Pieces of Theron: Hurdles

Theron grew up surrounded by athletics. Both older brothers played soccer, ran cross country, and track and field. His mom began coaching cross country and track and field when Theron was in grade school with Theron unsurprisingly becoming a staple at all of the meets. Theron himself began running cross country and track in 7th grade transitioning to strictly track in 9th grade. His growth spurt didn’t hit until he was a junior in high school, at which point he decided to finally attempt hurdles during the indoor season. Still growing into his body (which saw an 8” growth spurt in less than a year) he started making progress—just as the outdoor season was canceled due to the pandemic.

His senior year in indoor track showed promise as he continued to grow, but during the final week of the season, he broke his leg (tibia). We were sure it was a sprain and he limped on it for nearly 4 weeks, then we finally had an x-ray taken, showing it was starting to heal.  Typical of Theron, he persevered working on his upper body and supporting his team, until he got the green light to compete with a month left in the outdoor track season. With grit and determination he willed his way to winning two conference titles in the 110HH, and 300IH. He continued his passion for hurdling in college, running for MVNU, and setting personal bests in the 60HH and 110HH over 42” barriers (faster than his high school times over 39” barriers). In kind, his sprint speed continued to improve while he figured out how to coordinate his increased height and strength, as he grew nearly 2” his freshman year at MVNU.