BRIDGEWATER – Blackstone Valley Tech junior Haley Bilodeau knew she had a chance at a record-setting evening at the Division 3 Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Bridgewater State University.

Bilodeau had a personal-best time that was higher than the meet record in the 400-meter hurdles, meaning that a strong run could mean a chance to take down Cynthia Aroke of Peabody’s record time of 1:03.63 from 2016.

With a little help from an energized crowd, Bilodeau cruised to a time of 1:03.40, winning both the state title and the meet record.

“I felt really good,” Bilodeau said. “As they called my name as I was coming down the straightaway, it was probably one of the best feelings ever.”

She said that she had been feeling some fatigue towards the end of the race, perhaps a factor of the muggy conditions, but said the crowd’s excitement helped her reach a new gear.

“Usually, I’m a little slower on the last curve,” Bilodeau said. “I heard everyone screaming my name as I entered that last curve and it pushed me to go even faster and prove to everyone that I could beat the record.”

Her individual performance was the highlight of the first day of competition. The rest of the day contained various long-and-short distance events and some field events. On the girls side, Westwood left the day with a slight edge in the standings while Walpole was the leader for the boys.

Westwood put 30 points on the board, holding a five-point cushion on second-placed Reading and Westborough. The Wolverines got their points in the triple jump, 400-meter hurdles and the 800-meter run.

The latter event really provided the heavy damage as Westwood earned a whopping 18 points. This came because sophomores Tea Pagnotti and Maeve Gavin took first and second place respectively.

“They both deserved that spot,” Wolverines’ coach Jen Teahan said. “They work together, so it has always been a privilege to line them up and know that they are going to work collectively to excel.

“We have that momentum and now it’s just about keeping them calm,” Teahan said. “Success is success, they are not afraid of it. They’re young, they’re fun and the goal is to keep them excited.”

Walpole left the first day with 26 points, eight ahead of second-place Milton. The Timberwolves expected to be around that tally, but head coach Corey Koogan said that some solid performances helped Walpole take even more.

“Going in, we wanted to score between 20 and 24 points,” Walpole coach Corey Koogan said. “We have exceeded that, and the best is yet to come.

With eyes set on a state title, Koogan said the Timberwolves mission is simple.

“We need to execute and pay attention to detail,” Koogan said. “We are going in with some fresh bodies and are hoping to take everything at that point.”