BOSTON — Thornton Academy junior Jason Montano added to his trophy case this past weekend, earning first place with a throw of 55 feet, 10 inches at the New England Track and Field Championships in the shot put competition.

Winning the New England gold was always a goal for Montano, who was thrilled when he finally claimed first place in Boston on Saturday.

“What was going through my mind was me crying, let’s be real. What happened was I found out I won and I was excited, starting celebrating, crying,” said Montano. “I went over to my coach and hugged her then went over to my parents and hugged them. I worked for it for so long and it finally happened. I feel like this is definitely the highlight of my career, especially in my track career. This is one of the biggest accomplishments I’ve achieved.”

Montano, who also won the state championship last month, finished in fourth place at New Englands last winter season. He believed with his work ethic that a first-place finish was realistic this year.

“I did because I had been working so hard and really had been working for it,” Montano said. “(Momentum) has helped me a lot plus I have a great coach in (TA throwing) coach (Lisa) Huntress who has helped me with my technique. Making sure I’m doing everything right and having my feet where they need to be.”

That technique was also one of the biggest reasons that Montano reached the heights he did, as the junior introduced a new style of throwing to is game.

“The success this year has been from me actually learning the technique of the spin. Last year I only threw one meet with it but I actually knew how to spin this year, I’ve been working on a lot of technique and release which has helped me this year,” said Montano.

Montano looks forward to the upcoming spring season, as well as his senior year next winter. The Trojans are poised to be right in the mix with the best teams in the state, considering the return of Montano as well as teammate Travis Snyder who won the state title in pole vault.

“We’re definitely strong. It’s not just me and Travis, the whole team is doing great,” said Montano. “They’re really helping us with support and we’re happy with the way things are going.”

— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at asponseller@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.

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