BATH — How long does it take to go from being a track and field powerhouse to a heartwarming Cinderella story? Two years, apparently, if you’re the Edward Little girls.

The Red Eddies won a sixth consecutive KVAC championship at McMann Field in 2012 before watching Lawrence steal the 2013 crown without much of a fight. That left EL — dominated by sophomores and juniors — just another one of six teams in what was expected to be a mad scramble for the title Saturday.

Everything unfolded precisely according to that form, but the precocious Eddies’ huge gains in javelin and triple jump allowed them to break open a virtual three-way tie with four events remaining and edge Brunswick by three points for their seventh crown in eight seasons.

“I’m surprised. I’m thrilled. I’m proud,” said EL coach Calvin Hunter. “It’s just one of those things where when kids come to compete and you try to talk to them about that, you hope that the words you’re saying are getting into them. Something like this is the proof that they’re listening.”

EL entered the final event, the 4×400 meter relay, seven points ahead of Brunswick. The Eddies were seeded seventh, and when Lewiston scratched prior to the start, it essentially guaranteed EL at least one point.

The Dragons did their part by winning the race, but the Eddies exceeded expectations by finishing third to clinch the meet, 109-106.

“It feels like the return,” said junior Eraleena Hairston, whose shot put gold medal was the Eddies’ lone individual victory. “It feels like the return from the bottom.”

Although EL led for much of the day, the scoring update with 15 of 19 events in the books was startlingly close. Lawrence had 76.7 points thanks to a five-way tie for fifth in the high jump. EL and Brunswick each checked in at 76.

Taylor Landry and Makayla Norcross gave the Eddies the lead by finishing second and fourth, respectively, behind Lewiston’s Adela Kalilwa in triple jump.

Then the trio of Britanee Nouchanthavong (second), Alex Hunt (fourth) and Rebecca Stacey-Outten (fifth) pocketed 15 points in javelin.

“The javelin was big. The triple jump was big. Makayla and Taylor came up big in triple jump,” Hunter said. “The javelin, I just went over there and said, ‘Got to do whatever we can for the team. Got to do whatever we can for the team.’ It was all over the board. They went hard, all around.”

Landry, a senior who joined track for the first time after earning a hockey scholarship to the University of Maine, also finished sixth in long jump and seventh in the 100 meters on a day when every point was magnified.

“In the triple jump I PR’d (set a personal record) big time. The 100 I didn’t even think I was going to place in, to be honest. Anything counts,” Landry said. “It feels good to help. They all worked hard. They all put their full effort into it, and you could tell they wanted it all day.”

Anna Beaudet scored in four events for the Eddies, placing third in 100, fourth in 200, seventh in long jump and third in the 4×100 relay.

That was typical output for EL, which failed to walk away from points in only five events.

Katie Ferrara finished second in 300 hurdles. Kailey Norcross notched third in high jump. Hairston added fourth-place points in discus, and Morgan Knowlton and Victoria Beliveau went 2-3 behind runaway winners Kayla Allen of Lewiston in race walk.

“It feels nice. We worked hard all season, so we definitely deserved it,” Beaudet said. “We knew it was going to be close. We had to go above and beyond, and we did it.”

“They were nervous because they wanted this for their team, and they went out and competed very well,” Hunter added. “What we try to talk about so much at EL is that track is a very individual sport, but what you do out there affects the whole, entire team. They’re getting that. They get it, they’re going after it, and they’re doing a great job.”

Wins by Anna Cowan (800, high jump), Michele Richards (discus), Tessa Cassidy (3,2oo) amd the 4×400 and 4×800 relay teams supplied most of Brunswick’s punch.

Kalilwa won the Don Matheson Award as outstanding field athlete. Lewiston finished fifth with 69 points, trailing Lawrence (87.7) and Messalonskee (76.4).

Waterville cruised to victory in the Class B meet, 190.5 to 72 over Belfast. Leavitt was eighth, with Shannon O’Malley placing second in the 200 and third in long jump. Bri DeGone was third in javelin.

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