Lorrie Thornton

2003 Greater Flint African American Sports Hall of Fame Inductee

Category: Multiple Sports

Lorrie grew up on the south side of Flint and attended Scott Elementary, Whittier Junior High and graduated from Flint Central High School. At Flint Central, Lorrie earned 10 athletic letters (basketball, volleyball, cheerleading and track and field). Her best sport was track/field, excelling in the long jump. Lorrie set a record in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet 7 inches to win the State Class A Championship in 1979. She was a double winner in the Class A City Track Meet winning the 100 meters in 11.0 and 25.4 in the 220.  In her senior year, Lorrie won three individual events in the Girls City Track Meet, winning the 100 meters, long jump and the 220.

In 1979 Lorrie was named to the first team of the Detroit News High School Girls All State Track Team. She was named captain of the Flint Central 1979 Girls Track Team.
Lorrie attended the University of Michigan and reigned as the long jump champion at the 1983 Big Ten indoor finals. She held three University of Michigan field house records in the longjump-20.0-1981; 220 yarddash-25.6- 1980; 4×220 relay-1 :41.67 -1981. Lorrie was also a member of the 1982 Big Ten outdoor 400-meter relay championship team placing fourth at the AlAW Nationals.

Lorrie holds indoor and outdoor records as well as sharing the 4×220 indoor and 400- and 800-meter outdoor relay records. She held the women’s outdoor track and field records in the longjump-19.5-1981; 400 meterrelay-45.9- and 800-meter relay-1:43.01-1982. Lorrie ran on the women’s track team to win a Big Ten title-1983. She also had a championship long jump of 19.11 3/4 which qualified her for the NCAA meet where she fished eighth in competition-1983.