| Family Affair: Perrysburg's Thornton breaks dad's pole vault record (06-05-12) |
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| Written by JORDAN CRAVENS Sentinel Staff Writer | ||
| Tuesday, 05 June 2012 09:27 | ||
The long-standing 13-6 record came tumbling down last month when the younger pole vaulting Thornton, Ben, vaulted 13-8 at the Division I district meet at Toledo St. Francis. "I just wanted to show my old man who is boss," said Ben Thornton, who just graduated from Perrysburg on Sunday. Steve Thornton set the original record as a junior at Perrysburg in 1980. "I've had the record long enough. It's time somebody else had it and if it has to be somebody else, it might as well be my son," he said. "I didn't think it would last more than five years." Breaking his father's decades-old record has been in the making since Ben was in elementary school. "I was just hoping he could to it. He has been saying ever since fifth or sixth grade that he was going to break my record," Steve Thornton said. The son's desire to break his father's jump mark is reflected in past school papers which listed his goals. "Every single one of them says 'Beat my dad's record in pole vault," Ben Thornton said. Thornton made his first attempt at 13-8 at the district meet. "I was nervous as could be, but I tried not to think about the fact that I was going for a record," Ben Thornton said. "In pole vault, if you think about your jump you aren't going to make it." He cleared the bar on his first try. "As soon as he made it, he jumped up and we were all screaming," Steve Thornton said. "I was hoping he would get it. It was a relief. I am very proud." Ben Thornton said clearing the bar was like fulfilling a dream. "It feels like I succeeded in my high school career," Thornton said. As an underclassmen, breaking his father's record seemed like a distant goal. He was a 10-foot pole vaulter his junior year. But after hitting a growth spurt, sharpening his skills and attending pole vault camp he inched closer and closer to his father's record. And inches became feet as the younger Thornton became a regular, 13-foot vaulter his senior year. "Usually inches shows a lot of improvement in pole vault," Steve Thornton said. Ben Thornton took third at the district meet and went on to regionals where he placed eighth. He will continue his education at Bowling Green State University in the fall and plans to later transfer to Ohio State University to major in chemical engineering. |
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, 05 June 2012 11:23 |
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