CROSS COUNTRY/TRACK AND FIELD

Roberts coached at Lakeside from 1971-2005 including track and field, cross country and basketball; he was also a long-time teacher in mathematics. As head coach of the Cross Country teams, he had a record of 564-27-3 in dual, tri and quads meets, winning three state titles along with 15 runner-up teams, 17 region championship teams, 31 county champion teams and 41 team individual titles.With the track team, Roberts accumulated a record of 139-26-0 during his 33-year career, coaching three runner-up teams, five region championship teams and two county championship teams. From 1982-1996 he took on the role as head coach of the girls basketball team, winning the 1991 region championship and holding a 182-174 record over 15 years.Roberts, who graduated from Avondale High School, achieved many awards and honors while coaching at Lakeside, most notably being inducted into the Track and Cross Country Coaches of Georgia Hall of Fame in 2002.He was named Atlanta Track Club Cross County Coach of the Year in 1972, 1973 and 1975, and was GHSA Region Coach of the Year for Boys and Girls Cross County four times.

Thorne, Class of 2002, was a four-year varsity starter on the cross country and track teams. While at Lakeside, he was a 7-time State Champion, 4-time All-American and Georgia Male Track Athlete of the Year in 2002.He finished 10th at the State Cross Country Meet as a freshman. As a sophomore, Thorne placed second overall at the state finals in Cross Country, first in the 1,600 (4:15) and second in the 3,200 (9:15). Thorne placed first in Cross Country, first in the 1,600 (4:12), first in the 3,200 (9:06) which at the time was a Lakeside High School record, and was the National Champion in the 2,000m Steeplechase (5:56) his junior year. He defended his Cross Country, 1,600 and 3,200 state championships as a senior.After graduating from Lakeside High School, Thorne attended the University of Texas where he continued to run cross country and track and was named an NCAA All-American in cross country during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.In 2011, Thorne placed 38th overall in the world during the Ironman World Championship, where he had the second fastest marathon run split time in the world (2:43).

Horton, Class of 1975, began his track career as a freshman at Lakeside. He finished his freshman season placing 2nd in state in the discus and 3rd in the shot put. He continued to progress as a sophomore and as a junior he won state in shotput and discus on Lakeside’s 1974 State Championship Team.He won state in shot put again as a senior and finished second in discus. In his four years, Horton had 32 first-place finishes, finished second eight times and placed third on four occasions.Horton accepted a scholarship to Georgia Tech and was a four-time letterman. During his career with the Yellow Jackets, Horton qualified to compete at nationally sanctioned meets such as the Tom Black Track Classic and the United States Track and Field Federation. Additionally, he won the first ACC Championship in Georgia Tech his- tory, taking the discus competition in 1979.Horton earned his Bachelor’s degree in Indus- trial Management and went on to spend his working career in the manufacturing and sup- ply chain field with various operations companies in and around the Atlanta area.