POLAND — The difference between a good track and field sprint and a great one for Emma-Jane Turton is measured in fractions of a second.

Funny, because there was a day when the Poland Regional High School junior didn’t imagine her entire career would last that long.

Turton was a reluctant newcomer to Coach Dan Roy’s Panther Track Club. It’s a program designed to teach elementary school students that track is both fun and consuming.

Day one, Turton wasn’t feeling the “fun” part.

“My very first track practice ever I wanted to quit because it was just so hard,” Turton said. “My mom (Laurie) said, ‘You know, we could just go home now.’ I said, ‘No, I’ll do it,’ and I found a love for it.”

And with that, her community unearthed the latest in a long line of athletes with boundless natural talent and a tireless work ethic to match.

Turton swept her three individual events — 100 and 200 meters and the 300-meter hurdles — at the Western Maine Conference championship meet last weekend.

Already five times a podium finisher in her Class B state meet career, Turton will be seeded among the top four in three events in today’s showcase at Mount Desert Island High School in Bar Harbor.

“If she’s on, there’s not much stopping her,” Poland girls‘ track coach Kristin Ross said. “She has the capability. I think she’s more ready this year than any other year, because the race is about her and not who she’s going up against.”

“I’d love to win, but really I just hope to get getting PRs (personal records),” Turton said. “It’s so rewarding when you do.”

In Turton’s showcase event, the hurdles, she has twice finished third behind champion Olivia Thurston of Waterville.

Based on their best times this spring, Turton ranks second to Thurston by 1.7 seconds.

“Emma will find those two seconds in her,” Ross said. “She will push.”

Her initial resistance to track is amusing now, because Turton’s top race is one of the most demanding in the sport.

Together with her event coach, Kris Wright, Turton has learned to break down the approximate 47-second journey into its starting, middle and closing segments, approaching each hurdle as an individual battle.

“The last three hurdles are really the hardest. The last 100 meters are the longest 100 of your life,” Turton said. “I have had experiences where I have not gone over and fallen and hurt myself pretty bad, but I still do it.”

Wright, who previously coached champion hurdlers Brittney Bell of Poland (now at Colby) and Allison Fereshetian of Leavitt (University of Maine), sees the same mental toughness in his latest protege.

“In every single race there’s a point which you get tired. It’s all in how you deal with that,” Wright said. “I would rather run a 400 meters than a 300 meter hurdles. The race feels like a 400 meters, but you’re getting hit in the thighs every 40 steps.”

Turton finished fourth at states in the 200 meters as a freshman and fifth as a sophomore. She was part of a fourth-place 4×100 relay team as a freshman before co-headlining a successful 4×800 quartet with Kendra Lobley, now competing at Division I Lipscomb University in Tennessee.

As the only returning relay runner, Turton turned her focus to the individual events with her coaches’ blessing this season.

That led to trying the 100 meters for the first time since junior high. And yes, you guessed it, she was a natural.

“The 200 I’ve run since I was 11, so it has always been my favorite. But the 100, I found a new love for it,” Turton said. “It’s a quick event. I usually like to have a lot of room to run and pick up my speed later on. This has been a new challenge for me because I have to hit my top speed a lot sooner.”

Turton also gave long jump a whirl for the first time and was ranked as high as eighth in the state. She will bypass the pit at states to stay focused on events where the gold medal is a strong possibility.

Few athletes enter the Class B meet as battle-tested. In addition to her career-long battle with Thurston, Turton has chased freshman phenom Kate Hall of Lake Region all season in the 100 and 200.

Hall’s absence from the WMC meet opened the door to what was an easy triple crown for her older rival.

“You don’t get better at something by any other means than competing against people better than you,” Wright said. “She came home with three titles and she earned it. I give her all the credit in the world. She’s a great competitor and a really good kid.”

Not surprisingly, Turton’s versatility carries over from the track to everyday life.

Consider this summer, when Turton will juggle a job, a college writing course at Central Maine Community College and games and practices with her Velocity soccer travel team.

College? Isn’t that a year away?

“Just to keep myself busy and not be lazy,” she explained.

No danger of that. “Lazy” occupies the same foreign status as “quit” in Turton’s vocabulary.

koakes@sunjournal.com

Class A Championship

Windham High School

Boys’ overview: Anybody’s ball game, with a flurry of SMAA schools rated slightly ahead of KVAC co-champions Edward Little and Lewiston based on seeding. Gorham, Cheverus, Sanford are legitimate threats to defending champion Bonny Eagle, the only school to win multiple titles in the past 10 years. Brunswick also will be a factor from the KVAC. Based on seeds, a score in the mid-50s could be enough to win the overall championship.

Local athletes to watch: Edward Little — Lucas Bourget (race walk, 3,200), Adam Robinson (race walk), Bryan Ring (300 hurdles, triple jump), Darnnell Hairston (300 hurdles), Connor Harris (high jump, triple jump), Nathaniel Hernandez (javelin); Lewiston — Rudy Pandora (discus, shot put), Hassan Mohamed (100, 200, 4×100 relay), Mohamed Barre (1,600, 3,200), Mostafa Elfaham (long jump), Jake Dumas (triple jump), Michael Nazaroff (shot put); Mt. Blue — Justin Tracy (1,600, 3,200).

Girls’ overview: All signs point to a three-team battle between Bangor of the PVC, Edward Little of the KVAC and Scarborough of the WMC. EL won its sixth consecutive league title a week ago. This Red Eddies team has more multi-event, big-point potential than a season ago thanks to a deep senior class. Scarborough has won four of the past six titles. Edward Little took the top spot in 2009. Bangor hasn’t won since 1986.

Local athletes to watch: Edward Little — Emily Hartnett (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, 4×100, 4×400), Jaclyn Masters (100, 4×100, 4×400, pole vault), MaryKate Masters (100, 200, 4×100, 4×400), Abby Dunn (three-time race walk champion), Lexi Clavet (long jump, triple jump, pole vault), Kelly Philbrook (javelin), Hannah Carrier (discus, shot put); Lewiston — Nicole Court-Menendez (race walk); Oxford Hills — Gema Wheatley (race walk).

Class B Championship

MDI High School, Bar Harbor

Boys’ overview: Waterville is the defending champion. The title has gone to Waterville or Falmouth every year since 2006. Gray-New Gloucester has a shot at a top-five finish on the strength of No. 1 seeds in three different events.

Local athletes to watch: Gray-New Gloucester — Sam Miklovich (100, 200, 4×400), Ian Marshall (race walk), Will Shafer (800, 1,600, 4×400), Elijah Locke (high jump); Leavitt — Jordan Hersom (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, 400); Poland — Tony Whalen (javelin); Spruce Mountain — Ethan Hutchins (110 hurdles, 4×100), Alwayne Uter (javelin).

Girls’ overview: Expect the Waterville dynasty to continue. The Purple Panthers seek their sixth straight title. York and Falmouth are the chief threats from the south.

Local athletes to watch: Gray-New Gloucester — Amanda Peterson (100, 200, 400), Jasmine Turner (300 hurdles, high jump), Kierstin Stritch (javelin); Leavitt — Lucy Knowlton (1,600); Mountain Valley — Jamaica Ford (high jump), Samantha Glover (triple jump); Poland — Emma-Jane Turton (100, 200, 300 hurdles, 4×400), Kristina Smith (1,600), Hope Kohtala (high jump); Spruce Mountain — Shaunna Damboise (javelin), Erin Gats (400).

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