A small town Idaho kid has developed into a leading athlete and long jump champion for the Idaho men’s track and field team.
Idaho junior Jason Lorentz, from Grangeville, didn’t have to travel far when he decided to walk-on to Vandal track and field. Lorentz turned down opportunities to play football for smaller universities to become a Division I athlete at Idaho. Despite walking-on, it didn’t take long for coaches to recognize Lorentz’s talent.
“For me, I always liked to do the things that were hardest,” Lorentz said. “I thought walking on to the track team here at a D-1 college would be harder and more rewarding (than playing football at a smaller school), if I could make it work. I walked on that freshman year and it took me a meet during indoor season before they gave me the letters to wear but I got on the team that year.”
Since then, Lorentz has become a key leader and jumper for the Vandals. He won the long jump in the 2012 WAC Indoor Championships earlier this year with his 22-09.75 foot jump, his personal best. Lorentz won by less than an inch on his last attempt in the event. He was also No. 5 in the triple jump with a leap of 45-03.75.
Lorentz described the WAC Indoor Championships as “the greatest sports moment of my life.” He contributed 12 points in a meet the Vandals won by five.
Lorentz carried his success into the outdoor season, and won the long jump in Idaho’s first outdoor meet, the Buc Scoring Invitational, with 21-11.50.
“He’s definitely part of that group that helps increase the level of competiveness, not just in the meets but in practice as well,” said Idaho Director of Track and Field Wayne Phipps. “I think that carries over to the meets. (The jumpers) get a little competitive in practice, they’re used to that pressure … obviously it worked pretty well for him because he did the exact same thing to the rest of the competition in the WAC Championships.”
In high school, Lorentz was a three-sport athlete, participating in track and field, football and basketball. He earned team MVP honors as a senior in track and field and football and was named team captain in all three sports.
The sports field wasn’t the only place Lorentz found success. He was also a State Capital Scholar, a National Honor Society member and class salutatorian at Grangeville High School. Lorentz, a civil engineering major, has continued his off-the-field success in college where he is president of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.
Lorentz has taken his busy schedule in stride.
“He’s made a lot of improvements,” Phipps said. “For a guy to come from a small town and a small program and turn himself into a conference champion is quite an accomplishment.”
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected].