WINDHAM — High school graduation and spring sports championship season are indelibly linked with stomach butterflies and sleepless nights.

Track and field athletes — particularly those from Edward Little and Scarborough entered in the Class A pole vault final — haven’t seen anything yet.

Despite Saturday’s cold, rainy, windy, generally miserable conditions, officials at Windham High School were able to get every event completed safely at the state meet except the pole vault.

It will be contested Wednesday at a time and site to be determined, most likely the University of Southern Maine or Bates. Given the forecast for several more days of inclement weather, it probably will be held indoors.

Now, for the real kicker: EL and Scarborough will spend the next three days in a virtual tug-o’-war for the state title. The Red Eddies lead the Red Storm by a single point, 75-74, with the risky and dramatic final discipline pending.

“Pole vault will be the factor,” EL coach Rebecca Hefty said.

Athletes and coaches knew by mid-morning that the pole vault was likely to be postponed. Everyone also knew, based on seeds, that EL, Scarborough and Bangor were ticketed for a titanic three-way tussle to the wire.

Scarborough, seeking its fifth state crown in the past seven years, and Edward Little, eyeing its second out of four, held up their ends of the triangle. Bangor (50 points) is a distant third, eliminated from title contention.

“It went according to plan and better,” Hefty said. “You looked at our seeds and you knew they were going to perform. We’ve already surpassed what our seeds are, without Jaclyn.”

That’s Jaclyn Masters, better known right now as the Eddies’ ace in the hole.

She’s seeded second in the pole vault behind Cony’s Lindsey Folsom. EL’s Lexi Clavet is tied for seventh. That makes the Eddies an ever-so-slight favorite over the Storm, who have Catherine Bailey, Andrea Tolman and Cailley Ledue in the top 12. Seven places are awarded points in a 10-8-6-4-3-2-1 breakdown.

Clavet, wrapped in a wool blanket after accepting her silver medal in triple jump, expressed everyone’s frustration with Mother Nature.

“I’ll be a little stressed,” Clavet said. “Everybody is kind of bummed. We really thought we had a chance to win today, and now to find out that it can’t happen until Wednesday, it won’t be quite the same.”

There will be equal drama in the boys’ meet, where Sanford leads Cheverus in the clubhouse by a scant 69-65 margin. Lewiston (34 points) and EL (32) stand sixth and seventh, respectively, out of 25 schools.

EL led the girls’ meet for much of the day, biting off big chunks with wins by its 4×100 relay and Abby Dunn with her fourth consecutive race walk title. Ayumi Ranucci and Avery Chisholm shared the podium with twins Jaclyn and MaryKate Masters in the 4×100.

Scarborough countered with Nicole Kirk’s sweep of the 100, 200 and 4×400. Kirk now holds both state meet records in the individual sprints after clocking 12.25 seconds in the 100. She was three-tenths of a second off her own 2011 record pace in the 200.

Both teams supplemented those gold medals with a fistful of seconds and thirds. Jaclyn Masters (second) and MaryKate Masters (sixth) were on Kirk‘s heels in the 100. MaryKate was fourth in the 200. In the 4×400, the sisters combined with Crystal LaBonte and Emily Hartnett to grab third.

Kelly Philbrook was second in javelin and Hartnett was fourth in 300-meter hurdles.

And Hannah Carrier took two thirds. She posted a personal record in the morning shot put. Later. Carrier gutted it out in a rain-soaked discus after most of the non-contending schools had left for the day.

“It was a little difficult, but we practice in the rain,” Carrier said. “Anybody who kind of slipped, we picked up for them today. Everyone kind of turned around and helped their teammates.”

Dunn (7:21.71) was under two seconds off the race walk record set by Caitlyn Bonney of Mt. Blue in 2000.

“It’s so exciting. I was worried to be honest. Really, really worried,” Dunn said. “Last week a girl from Morse was right on me, and all year she walked 10 seconds slower than Katie (Flanders), the girl from Gorham. So I knew if she could drop and keep with me then Katie definitely could. I’ve raced with Katie three years and I know she’s capable of it.”

Nicole Court-Menendez of Lewiston followed Flanders in third.

Joining Kirk as girls’ multiple event winners were Abbey Leonardi of Kennebunk (1,600 and 3,200), Sarah Perkins of Gorham (100 and 300 hurdles) and Tiffany Gray of Bangor (long and triple jump).

Jake Dumas’ out-of-nowhere long jump boosted Lewiston in the boys’ meet. Dumas (20 feet, 3 ¼ inches) finished only three inches behind champion Joe Slattery of Cheverus.

“I PR’d by a foot. I was ranked 21st and I placed fourth. Big day,” Dumas said. “We had Project Graduation last night and most of us (seniors) are on an hour‘s sleep. I guess I’ve got to start getting no sleep more often.”

Dumas also took fifth in the triple jump.

Not to be outdone, the Blue Devils’ Rudy Pandora won the shot put with a personal best of 52-11, 18 inches ahead of runner-up Kyle Nealey of Gorham. Lewiston’s Leo Gaghan (fourth) and Michael Nazaroff (sixth) also scored points in the event.

Mohamed Barre was fourth in the 1,600 and third in the 3,200 for Lewiston.

Lucas Bourget led EL with a race walk victory and second place to Messalonskee’s Harlow Ladd in the two-mile. Connor Harris claimed third in the triple jump.

koakes@sunjournal.com