Thomas Jordan’s life-altering 2003 state championship earns hall of fame honors

It was a mere moment in time. But it was a moment that changed the course of, and helped shape the remainder of, his life.

Now, another moment is being conducted to commemorate Thomas Jordan’s momentous accomplishment.

“It feels like a lifetime ago,” said Jordan. “But it’s been 22 years. Time is so precious. It’s here one day and gone the next.”

Jordan, a 2003 graduate of Cedar Crest and a multi-sport star during his playing days as a Falcon, will be inducted into Pennsylvania High School Track and Field Hall of Fame during a brief ceremony Saturday, May 24, at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium, during the staging of this year’s PIAA Track and Field Championships. It is the same venue at which Jordan captured the 2003 Class AAA state championship in the javelin with an eye-popping heave of 224-2.

That throw established a new PIAA record in the javelin at the time, and it was one of the top scholastic throws in the nation in 2003. Jordan’s state record stood for nine years.

“It’s going to be a trip down memory lane,” said Jordan. “I competed at Shippensburg University a number of times. It’ll be a rollercoaster of emotions. It’s going to bring back a lot of sentiments, a lot of great memories.

“It was my number one accomplishment at Cedar Crest. I couldn’t have done it without the coaches I had at Cedar Crest. Coach (Rob) Bare and Coach (Tim) Brown were two of the greatest mentors I’ve ever had. Coach Brown always had the right things to say to me.”

Jordan will be the first Cedar Crest track and field athlete inducted into the Pennsylvania High School Track and Field Hall of Fame, despite the Falcons’ long history of success in the sport.

“Thomas Jordan was as explosive of an athlete as there ever was,” said Bare. “He was as fierce of a competitor as there ever was. Most importantly, Thomas was a difference maker. He was a joy to coach. Every time he stepped on the runway, you knew something special was about to happen.”

“That goes to coaching,” said Jordan. “They (Bare and Brown) trained me to peak at the perfect time. And that’s exactly what happened.”

The date was May 24, 2003. The wet conditions were not ideal for throwing the javelin and Jordan fouled on his first attempt in the Class AAA competition.

The week prior, at the District Three Class AAA Track and Field Championships, on the same Shippensburg University runway, Jordan had uncorked a 219 to capture the Class AAA crown.

“It was a dreary, wet day, and it was my senior year,” said Jordan, a resident of Conway, South Carolina. “The adrenaline was pumping. I wanted to throw far, and everything just went right for me. On my first throw I had so much adrenaline I fouled, the runway was a little slick and my feet slid across the line. But it was farther than the 224-2 throw.

“When you hit a perfect throw, you know it immediately. It’s effortless. I was definitely ecstatic. It was very surreal. I couldn’t have scripted a better story for my senior year. It was just like a Cinderella story, and I got a lot of national attention.”

That performance helped Jordan earn a track and field scholarship to Coastal Carolina University, where he is still involved with the Chanticleer Athletic Foundation. While at Coastal Carolina, he surpassed the 224-2 mark in the javelin on a number of occasions, before reaching a career long of 232-6.

Ultimately, a muscle tear shortened Jordan’s throwing career.

“It allowed me to travel the country and got me to some of the biggest high school meets in the country,” he said of his state record. “It allowed me to travel internationally. It taught me that hard work pays off. I put a lot of extra time in learning the technique because I was smaller (5’9″) than some of my competitors. I really put my mind to it.

“It got me a college education. Throwers are a very unique group of people. Everybody knows everybody and I still keep in touch with a lot of them.”

While at Cedar Crest, Jordan was an accomplished quarterback/receiver/defensive back on the football team and also played basketball for the Falcons. He was a baseball pitcher, before he got to the ninth grade at CCHS.

“I was a pitcher, and I had a good arm,” he said. “But I kind of got burned out with baseball. In my freshman year, I was going to take a break and I got talked into coming out for track and field. (Sprinting star) Jaren Hayes and Coach Bare were a part of that. They had me throw the javelin and I picked it up really quick.”

Today, Jordan is involved with medical device sales for Medtronic. He lives in Conway, not far from Coastal Carolina University, with his wife Brittany and daughters Sadie, 9, and Abigail, 7.

“I’m grateful to have been part of the Cedar Crest Track and Field program,” said Jordan. “I want to thank Coach Bare and Coach Brown for the foundation they gave me. Without them, I never would’ve had the success I had. My parents (Tom and Beth Jordan) were responsible for my work ethic.”