Austin Westlake graduate Ashton Torns is joined by his family after winning the UIL 6A 2023 long jump state title
Ashton Torns has been competing at a high level in the state of Texas for four years. As a freshman, he saw his student-athlete aspirations dashed when COVID prematurely ended both the 2019/2020 school and athletic seasons nationwide. However, when he was able to compete again, the Austin Westlake product took advantage of his opportunities.
Torns won the UIL 6A state meet in the long jump with a 24 feet and 1.25 inch jump his sophomore year (2021) while finishing seventh in the 100m with a 10.27 (w). Junior year (2022), he joined Aaron Davis (Humble Summer Creek) at jumping 25 feet and 3.75 inches for a tie. Davis had the better second best jump between the two of them and that cracked the tie awarding him the state title. On May 13th, Torns ended his UIL career with another set of impressive UIL state meet performances. He re-acquired the UIL 6A state championship in the long jump by jumping 25 feet and 3 inches and he ran to a runner-up finish in the 100m finals with a time of 10.52.
Track and field athletes find their way to the sport by several different paths. Torns' path had a trail, but it wasn't always lit for him to directly follow. Both of his parents were scholarship athletes at Grambling State University with his father Anthony being an all-conference performer as well as entering the coaching profession in the sport when Torns was just three years old. Anthony coached several years at the high school level and now coaches privately in the Austin area, so you'd think it was a sure fit that his son would follow in his footsteps and compete in track and field.
However, Anthony didn't push track and field upon his four children saying, "I tried to keep all of my kids away from competing in track and field as long as possible because it was what I did and what I was passionate about. I wanted them to have their own identity and not place unnecessary pressure on themselves because they were trying to live up to what they may have perceived I wanted them to accomplish."
His eldest son didn't compete in track, but the holdout didn't last much longer. Daughter Alexis Torns found her path to the sport and currently competes in jumps and sprints at the University of Arkansas; soon, it would be Ashton's interest that was piqued. "He first showed interest during the seventh grade and he long jumped 19 feet with no training other than a few middle school practices, he asked me if someone would pay him to long jump if he were good enough," Anthony said.
For Torns, the interest was serious and there were no chances of him having one foot in the door and one foot out. "I wanted to focus on a sport that I for sure knew that's what I wanted to do," he shared. In Texas, boys that can run fast and jump well ultimately find their way to the gridiron of football, and that's especially the case for those who attend Westlake High School. However, for Torns, things were just going to go differently and that wasn't by accident. "I wanted to do the long jump, so I didn't see the logic in doing other sports that could possibly hinder me perfecting my craft in track," he said.
Torns was able to see his dedication to the sport pay off. Over the span of his high school career at the highest level in Texas, he won two state titles with two runner-up finishes at the UIL 6A level. Also on his resume are three Region 4-6A championships, nine area championships, and eight district championships.
As father and coach, Anthony found the experience both stressful and fulfilling at the same time. He said, "the stress came from being a former runner and when he was competing, it was like being out on the line again and fulfilling in the sense that I have followed Texas track and field since I was in high school in the mid 90s and Texas was what set the standard for me, seeing all of the fast times ran out of this state."
A two-sport star competing in football and track and field at Southwestern High School in Flint, Michigan. Anthony competed against some of the best athletes from areas like Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, and Saginaw, but kept his eyes on the best track and field states in the country like California, Florida, and Texas. "I would catch the bus to the mall across town to read magazines every month growing up in Michigan. To see him be one of the best and his name listed as one of the nation's best in those same magazines (and now online), I knew he had achieved something special."
"Competing in a sport that my dad used to compete in and now coaches is thrilling," Torns said. "Getting to converse about his past achievements as an athlete as well as him being a coach allows me to get insight on both sides of the sport, and also guide me on the right path to success."
