TYLER, TEXAS - On the second floor of the Physical and Health Education building there is an empty hallway with a desk and a handful of chairs. 
 
Though there is rarely much activity between those two walls when compared to the rest of the home office building for UT Tyler Athletics, every afternoon for four years, the staff members of the Patriot Athletic Department have grown accustomed to seeing senior men's cross country runner Landon Thornton occupying one of those chairs.
 
Not only has Thornton secured a beneficial study spot throughout his extended time as a Patriot, he's also secured an important role on the UT Tyler's cross country team, not just as a runner, but as a role model and leader. The Sulphur Springs, Texas native has been apart of the program since 2019 and has developed a routine both in the classroom and on the cross country course that has been vital to the development of the program.

"Landon's commitment to his athletic and academic pursuits represents what we want UT Tyler cross country and track and field to be about." UT Tyler head cross country coach David Kaiser said. "Landon has been incredibly influential in the development of the team we have at UT Tyler now. His desire do leave the program's better than he found it has most certainly played out during his career."
 
As a high school athlete, Thornton visited a few schools to continue his running career. Ultimately, he decided on UT Tyler for not only the benefit of being able to run in college, but for UT Tyler's strong business program as well. 
 
"A big reason why I chose UT Tyler was because of the business school," Thornton said. "I'm very focused on academics. This was a school I could run at and also get a good degree and I felt comfortable knowing that I would graduate with the knowledge to get a good job in the future."
 
As far as running goes, the cross country team itself had a substantial influence on Thornton. Thornton was greatly influenced by his older team members, especially during the Patriots transition from Division III to Division II during his freshman year. 
 
Not only were the Patriots going through changes, but Thornton was as well. The change from running cross country at a small high school with only a few serious runners to running at the collegiate level where all runners were competitive was quite the change for him. 
 
Thornton credits the team for having a large impact on his running career and leadership skills, each of which have improved greatly during his collegiate career. Thornton has learned how to run not only as an individual, but as a team. That change in running style and mentality is something that Thornton tries to pass along to the younger runners that have made their way into the program during his five-year Patriot tenure.

"Winning as a team surpasses any feeling of winning by yourself," Thorton stated. "When we won third place three years ago in our conference meet, I remember that feeling better than I did last year when I placed top 15th individually." 
 
The discipline that Landon has displayed in his running not only shows on the athletic side, but with schoolwork as well. Every afternoon after practice, Thornton uses the spot in the hallway to stay academically in-shape. Returning to the same spot everyday to improve himself in the classroom leads to a routine, which he says leads to positive results.

That routine has led to great results for Thornton in the classroom and on the course as he finished as an All-Lone Star Conference performer last season, displaying a stark improvement when compared to the early stages of his career. Thornton was the top finisher for UT Tyler in the first meet of the 2023 season in yesterday's Texas A&M International, clocking a time of 24:59.7 for a 22nd place finish.
 
 "You have to force yourself to sit down and do work, just like you do when you run circles around the field everyday for the past five years," Thornton said. "It's the same thing with school. You have to open your laptop up and start reading. It's not something that you can do once a week, you have to do it everyday, running and school, you have to keep it fresh. That place in the hallway is a great place for me to sit down and study and get things done."
 
Thornton has certainly made it a habit to claim a spot within the program and in the PHE building during his lengthy Patriot career, and is well-recognized throughout the PHE building for his consistency.

"We talk about leaving your legacy on a program when you leave," Coach Kaiser said. "Landon's legacy will be spotlighted by the team that he leaves behind because of the way he went about his business and not only his own personal achievement, but in securing the future of the program."
 
Thornton is a finance and computer science major and hopes to eventually have a career as a finance analyst. After hopefully accomplishing his goal of leading the program back to a top-three finish at the LSC Championships, Thornton is looking to break routine and explore places outside of Texas before settling down.

Until then you can expect to see Landon in his spot, running around the training course on campus, or continuing to leave his legacy within the program.