Western Hall of Fame Honors First Female Inductee: Taylor Thornton

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Adrenaline is proud to honor highly decorated lacrosse player, Taylor Thornton, as this year’s Western Hall of Fame inductee. Taylor is the fifth recipient of this award since its inception, following western greats, Rorke Denver, Peter Baum, Christian Cook, and Will Yeatman. More importantly, she is the first female to pave the way, not unlike her Texas to Northwestern lacrosse story.

The Western Lacrosse Hall of Fame was created to honor, celebrate and commemorate the influential players and coaches of the western lacrosse world. Whether it’s a player or coach, these individuals have demonstrated the highest level of skills and achievement within their position of lacrosse. Additionally, these outstanding individuals are recognized as accomplished citizens and role models, who live their lives with integrity and an unflappable moral compass.

Taylor is the epitome of a non traditional player proving against all odds that you don’t have to eat, sleep, and breathe lacrosse by second grade and be born in the mid/upper atlantic to become a DI lacrosse player. The Dallas native will serendipitously return home this weekend to receive this honor, a now established hotbed for lacrosse because of the inspiration she was for Texas youth lacrosse. Taylor is a 2x DI National Champion (2011, 2012) whose lists of awards proceed her. Originally a tennis, soccer, and basketball player, Taylor picked up a stick in 7th grade and never looked back. Check out the image below for a highlighted list of Taylor’s achievements.

Adrenaline will induct Taylor into the Western Hall of Fame at the All American Banquet this Saturday at the Omni Frisco, only steps away from the Ford Center at The Star where the girls and boys All American Games will take place on Sunday at 5:30 PM CST and 7:30 PM CST, respectively. The back-to-back games put an official stamp on the high school careers of a little over 100 standout western athletes. Accompanied by her family, Taylor will receive the HOF award in front of the people she loves as well as a group of athletes who undoubtedly hope to achieve the same level of success in their upcoming years. If there’s one thing to take away from this weekend for kids trying to play (and play well) at the next level, it is to “never stop working and never settle,” says Taylor.  “Always continue to push yourself and step outside of your comfort zone. Great changes and growth happen when you do.”

The mission of the Adrenaline AA game is to bring national attention to the western lacrosse player. With nontraditional pipelines growing for top NCAA programs, the western acknowledgement remains subdued despite the equivalent level of college commitments. Despite starting the girls side of Adrenaline All American years after the boys, Taylor Thornton would have absolutely been a first round invitee. She not only excelled at lacrosse in a city that didn’t have the competitive tenure, but she also chose to play at Northwestern, a NCAA powerhouse in the midwest. Taylor’s induction coincides with the first championship title for the Wildcats since she hung up college cleats. This year’s win also gives Northwestern Womens Lacrosse the most NCAA Championships in the 21st century. Kelly Amonte is one of the top coaches in NCAA, and her ability to seek out talent in all corners of the US in players like Taylor is apparent year after year in the Adrenaline All American Games. When asked how she felt about being inducted into the Western Hall of Fame, Taylor paid respects to the people who helped her get here; “It is a great honor to be inducted into the Western Hall of Fame. I owe so much to my coaching staff and teammates. I have a great deal of pride having played at the highest level coming from Dallas.”

Don’t forget to tune in to ESPN+ this Sunday at 5:30 PM PST to watch Taylor Thornton share her knowledge on the game as she provides color on the girls Adrln All American girls game, featuring the top 50 committed players in the West!

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