Ann Roniger (February 13, 1943 – June 9, 2019), later Ann Roniger Hussong, was an American athlete, a high jumper and pentathlete.
Early life
Martha Ann Roniger was born in Manhattan, Kansas, the daughter of Pascal Allen Roniger and Martha Sharer Roniger. She was a member of 4-H. Her high school in Elmdale, Kansas had no track team, so her father and brother built some practice equipment on the farm, and Roniger trained in nearby Emporia.[1][2] Ann Roniger attended Colorado State University[3] in Fort Collins for one year, then transferred to the University of Hawaiʻi, on a full athletic scholarship.[4][5]
Career
In 1956, Roniger broke the national standing broad jump record, and tied the National Junior Olympic record for the 50-year dash.[6] From 1957 to 1959, as a teenager in Elmdale, Kansas, Roniger was three-time Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) women's pentathlon national champion.[7][8] Her 1957 win was considered especially notable, because she "had never competed previously in the shotput, hurdles, or high jump", three of the component events.[9][6] She was featured in Sports Illustrated for her accomplishment.[10] In 1958,[11] she won three events, set two Ozark regional records,[12] and finished with the highest total points across the five pentathlon events. In 1959 she was included in the All-America Women's Track and Field Team.[13]
She continued competing as an athlete in college at Colorado State University, where she was a member of the school's first women's track and field team, along with sprinter Lillian Greene-Chamberlain, high jumper Ann Marie Flynn, and Rose Melanchuk.[3] She aspired to a place on the American team for the 1960 Summer Olympics,[14][15] but failed to qualify.[16] In 1961 she transferred to the University of Hawaii, where she continued as a track athlete.[4] In 1962, she set a state women's high jump record at Hawaii's Cooke Field.[17]
In adulthood, Hussong was a health science teacher at a Kansas high school for 25 years. When she retired to Oklahoma, she became a professional organizer.[1]
Personal life
Ann Roniger married Bill Hussong in 1962. They had three children, William, Shawn, and Stephanie. She died in 2019, aged 76 years, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Dies Sunday". Council Grove Republican. 2019-06-14. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
- ^ "Fran Welch Dies". Council Grove Republican. 1970-06-19. p. 1. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Hirn, John (February 6, 2012). "Where are you now, Lillian Greene-Chamberlain". Colorado State University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
- ^ a b "Untitled news item". Council Grove Republican. 1961-08-23. p. 3. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Miller, Ann (August 26, 2001). "The roots of an athletic revolution". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
- ^ a b "Wins Natl. Track Honors" (PDF). Kansas 4-H Journal: 14. October 1957.
- ^ Phillips, Harry (October 14, 1957). "These Faces in the Crowd". Sports Illustrated Vault. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
- ^ Phillips, Harry (September 15, 1958). "Faces in the Crowd". Sports Illustratred Vault. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
- ^ "Ann Roniger First in U.S. Pentathlon". The New York Times. October 6, 1957. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
- ^ "More Recognition". The Emporia Gazette. 1957-10-11. p. 1. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Penthathlon Title on Line Monday". The Parsons Sun. 1958-08-27. p. 10. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Ann Roniger Sets 2 Ozark Records, Wins 3 Events". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1958-06-15. p. 71. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Tricard, Louise Mead (1996-01-01). American Women's Track and Field: A History, 1895 Through 1980. McFarland. pp. 385, 401. ISBN 978-0-7864-0219-9.
- ^ "Monday Club Eyes Olympics". Garden City Telegram. 1960-01-07. p. 5. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Olympic Laurels". Haskell News. 1957-12-19. p. 5. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
- ^ "Ann Roniger Not On Olympic Team". The Emporia Gazette. 1960-07-18. p. 7. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "U. S. Record Set by Leah Bennett". The Honolulu Advertiser. 1962-01-15. p. 43. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
