Whenever it comes to track, depth is key.

Billerica proved why Saturday. Brianna Phelan paced things with a first-place finish in the 1,000-meter run (3:01.28), as the Indians captured their second straight Div. 3 girls indoor track and field championship with 59 points.

“It feels so good,” Phelan said. “We thought that this would be a major rebuilding year, because we lost a big senior class. This just shows our strength with our younger kids, and also our older kids. Just shows that we can be back-to-back indoor champs.”

Phelan’s victory turned out to be the only individual gold medal the Indians registered during the weekend, but they had contributions across the board. Most notably, freshman Gianna McGowan placed second in the two mile (11:14.14) and third in the mile (5:04.06). Lily Bower finished as the runner-up in the long jump with a distance of 17 feet, six inches.

“Last year when the girls won, a lot of those points were from seniors who graduated,” said Billerica coach Cullen Hagan. “So this year, we thought it might be tough to win again. Some seniors have really stepped up, doing great. Other kids who are brand new to the team, have improved, and improved and gotten better and better. It’s just been awesome to watch them.”

After a day that featured photo finishes and even some drama, Austin Feener stood tall for Walpole’s boys squad. The junior placed fourth in both the 55-meter dash (6.55 seconds) as well as the 300 (35.86), as the Timberwolves clinched their first Div. 3 indoor track and field title since 2019 with 48 points.

During an intense 4×200 race, the Timberwolves initially thought they had placed further back. However, a unique sequence in which a Worcester Tech athlete and a Billerica runner got tangled up during the final lap forced the meet to host a brief rerun.

After confusion, Walpole was given a second chance, and finished runner-up to Worcester Tech behind its relay team of Feener, Brady Thomas, Joseph Lewis and Issa Kourani (1:31.94). The sequence shook up the rankings, and allowed the Timberwolves to continue to pad their lead on the field.

Not to be outdone, Sean Kerin, Luke Zahurak, Declan Cunningham and Jackson Massey stepped in shortly and delivered their school a second-place finish in the 4×800 (8:18.48). Fitting enough, it was a personal record for the quartet.

“We had kids scoring across the board,” said Walpole coach Samantha Rafferty. “We had two of the captains scoring in three events. Not a single one got the title of D3 champion, but it was all about team today.”

During the most intense race of the afternoon, Westwood standout Ruby Codrington defeated Marblehead’s LaDaisha Williams by .002 seconds for the title in the girls 300, winning a thriller in 41.435 seconds.

Amherst Pelham impressed fans at the meet, finishing fifth in the boys standings. The Hurricanes received a first-place performance from their 4×800 relay team of Nicolas Lisle, Kyle Yanko, Miguel Pinero-Jacome and David Pinero-Jacome (8:16.71). However, the Hurricanes were also propelled by junior Angel Hernandez.

The lone participant in the boys wheelchair shot put competition, Hernandez finished with a toss of just over 10 feet (10-00.50). After leaving an inspirational mark during the competition, the junior remains committed to living out his dreams at the statewide level next.

“It wasn’t my best day,” Hernandez said. “But it just feels very nice to (play) a sport, one that I really shouldn’t be doing, in the sense that in what I was told (I could and couldn’t do) when I was little.’

He added, ‘It’s very motivating. To be able to do this, to be with my friends, and to do something I love.”

Nashoba Regional’s Caroline Collins, left, overtakes Westfield’s Megan Moran, center, and Billerica’s Gianna McGowan, right, on the final lap to win the girls mile at the Div. 3 state indoor track meet. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)