The wait was worth it for the Merriconeag Nordic ski team last week. The classic portion of the Western Maine Conference championships were delayed to Tuesday, but Merriconeag made the most of its time off and won both the boys’ and girls’ races to take the conference championship in the process.

After placing second to Yarmouth in the skate race the previous week, Merriconeag moved up to first in the classic and finished with 66 total points, outdistancing the Clippers by 16 for the top spot. Falmouth (87) came in third, Freeport (149) was fifth and Greely (280) placed eighth.

Individually, Falmouth’s Jay Lesser was runner-up to Silas Eastman of Fryeburg (with a time of 17 minutes, 40.3 seconds). Merriconeag’s Ben Tindall was third (17.51.3). Yarmouth was led by Sam Alexander (fifth, 18:09.5). Freeport’s top finisher was Forrest McCurdy (10th, 18:48.4). Greely was paced by Doug Mitiguy (31st, 21:02.9).

In the girls’ competition, Merriconeag was second to Yarmouth in the classic, but still eked out a one-point (53-54) victory over the Clippers. Freeport (106) came in third, Falmouth (136) was fourth and Greely (344) placed eighth.

Freeport’s Elizabeth Martin was the individual winner (20:08.8). Emelie Chace-Donahue of Merriconeag was next (20:32.1). Yarmouth was led by third-place finisher Sarah Becker (20:44.5). Dana Bloch (15th, 22:04.9) was the fastest Falmouth finisher. Greely was paced by Emily Follett (37th, 26:21.1).

Greely’s girls’ swim team was also delayed in its quest for a Southwesterns crown. When the meet was finally held last Tuesday in Westbrook, the Rangers battled Cape Elizabeth to the finish, but lost by seven points, 278-271. Falmouth (117) came in sixth. North Yarmouth Academy (41) placed ninth.

The Rangers featured Outstanding Performer of the Meet, senior standout Sarah Easterling, who won the 100 freestyle in a new meet record time of 53.37 seconds and the 100 backstroke in a new meet record time of 57.63 seconds. Teammate Hwanhee Park took the 200 free (1 minute, 59.73 seconds) and the 500 free (5:19.02).

“It was an awesome meet,” said longtime Greely coach Rob Hale. “We swam very well, but Cape did what they had to do to hold us off. We made up some ground to the point where the meet was gong to be decided in the last event (the 400 freestyle relay, where the Rangers were second, but the Capers’ fourth-place finish still put them over the top). It was storybook. It went down to the last chapter and Cape wrote a better ending than we did.”

The Yachtsmen produced diving champion Charlotte Janelle (299.65 points).

The Panthers were sparked by Sonia Lin, who was third in the backstroke (59.92) and fourth in the 100 butterfly (1:03.12) and Emilie Burrill, fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:15.79) and seventh in the fly (1:09.55).

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.