Norristown’s Montgomery, GA’s DiDonato race to wins at PW Colonial Classic

PLYMOUTH MEETING >> From his days running with the Conshohocken Electric Force Track Club all the way through to his time in a Norristown uniform, Austin Montgomery has always felt right at home on the Plymouth-Whitemarsh track.
“I grew up training here so I’m pretty comfortable,” the junior said at Saturday’s Colonial Classic.
Never more so than in his 100-meter dash.
“Smooth,” he said of the race. “I executed my race plan pretty well. I didn’t really execute a race like that in a while. So I’m finally getting my technique down and executing the right way.”
Montgomery was fastest in a field of 40 runners, claiming the top spot in the 100 on a crisp, sunny afternoon at PW. The 15th Annual Colonial Classic drew in competitors from more than three dozen schools.
“I really focused on pushing out of the blocks,” said Montgomery, who sprinted to a winning time of 11.04 seconds on PW’s new, speedy, eight-lane track. “And I worked on staying calm, running my own race. And maintaining, bringing my speed through to the end. And not focusing on anybody else around me.”
Montgomery outraced a top 10 that included Bishop McDevitt’s Tyler Byrd (second, 11.19), Upper Dublin’s Jaden Price-Whitehead (fourth, 11.50), Norristown’s Marco Olmedo (seventh, 11.66) and Wissahickon’s Robert Wilson (ninth, 11.73).
“This is my first 100 of the season,” Montgomery said. “(My goal for the year is to make it) all the way to state finals, hopefully become a state champion, make it to nationals and everything.”
Meanwhile, Germantown Academy had a pair of double winners in the field, as Olatide Abinusaw won the boys discus (147-3) and shot put (57-8.25) while Meaghan Toscano matched that feat on the girls side, throwing furthest in the discus (122-8) and shot (42-0.25).
The Patriots were also prevailing on the track, with Robert DiDonato leading from start to finish in the 1,600 (4:23.85). DiDonato used a strong final kick to ensure he stayed comfortably ahead of Radnor’s Frank Brown (4:25.15).
Said DiDonato: “I didn’t wanna be in a fist fight with the guy in second place. I just closed it hard. I knew he was there.”
The GA sophomore outraced Brown and another Radnor runner, Doug Rosin, who crossed third in 4:33.29. The top six also included Methacton’s Sean Ritchie (4:35.18) and the Wissahickon duo of Zachary Dallal (4:35.47) and Justin Ryan (4:38.15).
“I love the mile,” DiDonato said. “I’m a soccer player, so I love how it combines the speed with the endurance.”
A week ago, the sophomore qualified for nationals in the 3,200 with a time of 9:27. Saturday provided a glimpse of what he can do in the 16.
“The goal is a 4:20,” he said. “This is awesome here. This is where we ran last week and I ran fast so, I love it here.”

15th Annual Colonial Classic
at Plymouth-Whitemarsh
Boys
300 hurdles: Jaidyn Parris (Milton Hershey) 40.50; 4×800 relay: Plymouth-Whitemarsh, 8:35.64; 100: Austin Montgomery (Norristown) 11.04; 1,600: Robert DiDonato (Germantown Academy) 4:23.85; 4×100 relay: Milton Hershey, 43.54; 400: Shawn Burrell (Springfield Montco) 50.15; 110 hurdles: Jaidyn Parris (Milton Hershey) 14.92; 800: Luke O’Malley (Radnor) 1:57.99; 200: Tyler Byrd (Bishop McDevitt) 21.87; 3,200: Matt Sandifer (Germantown Academy) 9:46.88; 4×400 relay: Norristown, 3:25.30; Long Jump: Jaden Price-Whitehead (Upper Dublin) 23-3.25; High Jump: Patrick Fehm (Penn Charter) 6-2; Triple Jump: Hassan Kamara (Milton Hershey) 46-5.5; Pole Vault: Alexander Mansfield (Plymouth-Whitemarsh) 12-0; Discus: Olatide Abinusaw (Germantown Academy) 147-3; Shot Put: Olatide Abinusawa (Germantown Academy) 57-8.25; Javelin: Lawrence Richardson (Bishop McDevitt) 151-0.
Girls
300 hurdles: Talitha Diggs (Saucon Valley) 44.61; 4×800 relay: Neshaminy, 10:14.95; 100: Kayla Walker (Truman) 12.69; 1,600: Tatyana Gibson (Milton Hershey) 5:14.94; 4×100 relay: Truman, 48.37; 400: Annie Lemelin (Mount St. Joe’s) 59.05; 100 hurdles: Naomi Hallman (Truman) 15.76; 800: Isabella Goldstein (Germantown Academy) 2:16.16; 200: Teliyah James (Norristown) 24.52; 3,200: Janelle Williams (Cheltenham) 11:32.09; 4×400 relay: North Penn, 4:03.53; Long Jump: Nyashia Cooper (Imhotep Institute) 17-8; Triple Jump: Kailee Anaya (North Penn) 33-8.75; High Jump: Brianna Smith (Cheltenham) 5-7; Discus: Meaghan Toscano (Germantown Academy) 122-8; Shot Put: Meaghan Toscano (Germantown Academy) 42-0.25; Javelin: Tara Wussler (Central Bucks South) 111-11; Pole Vault: Liliana Cohen (Germantown Academy) 12-0.