TyAsia Thornton gaining a wider perspective

ALBANY — Given the number of new athletes the Albany State women’s track and field team has, getting the Golden Rams in contention for a conference title at this weekend’s SIAC championship meet was going take a grand effort from everyone.

For some, that meant taking on new tasks.

A good bit of the preparation for this weekend’s meet at Hugh Mills Stadium was mental. At least for freshman TyAsia Thornton it was, considering she was taking on an entirely new discipline.

The Moultrie native competed in her first-ever heptathlon this weekend, and she admitted it was not something she envisioned herself doing at the beginning of the season.

“I did not want to do the hep. At first I was like ‘OK,’ and then when I started trying it and did the hurdles, I was like, ‘Coach, I can’t do this,’ ” she said. “But he said, ‘You got it, you’ve just got to go out there and give it all you’ve got,’ and I did that.”

Head coach Kenneth Taylor said everything he told Thornton to convince her to compete in the heptathlon he wholeheartedly believed. Taylor describes Thornton as “a coach’s dream” and said God-given abilities, coupled with her work ethic, made her the perfect person to undertake such a task.

“I realized when I saw her size and her willingness to learn, even though she didn’t want to do this, that this was an athlete I could work with,” he said.

During the first day of the conference championship meet, Thornton placed first in the shot put and fifth in the high jump. She finished ninth overall, posting her highest second-day score in the javelin.

She said the strong leadership of athletes, like fellow shot putter Brittani Phillips, and being able to talk to other friends and family helped put her at ease. From there, she said she just had to get out of her own way and just compete.

“For me, I had to get out of my head and stop thinking about how I’ve never done these events before and I can’t do it,” she said. “It was like go out there and do you best because you’ve been practicing this so just do it.”

Having competed at Hugh Mills Stadium as a high schooler made the weekend a bit easier to undertake, as well.

“For me, I like being able to compete here because your family can come and they don’t have to drive so far to come see you,” she said. “I’ve been here before, so it’s like I’m at home.”

Taylor said this year is just the first step in what he believes will be a meteoric rise by Thornton. He said that he’s confident once they work the kinks out from her freshman season and really hone her skills, the sky’s the limit to what she can accomplish.

“Come back next year, and you’ll be looking at a conference champion,” he said. “Come back the year after, and you’ll be looking at a national qualifier.”