Pick up a Big Bertha driver for the first time and it’s unlikely you’ll break 80 in a year.

Take up baseball and it’s bound to be more than a few months before your swing catches up with a 95 mph fastball.

Racewalking, as demonstrated by a steady parade of Maine students in the past two decades, is a different animal. Blend a fair amount of athletic ability with a strong work ethic and a willingness to travel, and you could rank among the best in the nation and world in a relative hurry.

Edward Little High School freshman Abby Dunn got serious about the specialized track and field discipline less than a year ago. Saturday at Reggie Lewis Center Boston, Dunn set a personal record of 8:01.68 in the mile at the Nike Indoor Nationals to earn her first All-America distinction.

“Abby was one of my summer kids,” said Dunn’s coach, Tom Menendez of Lewiston, who has hosted local track and field camps for many years. “She finished second at the state meet last summer, and she and my daughter (Nicole Court-Menendez) and Christie (Bernier) have been working out together all year since then. She’s improved her mile time by about a minute and 20 seconds.”

Maine’s delegation moved on to the National Scholastic Indoor Championships Sunday in New York City.

It was one of the team’s most prolific weekends ever. Lisbon High School senior Tyler Campbell and Maranacook Community School sophomore Evan Vincent captured All-America honors both days.

Matt Forgues of Boothbay and Charlie Swerdlow of Falmouth each cleared the All-America threshold once, combining with Dunn to bring the team’s total to seven for the trip.

“We had five last year,” Menendez said. “We definitely have some new kids. The girls competition has really gotten intense.”

Dunn and Bernier, an EL junior and multi-time All-American, already are provisionally qualified for the Junior Nationals in Eugene, Ore., in June.

Court-Menendez needs only to shave five seconds off her time in the 5,000 meters to join them. She hopes to reach that standard in the Penn Relays next month.

Bernier has been slowed by a nagging hip injury. It affected her Saturday, when she finished 14th in a Nike Indoor event that she won two years ago.

“It started at the end of last year,” Menendez said of Bernier’s injury. “She took some time off to rest up, but when we got back to heavy training it started to act up again. Through all that, she still has been able to qualify for Junior Nationals.”

Maine placed four girls in the top 18 at the Nike walk. Court-Menendez posted a personal record of 8:25.77. Bernier (8:32.58) and Mt. Blue High School sophomore Emily Reed (9:00.97, 18th) closely followed.

Dunn lowered her PR to 7:55.98 in the slower heat, good for a ninth-place overall finish that might have been significantly better had she been pushed by the tighter competition in the ‘A’ bracket.

Bernier, Court-Menendez and Reed all placed in the top 30.

“It’s going to be a hell of a battle during the high school season,” said Menendez, noting that all four will be competing together in Class A for the first time.

Forgues sat out the Sunday race in preparation for the upcoming Junior World Cup qualifier in Texas. He took third in Boston with a time of 7:09.98.

“His sister, Lauren, went to the World Cup a few years ago,” Menendez said, “and I think his motivation is, ‘If a girl can do it, damn it, I sure can.’ “

Campbell was fifth in Boston and fourth in New York. Vincent crossed the stripe sixth, then fifth, and Swerdlow snagged sixth Sunday to become Falmouth’s first-ever All-American in the sport.