BURLINGTON — Uly Junker had himself a day.

At Sunday’s Vermont Indoor Track and Field State Championships, the Thetford Academy senior won three individual events and was on the winning 4x200 relay team as the Panther boys won the VPA Division II title handily over U-32, with defending champion Hartford finishing third.

Junker won the 55-meter dash, the long jump and the 300-meter run and anchored the 4x200, racing past the lead runner from U-32 with a half-lap to go.

Junker’s teammate, Brady Sloop also had a banner day, winning the 1,000 meters, finishing second in the 1,600 and taking third in the 3,200. Strong results from Thetford’s Evan Rich, Luke Miller, Hunter Clay, David Stanger and Matt Vivian and a 4x400 relay win helped the team score 127 points. U-32 finished with 82, followed by Hartford at 64.

Junker and Sloop deflected praise for their performances and gave credit to the entire team for bringing home the championship.

“I am really proud of all our athletes,” said Sloop, still catching his breath after the 3,200. “This has been one of my favorite seasons I have done in sports. This group is so much fun, and it is great to take home the win with them.”

After winning the long jump and 55 dash — improving his state record time in the latter to 6.55 seconds in the process — Junker said he wanted to keep working for the team.

“I feel good and feel like I have more in the tank, but it is not about me. It is about helping the team win a state championship,” Junker said.

At the start of the meet, Thetford coach Charlie Buttrey was optimistic his team could emerge victorious but didn’t count out U-32 with its talented distance runners. But no need to worry: As results were posted live, the Panthers built a large lead over the Raiders and everyone else.

Like his two top athletes, Buttrey said the championship means a lot, but coaching this group has given him more satisfaction.

“They like each other and really care about each other,” Buttrey said. “I get more out seeing how they treat each other as I do the championship.”

In a surprise for their coach and themselves, the Hartford girls 4x800 relay team finished second in Division II and sixth among both divisios, which earned them a spot in the New England Championships.

“We did not expect these results,” said Hartford’s smiling Dakota Smith, admitting she had never run an 800-meter race and sticks to shorter distances. “We were just pushing it as hard as we could.”

Geneva Durgin, who anchored the race, said they had not run the 800 relay together before.

“This was a first for all of us. They are freshmen,” Durgin said, nodding toward Scarlett Brooks and Aria Smith, “and we are senior,s so we said we got to do this now.”

First-year Hartford coach Dan Talbot was also elated by the surprise finish.

“I am really happy with that. It is exciting,” Talbot said. “They did really well. Took 14 seconds off the school record. And to see how excited they were, it kind of energizes everybody.”

At the state meet, held in Gutterson Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Vermont, the top six finishes in each event scored points toward team totals for the meet. But for the New England Championships, the two divisional results are combined and the top six qualify.

Hartford’s Bennett Moreno and Ayodele Lowe were among those advancing. Lowe won the high jump and was second in the long jump. Moreno won the 600 and was third in the 1,000.

As he reflected on the day, Moreno said it was not his best result, but he loves the track experience and the camaraderie among the athletes, who often give each other tips even in the middle of a competition.

“With the team and on a personal front it has been a good season,” said Moreno, the Division II state record-holder in the 600 and 1,000. “I’m proud of all the work everyone put in. This sport is so much fun with everyone talking to each other. It is uplifting, no matter your time.”

After Lowe, the Division II state record-holder, won the high jump at 1.98 meters, he made two attempts at 2 meters, encouraged with some rhythmic clapping from those watching, but couldn’t quite clear the bar.

“I’m a little injured, so I’m happy I qualified for New England,” he said.

Thetford’s Ava Hayden tackled the 1,000, 1,600 and 3,200 with little time to rest between races.

“I love running and doing what I can for my team,” Hayden said after the 3,200. “Some races were tough today, but I am happy I made New Englands in the 1,000.”

Talbot said his Hurricanes gave all they had on the day and he was proud of that.

“All you can ask is that they give what they are capable of that day, and they have given the effort,” he said.

Other results

Thetford: Boys — Evan Rich, fourth 55 dash, high jump and long jump; David Stanger, second weight throw; Matt Vivian, third shot put, fourth weight throw; Luke Miller, third 600 and sixth 300; Hunter Clay, third high jump, fifth long jump; Ramona Spelman, fifth 55 hurdles; Luke Miller, Emmett Terry, Daniel Mann, David Thaxton, first 4x400 relay; Brady Sloop, Miguel Kutter-Walker, Mann, Wendell Durham, third 4x800. Girls — Maya Dixon, fifth 55 hurdles; Adrian Kutter-Walker, fifth shot put; Lizzie Brown, Leah Crossett, Aislin Peter, Ava Hayden, fourth 4x400; Crossett, Peters, Ella Harvey, Brown, fourth 4x800.

Hartford: Boys — Jayden Forbes, sixth high jump; Alex Husmann, second shot put; Brandon Driver, fifth weight throw; Solomon Flores, sixth weight throw; Elliott Brooks, Sebas Fraser, Hugh Wendling, Bennett Moreno, second 4x800; Sam Morris, Albrecht, Forbes, Ayodele Lowe, third 4x200; Albrecht, Jayden Forbes, Fraser, Moreno, fifth 4x400. Girls — Dakota Smith, Scarlett Brooks, Kathryn Summarsell, Geneva Durgin, fifth 4x400; Dakota Smith, Summarsell, Brooks, Samantha Fraser, sixth 4x200; Rowan Dumont, sixth weight throw.

Oxbow: Boys — Rueben Keefe, fifth high jump. Girls — Casey Wiedrick, sixth 600.

White River Valley: Boys — Jack Hughes, third long jump; Ellis Bogardus, fourth shot put. Girls — Imari Taylor, second shot put; Addison Isham, sixth 55 hurdles.

Boys team scores: Thetford 127, U-32 82, Hartford 64, Fair Haven 28, Spaulding 20, Rice 16, Lake Region 14, Peoples 12, Bellows Falls 11, Green Mountain 10, White River Valley 10, Oxbow (17th, 2).

Girls team scores: U-32 81, Burr & Burton 78, Peoples 44, Rice 43, Thetford 30, Lake Region 21, Middlebury 20, Fair Haven 16, Hartford 12, Stowe 12, White River Valley (13th, 9), Oxbow (21st, 1).