ROME — After fouling on her first throw and missing the grid with her second effort, Sierra Thorton had one last chance to qualify for the Class 5A discus finals.
The tall freshman from Chamblee High School stepped into the circle, went through her routine and calmly tossed the shot in the middle of the field.
At 111 feet, 6 inches, it wasn’t a great throw, but it didn’t need to be. It only had to be long enough to get her among the the top nine girls in order to reach the final round.
“I don’t know. I was probably a little stressed out,” she said. “But I came back and just tried to get something in so I could make finals. I just said I’m going to get one out and then I’m going to go all out.”
Fifteen minutes later, after another round of practice throws,Sierra was able to turn it loose and live up to the expectations she brought into the meet. Her winning throw of 140-3 on her second attempt was short of her season best of 144-5, but was easily the farthest throw of the day.
The ninth grader had a gold medal.
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
In her first throw of the final round, Sierra went 138-2 — 16 feet better than any of her competitor’s best qualifying throws. It wasn’t the most artistic effort. Thorton slipped and fell but was able to stay inside the ring and avoid a foul. Meanwhile, the official running the event offered encouragement by saying, “Way to hold it.”
Her form on the next throw was perfect ,and the discus traveled 6 feet farther than the first. She was gunning for a personal best on the final throw, but it went awry, leaving her to settle for first place.
Sierra was unable to threaten the all-classification record of 154-8 shared by Sprayberry’s Ronda Gullate (2002) and Athens Academy’s Torie Owens (2011).
“That’s not bad for the first one,” she said.
Sierra is tall and is often asked if she plays basketball. She doesn’t, sticking with track and field. She also throws the shot put — and was good enough to finish eighth in the state meet — and the hammer.
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Her father, Todd Thorton, half joked his daughter was forced into track and field. That’s because the sport runs in the family. He was a jumper in school. His wife, Monica Thorton, has some serious track genes. Sierra’s grandfather competed in all the strength field events at the World Police and Fire Games, and her uncle, Bryan Woodward, was a middle distance runner who competed in the 2000 Olympics.
“It was mostly because my parents said I ought to try this out,”Sierra said.
She said the biggest difference was mastering the mental aspect of the sport.
“It takes a lot to get out of your head,” she said. “The mental part for me is everything. Really, when I walk in the ring, everything cancels out, and it’s just me and the disc.”
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