Clay Thornton, an assistant cross country and track coach at Cosby High School in Midlothian, passed away this morning of June 24th after having a heart attack. He was at the beach on vacation with his family and his grandchildren.
Coach Thornton was born on December 4, 1946. He was pastor at Tomahawk Baptist Church off of Hull Street in Midlothian. Thornton and his wife were the most caring people you could meet. They always held a dinner at their house for all of their athletes at the end of the season; his wife, Astra, is famous for her homemade pies. He has two sons, Kevin and Andy.
He was the assistant coach for boys and girls cross country and the distance coach for outdoor track at Cosby. Before transferring to Cosby, he assisted in coaching at Clover Hill from 1975 to 2006. Thornton and Cosby head cross country coach Chris Averill knew each other for over 17 years and coached many stand-out athletes together.
He was always talking about his grandchildren Samuel and Nicholas, sons of Kevin and his wife Heather. He couldn't be more proud of those boys. The boys seem to have an interest in running, thanks to their grandfather. His newest & third grandson was born during this past outdoor track season.
Please keep his family in your prayers.
Article contributed by the Cosby distance athletes.