Parent/coach and athlete relationships aren't new. Some stories appear to go well and others not so well. As the father, Anthony knew the dynamic this could have both positive and negative effects on their relationship. "Since I knew the pressure that he would have placed on him from the outside and also the pressure he would place on himself, all of Ashton's success really has been self-driven. I also did not start working with him until his ninth grade year. Before that, he was just being a kid playing multiple sports seasonally. Once he was in the ninth grade, I set the practice schedule and he was always the driver of the ship, I never had to tell him let's go." In fact, it would be Torns asking about going to the track and training sessions. "If he was not feeling up to training on a particular day, we didn't train and if he was having a bad practice, I would shut it down and not talk about training until our next session."
Track and field and the Torns family are kind of intertwined. With Anthony being a coach and Alexis and Ashton competing in the NCAA and UIL, it's a big part of the lives of everyone in the household. "To be honest, track will always be a part of our family, but when it's time to relax and forget about times and marks, I will do that as well," Torns said. "Being able to relax and take a break from eating, breathing, sleeping track is a must because it allows me to be kind of normal." Anthony added that, "since I coach other athletes, I am always doing and thinking track, however at home we are a normal family that does things outside of track and when we are home we only have training or track discussions when Ashton brings them up or about some big news or a pro runner."
There was another dynamic in the Torns coaching and family situation - - and that was another coach. Although the speed was there and Anthony was a runner and coaches running, Torns wasn't just a sprinter, he was a jumper as well. That is where a jumps coach enters the picture and added an extra flare to the relationships and the successes.
Coach Sue Humphrey coaches some of the most successful jumpers to come out of the Greater Austin area. She has coached on the NCAA level, professional athletes, and is an accomplished writer on track and field. She has also coached Torns over the past four years.
Anthony said, "Ms. Sue helped Ashton immensely, but she also helped me become a better coach from all the talks we had about training Ashton and how to progress him from the ninth to the twelfth grade. I was completely hands off in the long jump; if we did any work without Ms. Sue it was following a plan that she sent to us and we would send a video back for her to examine. She truly became a part of our family over the years; she added a calming effect to his training and progress as he performed better and as the pressure grew for him. At the meets, I was just a spectator, which was very fun."
The coaching combination was significant, because Torns wanted to be successful in both. "It makes the sport a bit more enjoyable in my opinion. Just doing running events seems boring to me. I like to showcase all of my athleticism when I compete and running and jumping is a good combination to do that." Advancing to the UIL 6A State Meet is difficult to do in one event, let alone two. Sprinting helps the jumping ability, but not all sprinters can jump 25 feet and win a state title and not many jumpers can be one of the best sprinters in the state of Texas. "The ability to be good at two different aspects of the sport kind of boosts my ego, but it also allows me to be the best athlete I can be in multiple ways," Torns said.
Now that the UIL Track and Field State Championships are complete and Torns has graduated from Westlake, the next chapter is college. He earned the opportunity to be a student-athlete at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida and the father/coach and son relationship will of course continue. It will just have a new chapter for the entire Torns family to play out.
Anthony the coach will tell you that Ashton has been one of the most talented, driven, focused, and humble kids he has coached. He'll tell you about the high track and field IQ he has acquired and how one day he'll make an excellent coach. As the father who has seen the athletic ability in his son since the age of three, there is pride of what he has already accomplished athletically, but also the personal character qualities he admires in his son.
At Miami, there will be a new staff of coaches to tutor Torns, but what Anthony and Humphrey taught him will stick. Anthony loves the Miami staff and believes in what they are building and how it will continue to mold his son. "I love the staff there and I'm looking forward to watching him develop. My advice to him is trust your coaches and remember everything is a process. Control what you can and the things you cannot, pray and leave in God's hands. I believe his best is ahead of him and look forward to being a dad in the stands cheering him on."
Torns admitted consistent and quality coaching was always an advantage, but having this dad come from his dad made it that much better. The father/son bond allowed them to be on the same page at the same time and provided added confidence.
He also said, "I'll honestly miss being able to just say 'hey dad' and ask him a question at practice. Having someone that has known me my whole life, watched me take my first steps, watched me win my first medal, and now watching me go off to college to fulfill my dreams as my coach is something not everyone is fortunate enough to have. So, I would say it was a blessing to have had him as my coach and honestly he'll continue to be my coach, he'll just be a couple of states away."
