When the sun broke through the clouds over Montecito, Jim Sobieszczyk said, “I can feel his presence.” He was talking about Dave Thoreson, the namesake of the Thoreson 30-Minute Decathlon, which had eight athletes rushing through 10 events (100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 meters, 110 hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, 1500 meters) at the Westmont College track last Saturday morning.
They had 30 minutes to go from the first event to the last, as ordained by Thoreson when he invented the competition in 1971. The former Westmont All-American was a legendary innovator throughout his career in athletics and as a PE teacher at La Colina Junior High. He died last October in Lynchburg, Virginia.
“His death really affected me,” said Sobieszczyk, who traveled from Bend, Oregon, to join five generations of multi-eventers who spent their young adult lives in Santa Barbara, grinding away at one of the most difficult and least remunerative sporting endeavors.