” Frank Carbone said of the opposition. “It’s always exciting.”

Despite finishing as runner-up in both races, Quinn sliced off two seconds in both events, a big-time drop for sprint and middle-distance events.

“They were both really good swims for me,” he said. “I knew going into the [200] I’d be swimming against Frank Carbone. I knew if I stayed focused I could do well, and I did.”

Even MDI teammates raced against each other. Ian Carbone nicked MDI’s Ty Onda in the IM by about seven-tenths of a second, while Breen outtouched Aaron Rourk by less than a second in the fly.

Quinn went on to anchor the 200 free relay for the Rams’ only swimming victory – a mere three-tenths of a second over MDI’s top team. Tommy Wong, Tyler Brookings and Brandon Frenette rounded out the relay.

Bangor’s Brian Wardwell won the diving with 183.50 points.

In addition, Bangor’s Alex Brookings (back) and Peter Hintz and Bernard Plourde (breaststroke) qualified for Class A states.