Kirkland Thornton Season 2007-08

Personal Bests
Indoor

200m, 21.49
60h, 7.75
Outdoor
100m, 10.51
200m, 20.84
110h, 13.50 (13.36w)
400h, 49.77

NCAA All-American
2009 Outdoor 400-Meter Hurdles
2009 Outdoor 110-Meter Hurdles
2009 Indoor 60-Meter Hurdles

School Records
110-Meter Hurdles (13.50)
4x110 Shuttle Hurdle Relay (54.90)

Honors
Big 12 Commissioner's Fall Honor Roll (2008)
Big 12 Commissioner's Spring Honor Roll (2009)
Midwest Regional 110-Meter Hurdle Champion (2009)
Midwest Regional 400-Meter Hurdle Champion (2009)

Husker Rankings
Indoor: 200m (13th); 60h (t-3rd)
Outdoor: 100m (18th); 200m (10th); 110h (1st); 400h (2nd);
              4x100 (9th); 4x400 (16th); 4x110 Shuttle Hurdle Relay (1st)

NCAA Championships
2009 (O): 110h, 13.99 (8th); 400h, 49.81 (5th)
2009 (I): 60h, 7.75 (4th)

Big 12 Championships
2009 (O): 110h, 13.79 (3rd); 400h, 53.71 (7th); 4x100m, 39.80 (3rd)
2009 (I): 60h, 7.76 (2nd); 4x400m, 3:10.22 (6th)

2009 (Senior)
Kirkland Thornton had one of the most impressive seasons in recent history at Nebraska in 2009, earning three All-America honors, five All-Big 12 honors and two Midwest Regional championships...  also became the first hurdler in school history to earn All-America in the 110- and 400-meter hurdles at the same NCAA meet... earned two All-Big 12 honors at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, placing runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles (7.76) and sixth in the 4x400-meter relay (3:10.22)... saved his best indoor performance for the NCAA Championships, running 7.80 in the prelims and then followed with a time of 7.75 in the finals to claim fourth-place honors... became the first Husker on the men’s side to earn All-America honors in the 60-meter hurdles and the first All-American hurdle indoors since 1999 when Frank Mensah and Willie Hibler finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 55-meter hurdles... was even more impressive during the outdoor season, regionally qualifying in an unheard of six events, including the 100 meters, 200 meters, 110 hurdles, 400 hurdles, 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay... tied the school record and broke another at the Penn Relays... matched the school record in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.50, while also running a leg of the school-record breaking 4x110-meter shuttle hurdle relay (54.90)... earned three All-Big 12 honors at the outdoor championships with a third-place finish in the 110 hurdles (13.79), seventh-place finish in the 400 hurdles (53.71) and third-place finish in the 4x100 relay (39.80)... earned two Midwest Regional titles with a wind-aided time of 13.47 in the 110 hurdles and a personal-best time of 49.77 in the 400 hurdles, the No. 2 time in NU history... went onto run six races at the NCAA Outdoor Championships as he was the only athlete in the meet running in both the 110 and 400 hurdles... earned All-America honors in both with a eighth-place finish in the 110’s (13.99) and a fifth-place finish in the 400’s (49.81)... leaves Nebraska ranked in the top 20 in nine different events, including top-10 rankings in the 60-meter hurdles (t-3rd), outdoor 200 meters (10th), 110-meter hurdles (t-1st), 400-meter hurdles (2nd), outdoor 4x100 (9th) and the 4x110-shuttle hurdle relay (1st).

2008 (Senior)

After transferring from Eastern Illinois, Kirkland Thornton redshirted during the indoor and outdoor seasons in his first year at Nebraska... placed in the top three in the 60-meter hurdles in five meets as an unattached athlete during the indoor season... finished runner-up in the 60 hurdles (7.94) at the Holiday Inn Invitational, defeating Husker teammates Lehann Fourie, Tyrell Ross and Jamie Ryder... finished first at the NWU Invitational with a time of 7.96... placed third at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational (7.93)... posted a personal best at the adidas Classic with time of 7.83, a time that would have ranked No. 8 on the Nebraska all-time indoor performance list... competed once during the outdoor season at the Nebraska Open, finishing runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles with personal-best time of 14.27, while also finishing seventh in the 400-meter hurdles (54.92).<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

Before Nebraska (Thornwood HS / Eastern Illinois)

Thornton transferred to Nebraska after spending three years at Eastern Illinois... won the 2005 Ohio Valley Conference indoor 60-meter hurdle title (8.02) as a freshman... as a sophomore earned 2006 OVC championships in the indoor 55-meter hurdles (7.54) and the outdoor 110-hurdles (14.61)... was the OVC champion in the 60 hurdles (8.17)... posted career-best time of 7.99 indoors in the 60 hurdles at the Wisconsin Badger Elite Invitational in Madison, Wis., in 2006... ran a personal-best time of 51.95 in the 400-meter hurdles at the OVC Championships... attended Thornwood High School in South Holland, Ill... coached by Gary Haupert... chose Nebraska over Kentucky, Iowa, Illinois and Tennessee after leaving Eastern Illinois.

 

Personal

Parents are Kirkland Thornton Sr. and Narda Milligan... born July 13, 1986... major is economics.