Stonehill's Corey Thomas Captures 2011 NCAA Indoor High Jump Title as Part of All-America Career

Posted: Dec 10, 2020

Stonehill's eight-time All-American Corey Thomas ’13 entered the 2011 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Albuquerque (N.M.) Convention Center seeded No. 2 in the country, after being ranked No. 1 as a freshman, clearing 7-feet, 1.75-inches in winning BU Valentine’s Invitational a month earlier. He also entered the NCAA Championships having won the high jump (7-0.25) and 55-meter hurdles titles (7.48-seconds) at the NE10 Championships and earning All-New England honors with a second place finish in the high jump (6-11.75), the only time he didn’t place first for the event during the 2010-11 indoor season, and third in the 60-meter hurdles (8.12) at the New England Championships.

Thomas, who gained valuable experience with All-America performances at the 2010 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships as a freshman, while also placing fourth at the USA Junior Nationals (school-record 7-3.5) in Des Moines, Iowa, over the previous summer, would make the opening night of the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships memorable by claiming the Stonehill Track & Field program’s first national championship on this Friday night in Albuquerque.

Thomas cleared 7-feet, 0.5-inches on his second attempt, clinching the title over Indiana (Pa.) University senior Leander Toney by going perfect on his first four progressions, while Toney needed two attempts to clear 6-feet, 9-inches.

"It feels awesome," said Thomas that night. "I came out this year with the goal in mind to just stick to my plan, to warm up great, worry about myself and not everyone else. I didn't expect to win this year, I just wanted to go out and take it and it's a great feeling."

It marked the fourth national championship in Stonehill history as Thomas joins the women's lacrosse program who won a pair of NCAA Division II national titles in 2003 and 2005 and equestrian's 2003 IHSA crown. He would later qualify for Saturday’s final in the 60-meter high hurdles (8.09-seconds), where he added a second All-America award for the weekend with his fifth place finish on Saturday night in a school-record 8.08-seconds.

"The thing I have been most impressed with is his composure," said head coach Karen Boen. "(Corey) jumped like he has been doing this his whole life. People look at rankings and just expect everyone to jump that height or better, and that's just not the way it happens under the stress and tension of the event."

Thomas qualified for the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championship all four years in the high jump, while also qualifying in the 60-meter and 110-meter high hurdles. The 2013 Fr. William Gartland, CSC, Stonehill Senior Student-Athlete Award recipient earned All-America honors for the indoor high jump all four years, to go with a pair of outdoor awards in the high jump and two more All-America honors in the 60-meter hurdles. He collected NE10 Indoor Athlete of the Year accolades three times over his career, including his senior season when he captained Stonehill to its lone NE10 Championship with a pair of NE10 titles in the high jump (7-2.25) and 60-meter hurdles (8.04), while also anchoring a 4x400-meter relay that finished fourth (3:22.34), providing key points late in the Championship to clinch the team title for the Skyhawks.

The three-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) East Region Field Athlete of the Year won five New England Championships, earning 15 All-New England and 16 All-NE10, eight USTFCCCA All-Region and won 12 Northeast-10 titles (seven hurdles and five high jump) over the course of his career. Thomas still holds school records in all five events he competed in at Stonehill, clearing a record 7-feet, 3-inches for the indoor high jump, posting a record 60-meter hurdles time of 7.88-seconds, to go with a 55-meter hurdles record of 7.45-seconds. Thomas cleared an outdoor high jump record 7-1.5 and ran the 110-meter hurdles in a record time of 14.24-seconds in winning the New England Championship his senior year.

Corey Thomas Links of Note:

ABOUT THE NE10
Beginning its 40th anniversary season, the NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.

Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.