BREWER — A track record fell Sunday at the Maine Junior Olympics as Saco’s Alexandria Hart finished the 400-meter dash in 1 minute, 4.82 seconds.

Hart, 12, ran a time that was good enough to have beaten nine of 23 runners at the high school Class A state finals held on June 2 this year.

“Most of the time, I’m running against the clock and no one is around me,” Hart said.

This was her third competition in which she raced the 400-meter dash this year, but this time she said felt nervous. Even though the race takes a little more than a minute, she said she knew she needed to just run faster and try to beat the record. The previous record was set in 2003 with the time of 1:04.95 seconds.

“I was excited,” the young sprinter said about her new state record. “I was more excited for my Nanny and Pappy because they were there to see it.” Hart also owns the state record in the 400-meter dash at the bantam level with a time of 1:08.35. At the state level, athletes compete in varying levels from Bite, Bantam, Midget and Youth. All levels are based on age and separated into boys and girls.

“I am very proud of Alex,” said Heather Hart, Hart’s mother. “She is extremely athletic and has a gift. I try to remind her every day how fortunate she is. When she crossed the finish line and saw her time, that is when you could see that she was proud of her own accomplishment.”

Hart also plays AAU Basketball for the Firecracker squad. Basketball is actually Hart’s favorite sport, not track. She said she dreams of playing in the WNBA and going to the Olympics as a member of USA basketball team.

“I want to get a college scholarship for basketball, but if I get one for track that is OK, too,” she said.

— Contact Nate Fowler at 282-1535, Ext. 323.