File / TPI ECHS wrestling coach Mason Thornton led the Panthers to back-to-back third-place finishes in the AHSAA Class 5A duals. This season the Panthers had the most state qualifiers since their 2005 state championship win.
Submitted Photo / TPI Elmore County’s Tyler Payton, left, poses with coach Mason Thornton after receiving his championship ring on Wednesday, Aug. 7. Payton, a rising sophomore, went 40-1 during his freshman year and won the AHSAA Class 5A state championship in the 150-pound weight class.
When someone really cares about something, they dedicate themselves to it whether it be a hobby or a career or something else entirely.
That’s how wrestling coach Mason Thornton ended up back at Elmore County High School just a few short years after wrestling and graduating. In 2020, Thornton returned to Eclectic as a student teacher and he agreed to assist with coaching wrestling.
File / TPI ECHS wrestling coach Mason Thornton led the Panthers to back-to-back third-place finishes in the AHSAA Class 5A duals. This season the Panthers had the most state qualifiers since their 2005 state championship win.
Submitted Photo / TPI Elmore County’s Tyler Payton, left, poses with coach Mason Thornton after receiving his championship ring on Wednesday, Aug. 7. Payton, a rising sophomore, went 40-1 during his freshman year and won the AHSAA Class 5A state championship in the 150-pound weight class.
