Edward Little’s Makenna Drouin never competed in track and field before high school. Just a sophomore, she already has won three Class A titles and a New England title in the hurdles. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

This spring there were some athletes in girls’ track and field who won at least two events at the high school state meets, as there often are. And there were some who won a title at the New England Championships.

But Makenna Drouin of Edward Little High was the only one to win titles at both the Maine state meet and the New England regional meet.

Drouin swept the 100 hurdles in 15.56 seconds and the 300 hurdles (44.95) at the Class A state meet, then won the 300 hurdles in an all-time best Maine time of 43.47 at the New England Championships.

For these accomplishments, she is our selection as the Varsity Maine girls’ outdoor track and field Athlete of the Year.

The sophomore’s performances are all the more impressive given that she never competed in track and field before her freshman year.

Drouin came out for track for the first time in the spring of 2021 after growing tired of softball. In her first season, she won the 300 hurdles at the Class A state meet and finished second in the 100 hurdles.

Edward Little Coach Rebecca Hefty said it was clear from Day 1 that Drouin was loaded with potential. Her first season, she was a blank slate, ready to fly, Hefty said.

“She just took off. We got to that first track meet two weeks into the season, and I watched her blow them away,” Hefty said. “I just said, ‘We have something special here.’ ”

This winter, Drouin finished second in the 55 hurdles and fifth in the 55 dash at the indoor Class A state meet. She expected to defend her 300-hurdle title at the outdoor state meet in June, but did not anticipate becoming a New England champion.

“I was seeded sixth and was expecting to be in the top five,” Drouin said. “I didn’t know what to expect. I never had that much competition. On the last straightaway, I had one girl close to me. We were really kind of side by side. It was hard to struggle, but I know how to give it my all.”

Coming into this spring, Drouin’s goal was to prove she was the best high school hurdler in Maine history. It was an ambitious goal, given the workload she planned to take on at the New England meet.

Drouin finished eighth in the 100-meter finals (12.49), but missed the finals of the 100 hurdles because the events were run back-to-back, and the officials didn’t wait for her.

“She had a little bit of difficulty rebalancing herself,” Hefty said. “At first I lost it a little bit, because as a coach you want the best. Then I sat back and realized I had to give her tough love. I told her she had two choices, either she gives it everything she has or she quits. And I told her, ‘You are strong.’ ”

Hefty scratched Drouin from the 200 meters, and told her to put her energies into the 300 hurdles.

Drouin adjusted her mindset and proved, even as a sophomore, she’s the best in New England.

“My coach knows what I’m capable of,” Drouin said. “Sometimes I stress over an event and get upset over it. She’ll tell me and convince me, and say she knows I have the ability. And I trust what she tells me to do. My coach was convincing me and telling me how great I was, that I had come so far since I was a freshman. And I was only a sophomore. I had more to come.”

Her personal best in the 300 hurdles before New Englands was 44.95. Makenna dropped it by more than a second to 43.74 to win the event in the fastest time ever run by a Maine girl.

What makes Drouin a special hurdler, Hefty said, is that she takes it out fast in the 300 hurdles, not something every high school athlete does.

“It made me realize what I need to do if I want to compete at an even higher level,” Drouin said. “I need to work more on training. I train every day during the season. But I take it easy on myself. I rely on my natural ability. I need to train better, and in the (offseason). If I work on everything, I think I could be way better.”