DiGiallonardo, Sampson power Pirates at ABC meet

POLSON - At the Polson ABC meet held Saturday, the host Pirates received standout performances from a familiar cast of  individuals – led by Anna DiGiallonardo and Riley Sampson, who took first place in a combined five events. DiGiallonardo’s heroics helped carry the girls team to 76 points and a distant second place finish at the meet, as Corvallis left the competition in the dust with a staggering 227 points total. Meanwhile, Sampson and the boys squad finished fifth out of eight teams.

DiGiallonardo continues to cement her legacy in what has been a truly spectacular senior season. On Saturday, she won three separate events – the 100-meter dash, the 300-meter hurdles and the long jump.

While DiGiallonardo’s respective times of 13.04 and 48.24 in the 100 and 300-hurdles were impressive, her mark of 17-8 in the long jump really raised eyebrows. The distance is the best recorded by a female athlete in the state this season.

DiGiallonardo’s efforts were complemented by strong performances from teammate Claudia Hewston. Hewston took second in the 400 with a time of 63.06 and also captured silver in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 9-0.

On the boys’ side, Sampson once again flexed his muscle by dominating the discus and shot put events, where he won by a wide margin. In the discus, Sampson hurled a 147-5 to win by nearly 17 feet, and his mark of 50-10 in the shot put was the only distance that cleared the low 40s.

Sean Laimbeer provided one of the day’s other highlights for the Pirates by cruising to a second-place finish in the 200, where he turned in a 23.49.

The Polson track team will head to Whitefish this weekend for the class A divisonal tournament.

Polson coach Mike Ellis did not return calls for comment by presstime.