ORONO – So many story lines could be used to narrate the Old Town boys swim team’s 2002-03 season.

Matt Byther left uncertainty in his wake after deciding to retire as the Indians head coach before former Old Town girls coach Doug Springer came out of retirement. Then defending state diving champion Steve Gomm died in a car crash during the season.

In a season marked by plenty of adversity and emotion, it was somehow fitting the Indians would overcome lots of the former and run through the entire gamut of the latter before winning Tuesday’s Class B state championship at the University of Maine’s Wallace Pool.

“This was the only meet we really pointed to all year long, and they came on like gangbusters today,” said Springer, who retired three years ago. “It was worth coming back for. This has just been a great day.”

Heading into the day’s final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, Old Town faced a daunting task. To win their first outright state title since 1998, the Indians would have to make up a 3.05-second preliminary round deficit in the relay to top seed and favored Scarborough and hope someone seeded lower than fourth seed Greely of Cumberland Center could finish ahead of the Rangers’ relay team.

Old Town’s relay team of freshman Jacob Shanley, junior Dan Thornton, junior Nick Noonan and senior Nick Perkins not only made up a 10-point deficit in the final event, it improved its time by an eye-popping 9.06 seconds and watched as fifth seed Mount Desert Island finished third and third seed Ellsworth finished fourth to knock Greely to fifth – two points behind Old Town.

“I wasn’t worried about what place we got, I was just worried about getting my best time and I did. We all did,” said Shanley, who refused to believe his relay team swam nine seconds faster until he was shown the official times in the finals and prelims.

With a 10-point lead, the Rangers would fare no worse than being co-champions if they could hold their seeding and finish fourth. Instead, the Indians won their 15th Class B state crown with 212 points.

“I could not ask for a better meet to finish my high school career,” said Perkins, who also won the 100 freestyle and 200 free. “I couldn’t ask for better teammates either.”

Old Town not only overcame Greely’s seemingly safe lead, it also overcame a disappointing performance in the prelim round, when three swimmers seeded to compete in the championship finals missed qualifying for them by hundredths of seconds and another missed the championship finals due to a disqualification.

“We knew some things went wrong in the morning, but we knew some things went incredibly great for us tonight,” Perkins said.

The MDI boys finished third with 186 points and Scarborough, the meet favorite, finished fourth with 160 after top backstroker and diver Dough Endrizzi, a fifth seed, became too sick to compete and withdrew from both competitions. His loss cost the Red Storm 20 points, seed-wise.

Three-time defending state champ Belfast finished fifth with 129 points. The Lions also were dealt a key loss as freestyler and top diver Jon Holmes suffered a ruptured eardrum in practice and was unable to compete.

Scarborough’s Sean Flaherty was named the meet’s outstanding swimmer after swimming the second leg of Scarborough’s winning 200 medley relay team, winning both the 100 breaststroke, and winning the 200 individual medley. Flaherty finishes his high school career with eight individual state championships.

As far as Old Town, which also won the sportsmanship award, was concerned, Ellsworth’s Matt Jordan was the outstanding swimmer as he anchored the 400 relay team that edged Greely by .22 seconds and kept the Rangers from sharing the title.

“I was really happy with our team today. We only had four guys,” said the Eagles’ junior, who also won the 50 freestyle, in which he’s unbeaten this year, and the 100 backstroke, which nobody has beaten him in for two years. “And it’s nice to help an East team win.”

Old Town’s swimmers were understandably elated and emotional after the meet.

“We’re dedicating this to Steve [Gomm]. I definitely think he’s looking down somewhere with a big smile,” said Noonan. “This is incredible.”