University of Maine freshman distance runner Evan Thornton-Sherman will be competing in the USA Track and Field Under-20 Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, later this week following an outstanding season at UMaine.
He will be competing in the 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter races.
It will be held from Thursday through Sunday at Hayward Field. The preliminary races for the 1,500 will be held on Friday and the finals in the 1,500 and 5000 will be on Sunday.
The former St. Johnsbury Academy standout, who was Vermont’s Gatorade Boys Outdoor Track and Field performer of the year in 2022, finished third in the 1,500 meters at the America East outdoor championships with a time of 3:53.47 and was fourth in the 5,000 meters in 14:52.40.
He was the top freshman finisher in each race.
In March at the Raleigh Relays in North Carolina, Thornton-Sherman posted the second fastest time in school history in the 5,000 meters as he registered a time of 14:16.94. In the same race, his teammate, senior Alec Troxell, set the school record by finishing in 14:08.32.
Troxell finished 41st and Thornton-Sherman was 61st.
Thornton-Sherman finished 16th in the 5,000 meters at the IC4As with a time of 14:47.97.
The freshman won the 5,000 meters at the America East Indoor Championships with a time of 14:28.30.
Thornton-Sherman is looking forward to the weekend.
“It’s an incredible opportunity to be able to race alongside the best athletes [in my age group] at the National Outdoor Championships,” Thornton-Sherman said.
Thornton-Sherman is coming off running a personal best of 14:09 in the 5,000 meters at a race in Boston recently.
“I didn’t feel extra good before the race but I was in better shape than I thought I was,” said Thornton-Sherman, who is from Waterford, Vermont.
“That’s a real good sign going into a meet like that,” said UMaine track and field and cross country head coach Adam Ward, who called Thornton-Smith a “phenomenal” competitor.
“He is a coach’s dream. He is a hard worker. I have to hold him back rather than have to make him do stuff,” Ward said. “I’m excited for him to have an opportunity like this.”
The nation’s elite track athletes will also be competing to qualify for the World Championships at Hayward Field at the same time as the U20 championships.
“It is going to be a really awesome experience,” Thornton-Smith said.
Thornton-Smith said he surprised himself a little bit with the success he has had in his first season at UMaine.
“There are times I felt I could have done better on certain days but, other than that, I thought I had a great season and I’m really looking forward to next season. We’re getting a lot of good guys coming in.”