NORTH BERWICK — Dan Guiliani of South Portland shattered a 38-year-old record at the SMAA track and field championships Saturday, and Thornton Academy swept the boys’ and girls’ team titles at Noble High.

Guiliani, the fourth-ranked high school shot putter in the nation, has broken 60 feet in every meet this spring. His best throw Saturday was his second, traveling 65 feet, 5.25 inches.

Ed Bogdanovich of Portland had held the record of 59 feet, 2 inches since 1977. It was the oldest SMAA record.

With a temperature in the 80s, it didn’t take long to warm up.

“I was looking to throw in the 68-foot range but it’s nice to get in the record book,” said Guiliani.

Guiliani’s other throws were in the 63- to 64-foot range.

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“I was dipping my shoulder and my spin lacked speed,” said Guiliani on why he fell short.

Guiliani’s top throw is 66 feet, 5 inches in a meet two weeks ago at Windham. Guiliani, a junior, said his goal is to throw in the low 70s before his high school career is finished.

“I’ve worked a lot on improving my spin and getting stronger since the indoor season,” he said.

Guiliani was named the top field performer in the boys’ meet. He also won the discus on his last throw of 163 feet, 6 inches. He edged Nick White of Cheverus, who threw 161-1.

Freshman Alex Hart won three events and Tori Daigle won two to pace the Thornton Academy girls to a convincing win and their second straight conference championship. They also have won the last three state track titles, two indoor and one outdoor.

Hart was named the meet’s top track performer and Daigle was the best in field events.

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Hart won the 100, 200 and 400. Daigle broke her own record in the long jump (18 feet, 0.5 inches) and won the triple jump.

“The girls really had an outstanding meet,” said Coach Lisa Huntress. “We took four of the top six places in the long jump and three of the top five in the discus. The girls have worked hard. We’re really looking forward to next Saturday’s state meet (at Mt. Ararat High in Topsham).”

Victoria Lux of Thornton won the discus while teammates Elizabeth Provencher and Samantha Curran finishing third and fourth. In the long jump, Hart was third, and teammates Alexandra Pettaway and Samantha Dow fifth and sixth to complement Daigle’s win.

The Trojans also dominated the triple jump. After Daigle came Kaila Swan in third and Olivia Libby in fifth.

Thornton outdistanced Scarborough in the standings 121-76.50 in the girls’ meet. South Portland finished third with 69 points. Gorham was next with 57 points, then Massabesic with 56.

Dylan Smith of Thornton Academy was named the top boys’ performer on the track. He won the 200, was on two winning relays (anchoring the 400 relay) and was fourth in the long jump.

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“I knew we had a real good chance to win it,” said Smith. “Everyone came through.”

Derek Boissonault of Thornton won the 100 in a close finish with Cam Johnson of Noble. He ran leadoff in the 400 relay.

The other winner for Thornton was Tyler Lebel in the 800. Ian Marshall of Thornton finished second in the 1,600-meter racewalk.

Thornton, which won the SMAA boys’ outdoor title for the first time since 1986, finished with 86 points. Scarborough was second with 68, followed by Noble (63), South Portland (62) and Cheverus (57).

Pete Hegarty of Sanford set a record in the pole vault with 13 feet, 6 inches. Michael Cuesta of South Portland won the long and triple jumps. Anna Slager of Gorham won the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races.

Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at

tchard@pressherald.com

Twitter: TomChardPPH

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