The Santa Barbara Track Club (SBTC), hosted at Westmont College, invites the community for an event to honor David Thoreson, a national class decathlete, and teacher at La Colina Junior High School, 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, at Westmont.
A field of decathletes will attempt a 10-event, 30-minute challenge created by Thoreson in the 1970s.
At 11 a.m., the SBTC will host a 30-minute, three-event challenge for youth. A luncheon reunion will follow the Youth Triple at 11:30 a.m., also hosted at Westmont’s Thorrington Field.
The event is free for spectators and participants, thanks to the Warkentin Family. Youth interested in competing or those participating in the luncheon reunion can RSVP on the event’s webpage.
“This event allows us to celebrate the incredible life of David Thoreson who not only had a lasting impact on the Decathlon, but all the students he inspired at La Colina,” said Josh Priester, SBTC executive director and head coach.
Thoreson was a national class decathlete, winning the bronze medal at the 1967 Pan American Games and scoring a best of 6,233 pts in the 30-minute Decathlon, a world record which stood for many years.
He later worked at La Colina Junior High School, becoming an institution to the thousands of students he impacted.
Tributes can be sent to HeyMrThoreson@gmail.com. For more about Thoreson’s life, visit the Santa Barbara Independent website.
— David Monico for Santa Barbara Track Club.