Success on an international level
8/24/2011 8:35:00 AM | Track & Field
Named in honor of track and field legend Jim Thorpe, the Cup event is an international track and field duel between the USA and Germany. Teams were made up of eight men and eight women who compete in the decathlon and the heptathlon, respectively.
Representing Team U.S.A in the Thorp Cup, Johnson finished as the third highest American and 6th overall with a score of 7,675 points. Matt's decathlon score at the Thorpe Cup was just 11 points behind his all time best total (7,686) which was set this past spring at the Texas Relays.
In the combined events competition, athletes receive a predetermined number of points based upon their performances in each of the events. The top five men's and top three women's scores are added together to determine the overall team wings.
The 2011 Thorpe Cup marked the seventh time the competition has been held in the United States.
Following his outstanding performance in the event, Johnson has been selected as one of three decathletes to represent Team U.S.A. at the prestigious Pan American Games to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico on October 24th - 28th. This is the second U.S.A. team the Matt has been selected to this year.
"Matt is continuing to build upon his great success of this year after becoming an All-Southland Conference performer, NCAA All-American, top ten finisher at the U.S.A. National Championships and top 10 finisher at the Thorpe Cup," Sam Houston head track and field coach David Self said. ""This is an outstanding honor and opportunity for Matt."
Johnson, a junior from Port Neches Groves, became the fourth Sam Houston Bearkat men's competitor to earn NCAA Division I track and field All-America honors in June with a 14th place finish in the men's decathlon at the NCAA Championship in Des Moines, Iowa.
At the USA National Track and Field Championships in the same venue June 23-24, Johnson finished ninth in the men's senior decathlon.
