Melanie Thornton was never big on stats. She just wanted to play.

It was that competitive drive and unselfishness that led her to stellar careers at South Granville High School and Barton College as a volleyball/softball player, and as a coach and physical education teacher at Cary Academy.

Her abilities, love for sports in general and sensational two-sport career have landed her in the Barton College Athletic Hall of Fame. She may not like the limelight away from the courts or fields, but Thornton surely starred while wearing the royal blue and white of the Bulldogs.

The Creedmoor native was a three-time all-conference performer in softball and volleyball. She was the 1994 Carolinas Conference Softball Player of the Year, earning All-District 26 recognition as well.

It is a credit to her talent and determination that she was successful in college softball, considering she played for three coaches in four seasons. But, in hindsight, she learned much from each of them that she has blended into her coaching/teaching methods as a varsity girls volleyball coach, jayvee softball coach and weight room director at Cary Academy.

Denise Francis, Joyce Maudie (sophomore and junior seasons) and Sheryl Neff were Thornton’s coaches at Barton.

The daughter of Rob and Maggie Thornton said there was no doubt she would make a career of athletics. Thornton was a superstar at South Granville High School, playing several infield positions on softball teams that only lost four games in four seasons and won state titles her sophomore and senior seasons. She was team MVP three times, all-conference three times and league Player of the Year as a senior.  She was a setter and outside hitter on the South Granville volleyball team, earning team MVP and all-conference accolades twice on teams that played in three state tournaments.

Thornton had a number of college offers, but chose Barton because it was the only school that wanted her to play both sports.

Thornton, who majored in sports administration with a minor in physical education, was team MVP twice at Barton in volleyball for head coach Wendee Saintsing. The setter/outside hitter in the 6-2 scheme also made the All-District 26 team her sophomore season.

Upon a suggestion from her father, Thornton found a partner and began playing in some local and area semi-professional grass volleyball tournaments. She ran into college teammate Jenna Viscuse Hinton at a tournament, and they decided to join forces.

For four years, the Barton duo traveled the East Coast, playing in Beach Volleyball Association events for prize money ranging from $500 to $3,000. Ironically, their first match was against beach volleyball legend Carolyn Kirby, who was playing her last season alongside a pro from California.

While she was playing beach volleyball, her “real” job was as program director for elementary school children at the A.E. Finley YMCA. Interestingly, she was a boss for Clay Aiken of American Idol fame.

“What happened to him (fame) couldn’t have happened to a better person,” Thornton said.

Many others would say the same about Thornton, who has fame of her own as an inductee into the Barton Hall.