The long, 100-plus mile trip up Interstate 95 from Auburn to Bangor was well worth it Saturday for the Edward Little girls and boys.
In the regular season's final meet before league championships commence next weekend, the Red Eddies left Cameron Stadium with some hardware in sweeping the River City Rivals meet.
The EL boys tabulated 104.50 points to best Lewiston's 84, Brewer's 83.50 and Bangor's 20 in a meet that started under bright sunshine and concluded under overcast skies and gusty winds.
Brewer junior Jacob McCluskey, coming off an injury that derailed most of his indoor campaign, picked up two victories and a second place in his final tuneup before Friday's PVC championships.
McCluskey uncorked a throw of 174-9 in the discus and 156-4 in the javelin, both winning efforts, while his 49-5.50 in the shot put was good for second, an event won by teammate Garrett Graham at 52-11.75.
It was certainly a good day for throwers to chase personal bests, as the shot putters and discus throwers had the wind at their backs.
On McCluskey's top throw of the discus, he unleashed a high, arching toss into the jetstream, utilizing his lower-body strength to transfer the power and launch the discus.
If Brewer is going to emerge from PVC's with hardware, McCluskey, Graham and the Witches' other throwers will be vital, as Brewer went 1-2-3-5 in the disc, 1-2-3 in the shot put and 1-4 in the javelin.
Bendix Gerling was another double-winner for the Witches, clocking in at 52.09 in the 400 and 23.72 in the 200.
Team-wise, Edward Little had a bit too much depth, as Connor Jackson and Barrak Abdraba occupied the first two spots in both hurdle races, with Jackson winning the 300's and Adraba the 100's.
Russell Allen and Reece Rodrique also put together a 1-2 finish for the Red Eddies in the 3,200. Jackson would go on to claim the high jump as well, clearing 6 feet. Alex Thompson (long jump, pole vault) was the Eddies' other double-winner.
The girls' meet was a tad closer, with EL edging Brewer 109-100. Bangor tabulated 41 points and Lewiston had 32.
Witches' freshman Olivia Mosca was one of multiple double-winners, claiming the 1,600 and 800 with impressive efforts of 5:30.14 and 2:34.51, given distance runners were dealing with a gusty breeze.
Lilly Blakeman also gave Brewer two first-place finishes, taking the shot put (32-1.25) and discus (106-2).
As was the case in the boys' meet, the Witches dominated in the throwing events, going 1-2-3 in the discus, 1-3 in the shot put while Ashley Tanguay earned second in the javelin.
Lauren Berube of EL was just as dominant in the pole vault, soaring over 10 feet.
The 200 proved to be a crucial event for the Eddies, with Ella Boucher, Lindy Hyndman and Kiara Fournier going 1-2-4.
Brewer and Bangor will return to action in Friday's PVC Large School championships at Brewer while Lewiston and EL will compete in next Saturday's KVAC championships at Morse in Bath.