BORN TO RUN

There are distance runners, and there are sprinters, and never the twain shall meet. Well, maybe in a decathlon, which you won’t find in a high school championship event. Even then, it usually takes one look at a competitor’s stride or facial expression to discern what’s his specialty and what isn’t.

Then you have Nick Williams of Poland Regional High School.

Williams has made a living running one, two, even three or more miles at a time throughout his decorated career. He was named Maine’s Gatorade High School Cross Country Runner of the Year last autumn for his exploits running five kilometers at a time on marked trails, a talent that won him Class B championships in 2007 and 2008.

So why was Williams running sprints at the Western Maine Conference championships last Saturday? Because he could, basically.

“He clearly has the endurance,” said Poland coach Mark Soehren, “but if you look at his build, he’s built for power. We talked to his dad, we talked to his college coach, and they all said, “Let’s do it.’ “

Good choice. Williams won the 400, defeating Parker Chipman of Freeport, who was seeded ahead of him. He also outran more proven sprinters Kellen MacDonald of Falmouth and Sequoyah Reynoso of Fryeburg.

You could make the case that 400 meters is a middle distance, so let’s throw this in for good measure — Williams was fourth by a mere eight-hundredths of a second in the 100. He tied for fourth in the 200, and he anchored Poland’s 4×100 relay team to a third-place finish. Those points propelled Poland to a second-place finish behind Falmouth.

In short, Poland is spreading around Williams’ capital and getting the most bang for its buck.

“We’ve never had a 400 runner with the boys until Nick,” Soehren said. “We expected him to do well in the 200. The 100 was a total surprise. It’s sort of a good problem to have.”

The star’s versatility is allowing other Knights to shine in the championship events. Dylan LaJoie scored a point in the 3,200 and finished one spot out of the money in the 1,600 at the WMC meet.

Williams will attend the University of New Hampshire in the fall. It’s another factor in his experimentation this spring. He knows it won’t happen again.

“I’m pretty sure they’re planning to have him run cross country and distances,” Soehren said with a laugh.

SPEED RACERS

In another highlight of the WMC competition, Sequoyah Reynoso of Fryeburg won both of his sprint showdowns with Ben Miklovich of Gray-New Gloucester.

Reynoso avenged a narrow loss in the 100-meter preliminary with a triumph in the main event. He pulled away to a half-second victory in the 200.

Fryeburg enjoyed two other victories courtesy of Timothy Even. In the 4×800 relay, Even teamed with Daniel Gibson, Kenedi Hall and Scott Wandel to score the win, topping heavily favored Falmouth. Even also captured the individual 800.

Miklovich had his moment of glory in the 4×100 relay, anchoring the Gray-NG team of Will Danieli, Kendhall Davis and Zach Field to victory.

Williams wasn’t the lone star for Poland. T.J. England continued his splendid season with wins in the 110 hurdles and triple jump as well as second place in the 300 hurdles. Matt York (high jump), Tyrus Steinman (discus) and Brittany Bell (girls’ 400) also prevailed.

THEIR TURN TO SHINE

Spring track and field teams can be a big, intimidating place. Multiply those feelings for freshmen, most of whom are just starting to grow physically and emotionally and yet find themselves trying to compete on level ground with seniors.

That’s the inspiration for the Central Maine Freshman Championship Meet, held Tuesday at Bowdoin College.

“It’s given us a chance to develop more kids,” said Poland coach Mark Soehren. “We have five girls qualified for the state in the javelin. I know the (Penobscot Valley Conference) has a JV meet every year. We’re not at that point in the WMC yet, so this is a great opportunity for those kids.”

Among local competitors, Harry Lanphear of Maranacook was a three-time winner in triple jump, discus and javelin. Teammate Evan Vincent ruled the racewalk.

Kendra Lobley (girls’ 800), Morgan Copp (girls’ javelin) and Adam Searles (boys’ long jump) all scored firsts for Poland.

Tara Metzger of Lisbon won the triple jump, backing up her fourth-place finish against all ages Friday at the MVC Championship.

“Several of our kids, if they’re fortunate enough, have a chance to compete in three big meets in a week’s time — MVCs, states, and the freshman meet,” said Lisbon coach Dean Hall.

Other tri-county athletes posting top-three finishes Tuesday were Eli Murphy and David Whittier of Poland, Jamie Steven of Telstar, Jon Gamache and Justin Hovey of Lisbon. Kelsey Cope-Norris and Hossain Ibrahim of Lewiston and Will Danieli of Gray-New Gloucester.

WHAT TO WATCH

State Championships

Satturday, 10 a.m.

Class A

Windham High School

Will the incredible balance in both halves of the SMAA this spring nudge KVAC power Edward Little to a double state championship?

Class B

Morse High School

Doesn’t look tough to handicap, on paper. Waterville or Falmouth in the boys; Waterville, York or Greely in the girls.

Class C

Westbrook High School

Lisbon’s chief threats are the North Yarmouth Academy boys and the John Bapst and Orono girls.

Athletes of the Week

Boys: Frankie DelDuca, Telstar

Sure, he’s getting a lot of mileage on this page. But who are we to argue with the Mountain Valley Conference coaches? They named DelDuca this year’s male athlete of the meet after watching him rule the 100 and 200 meters, long jump and triple jump.

Girls: Rebekah Sullivan, Lisbon

We’ll stick with the MVC here, too. Nobody was surprised when Sullivan took top honors in shot put and discus at the conference championships. Holding off reigning 400 meter state champion Jen DeNormandie of Telstar on the anchor leg to give Lisbon a 4×400 relay victory was a much bigger story.

Local top seeds at the state meets

Class A

Christie Bernier, EL – girls’ racewalk

Class B

Brittany Bell, Poland – girls’ 400

Eryn Neptune, Maranacook – girls’ high jump

Max HoddWells, Maranacook – boys’ 110 and 300 hurdles, triple jump

Ryan Fitzsimons, Leavitt – boys’ racewalk

Nick Williams, Poland – boys’ 400

Timothy Even, Fryeburg – boys’ 800

Orion Winkler, Fryeburg – boys’ pole vault

Class C

Mt. Abram – girls’ 4×800 relay

Rebekah Sullivan, Lisbon – girls’ discus

Kyle Huston, Lisbon – boys’ 100 and high jump

Dan Soltan, Winthrop – boys’ 1,600

Lisbon – boys’ 4×100 and 4×400 relay

Cam Bubar, Lisbon – boys’ 800

Frankie DelDuca, Telstar – boys’ triple jump