It’s been a good year for Winthrop University’s track and field team as athletes have broken records and excelled during competition. On April 1, it was announced that Colby Thorn, a junior at Winthrop, had been named the Big South Field Athlete of the Week for the second week in a row.
Winthrop Athletics reported on April 1 that “Thorn upped his already conference-leading long jump to 7.48m at the Winthrop Adidas Invitational. His distance was second in the competition and finished ahead of competitors from Virginia Tech and Coastal Carolina.”
According to Winthrop Athletics, Thorn won the long jump while competing in Spartanburg, South Carolina March 29-30. The distance of his jump was “.33m more than second place.”
Thorn hails from Macon, Georgia and has played sports for much of his life. He said that he grew up playing “soccer, baseball, football and basketball” and that he “loved competing and was excited to try something new” when he decided to take up competing in track and field.
“I first started competing in track and field in sixth grade and I did a lot of events, but [the] long jump was always my favorite,” Thorn said. “I got into track just because at that time in sixth grade I thought that I was pretty fast and I had friends competing, so I figured why not give it a shot.”
Track and field ended up being what brought Thorn to Winthrop. Despite not being familiar with the university prior to beginning his search for a school to compete at, he said that deciding on Winthrop was not a difficult choice. Thorn said that once he came for an official visit to the school he “loved the area and campus so I knew that this was the one.” He said that he has thoroughly enjoyed his time at the university so far and has forged some great friendships.
Thorn, who is 15th in the nation for his sport, is continuing to look forward. He said that being ranked 15th is an “amazing feeling” but he does not want to “get complacent with that.”
Thorn’s accomplishments certainly have not gone unnoticed by Winthrop coaching staff. Associate track and field head coach Bobbie Schreiner said that Thorn “has been working tirelessly” during his time at Winthrop. Schreiner said that Thorn has been “putting in the work on a daily basis.”
“His accomplishments have been achieved through his constant growth in the weight room and on the track, not only as a jumper, but as a sprinter first — his ranking in the nation is a testament to what is yet to come,” Schreiner said.
Thorn acknowledged that track and field gets progressively more competitive as the season wears on and that he will have to continue putting in hard work to remain at such a high ranking. Another reason that Thorn is putting in so much hard work and effort is the chance to compete in the upcoming NCAA Nationals in June at the University of Texas.
“Coming into college, I never thought that I would be in this position. Over the last two and a half years I have worked so hard and come a very long way from where I began,” Thorn said. “It’s awesome to see that the hard work that I have put in is paying off, and I hope that I can be an example to show other people that you can do anything you put your mind to. I am very thankful for the abilities that God has blessed me with and I plan to continue working hard and competing to the best of my ability to honor Him.”
