Rider junior Ronetta Hunter, a former state champion at Burlington Township, threw a personal-best 45-5 1/4 Saturday at the Rider 5-Way Meet in Lawrenceville.
Hunter’s previous PR was a 45-2 earlier in March indoors at the ECAC Championships in Boston. Her previous outdoor PR was a 45-0 1/2 last April at a meet at The College of New Jersey in nearby Ewing.
Hunter actually surpassed her previous PR three times Saturday. After opening with a 42-11, she threw a PR 45-3 1/2 on her second throw of the trials and 45-2 1/2 on her third. After a foul to open the finals, she threw 45-5 1/4 and finished with another foul.
Teammate Fidele Jules was second with a 43-1 1/2.
Hunter’s 45-5 1/4 is No. 2 this year in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, behind Allison Taub of Monmouth and Council Rock South, who threw 46-11 1/2 this weekend in a meet in West Long Branch.
Hunter moved up from No. 5 to No. 4 in Rider history, passing Alexis Wood, who threw 45-3 1/2 in 2003. The only women ahead of her in school history are Jules (49-3 3/4 in 2017), Jazmine Fenlator (48-8 1/4 in 2006) and Steph Lombardo (45-10 1/2 in 2015). Hunter also ranks No. 5 in school history in the shot indoors at 44-11 1/2.
Fenlator, a graduate of Wayne Valley High in Passaic County, is better known as an Olympic and a two-time World Cup medalist bobsledder.
Hunter also placed third in the discus with a throw of 125-5, which is No. 8 in the MAAC. Her PR is 129-6 from a meet at Penn in 2017.
At Burlington Township, Hunter was the state Group 2 champ in the shot as a senior and was a sectional champ and state medalist in the discus.
