DOVER-FOXCROFT — The slowest and maybe toughest part of Jack Peters’ Wednesday afternoon and evening was waiting for his many awards ceremonies.

“I want that medal,” the Elan School student said with a smile, ice bag in hand and small red backpack draped over his No. 32 basketball jersey.

That hardware represented Peters’ stirring victory in the Class C championship 200-meter dash, where he narrowly defeated 400-meter champ Vinny Tymoczko of Bucksport and 100-meter gold medalist Jeff Ryder of Livermore Falls.

Not a bad beginning, or end, to the ultimate meet of the season.

But Peters also won the triple jump, took second in the 300-meter hurdles and finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles.

That’s 32 of a possible 40 points, meaning that Peters almost singlehandedly boosted the boys from Poland Spring to the best tri-county team finish in the state showcase at Foxcroft Academy.

Elan (47 points) rode home fourth out of 33 schools, only 19 points behind champion Sacopee Valley of South Hiram. It was the Hawks’ first title since back-to-back crowns in 1999 and 2000.

John Bapst of Bangor won the girls’ sweepstakes for the eighth time in the last nine years.

The meet was delayed four days after Saturday morning’s heavy rains dropped enough standing water to make Oakes Field unsuitable for competition.

“That was rough,” Peters said of the delay. “I was sitting in the van all psyched up and ready to go on Saturday.”

Aside from Peters, thrower Gabe Schwartz and the Buccaneers, Lisbon was the top area school. The Greyhounds finished sixth in both meets, tying Orono for that distinction on the boys’ side.

Lisbon is a known quantity, having swept the Mountain Valley Conference championships for the fifth consecutive year. Elan has been well off the radar screen since winning the Class C boys’ banner in 1998.

The Buccaneers don’t belong to a conference. Their roster, comprised mostly of out-of-state students in the middle of overcoming a troubled past, sees almost wholesale change from year to year.

Peters, a rare three-year veteran, tested himself mostly against other prep and independent schools during the season.

“That’s my race,” Peters said of the 200. “I knew Vinny Tymoczko and Jared Waite (of Schenck, who finished fifth) would push me.”

So did Ryder, who won both the 100 and 200 at the MVC meet.

The University of Maine-bound senior didn’t have enough left in the tank, however, after his win earlier in the day. He settled for third. Peters trimmed Tymoczko by three-hundredths of a second.

“I hate that race more every time I run it,” Ryder said of the 200. “It’s tough to come back after you’ve been sitting in the sun all day.”

Ryder wasn’t all that enamored with his time of 11.26 seconds in the 100, either. He ran a hand-clocked 10.8 during the regular season.

It’s enough to make the competition wonder how bad their view could have been. Ryder still defeated his closest pursuer, Waite, by three-tenths.

“The place was right, just not the time,” Ryder said. “It felt fast until I looked at the clock.”

George Clement of Lisbon and Travis Hutchins of Winthrop were the other two local boys’ champions.

After a season of chasing sophomore teammate Morgan Reeves, Clement turned in the best long jump of his senior campaign at 20 feet, 2 3/4 inches. Reeves was third behind Traip’s Nigel Ayer.

“I finally got back over 20 feet for the first time since my sophomore year,” said Clement, who spent the fall and winter recuperating from a sports hernia. “I pretty much stayed consistent all the way through the season once I got back from the injury.”

Clement also was second to Valley’s Cameron Miller in high jump and fifth in triple jump, where Reeves was Peters’ runner-up.

Hutchins threw 131-10 to edge Schwartz by a foot in the discus.

“I’m glad we got to come back today when it wasn’t raining,” Hutchins said. “I beat my previous record by seven inches.”

Tara Metzger of Lisbon ended her own injury-plagued junior campaign on a strong note. She was second in triple jump, fifth in long jump and seventh in the 4×100 relay.

Metzger qualified for Saturday’s New England championship meet in the two individual events. Class C competitors learned Wednesday that they will be eligible to compete in Connecticut after initially being told that the rainout would force them to miss the entry deadline.

“I PR’d by a lot, so I’m happy,” said Metzger, whose triple jump of 34-3 fell less than four inches shy of Maranacook’s Madelaine Nazar.

Other local girls’ individual champions were Emily Chase of Dirigo (110 hurdles) and Karen Rice of Winthrop (100).

Chase was forced to withdraw from the 300 hurdles, in which she was also the top seed, in order to speak at Dirigo’s senior baccalaureate ceremony later Wednesday evening.

Rice edged Brien Crisci of Hall-Dale in the 100 before the roles were reversed in the 200.

“My starts have been a problem. At MVCs I froze in the blocks and lost my concentration, so I’ve been working on that,” Rice said. “It just felt like any other meet today, where I was super nervous before, but then I was confident.”

Winthrop’s 4×800 relay quartet of Grace Burnett, Sara Warner, Anna Doyle and Kenzie Hill also won gold.

Joining Metzger as top performers for Lisbon: Caity Gamache and Lindsey Whitney (second and third, racewalk), Angie Bulgin (third, javelin), Briana Moore (fourth, shot put), and the 4×800 relay (third).

Maranacook’s Abby Mace won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, leading the Black Bears to fourth place. Maranacook’s boys edged four-time defending champion North Yarmouth Academy for second.

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