Track standout Evan Thornton-Sherman is no stranger to success. Whether on the cross country course or the track, he is always ready to push himself to a fast time. Now a senior, Thornton-Sherman reflected on his journey from his hometown of Saint Johnsbury, Vt., to his collegiate home in Oxford.
Thornton-Sherman worked his way through the typical sports, but he said he never really found one that suited him, until he discovered track and field.
“My mom was a collegiate runner back in her day, and she set me up into running,” Thornton-Sherman said. “I started running at a pretty young age, started on track and then kind of slowly worked my way to cross (country).”
Thornton-Sherman’s mother influenced him deeply, but another key person in his life and career has been his grandfather.
“(My grandfather) was the original runner in my family,” Thornton-Sherman said. “He’s always been supportive of my running and he’s always calling me up and asking me about my races, so he’s a good influence as well.”
Thornton-Sherman was an accomplished high school athlete, named the 2021-22 Gatorade Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year. After high school, Thornton-Sherman decided to compete for the University of Maine, where he won the indoor America East Conference 5K as a freshman. After his sophomore cross country season, Thornton-Sherman transferred to Ole Miss in order to seek a challenge.
“While it was a great experience with me and my team, I had the realization that if I’m already winning at this level, then I really just want to be able to push myself more than that,” Thornton-Sherman said. “I figured the only way that I would be able to do that was to transfer somewhere else and just put myself in a deeper field.”
While competing within the SEC for the Rebels, Thornton-Sherman has found his challenge and continued success. He has helped lead two cross country teams to the national championships, but Thornton-Sherman said he prefers track and field because the oval is faster.
“With track, there’s a lot more repetition in what you do, so you can compare (times) a lot easier,” Thornton-Sherman said. “I like going fast, so being on the track is definitely a lot more fun.”
Thornton-Sherman enjoys the competition and camaraderie with his fellow teammates, particularly Kidus Misgina, Marco Perez and Toby Gillen (now graduated). For them, the team aspect is always a part of what they do. While Thornton-Sherman enjoys the team competitions like the Distance Medley Relay, he loves that at the end of the day everyone is out to push themselves to their individual limits.
This season, Thornton-Sherman has already run for impressive results. At Clemson’s Bob Pollock Invitational on Jan. 30-31, he ran a personal record in the 3K and moved to No. 9 all-time for the Rebels. He also narrowly missed the famed sub-4 minute mile when he ran 4:00.27. While impressive results, Thornton-Sherman said he knew he had more to give.
“I always feel like I can do better, and that’s regardless of how I do. … I always know I can keep improving upon myself,” Thornton-Sherman said. “But (those results) were a good step in the right direction, especially for an opener. It was my first race of the season.”
Thornton-Sherman has already improved on those times this season, most recently at Vanderbilt’s Music City Challenge on Feb. 13. Thornton-Sherman won the indoor mile and broke the four-minute barrier when he blazed a 3:59.67 personal record.
With the indoor track season set to wrap up soon and outdoor season on the horizon, Thornton-Sherman still has goals to reach. Track and field at the collegiate level can be intense, but Thornton-Sherman knows he has an excellent support system in his corner.
For the rest of the season, Thornton-Sherman will continue to train hard and use a piece of advice that he wishes all younger athletes, himself included, would learn at the start of their journeys.
“You’ve got great things ahead of you,” Thornton-Sherman said. “You just gotta keep pushing along and just go for it.”
