Ann Roniger

Ann Roniger (February 13, 1943 – June 9, 2019), later Ann Roniger Hussong, was an American athlete, a high jumper and pentathlete.

Ann Roniger
A young white woman outdoors; her short dark hair is in motion, suggesting that she is running.
Ann Roniger, from a 1957 publication.
Born
Martha Ann Roniger

February 13, 1943
Manhattan, Kansas, US
DiedJune 9, 2019
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US
Other namesAnn Roniger Hussong (after 1962)
OccupationEducator
Known forPenthathlete

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
  1. "Dies Sunday". Council Grove Republican. 2019-06-14. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  2. "Fran Welch Dies". Council Grove Republican. 1970-06-19. p. 1. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Hirn, John (February 6, 2012). "Where are you now, Lillian Greene-Chamberlain". Colorado State University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  4. "Untitled news item". Council Grove Republican. 1961-08-23. p. 3. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Miller, Ann (August 26, 2001). "The roots of an athletic revolution". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  6. "Wins Natl. Track Honors" (PDF). Kansas 4-H Journal: 14. October 1957.
  7. Phillips, Harry (October 14, 1957). "These Faces in the Crowd". Sports Illustrated Vault. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
  8. Phillips, Harry (September 15, 1958). "Faces in the Crowd". Sports Illustratred Vault. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
  9. "Ann Roniger First in U.S. Pentathlon". The New York Times. October 6, 1957. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
  10. "More Recognition". The Emporia Gazette. 1957-10-11. p. 1. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Penthathlon Title on Line Monday". The Parsons Sun. 1958-08-27. p. 10. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "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.
  13. 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.
  14. "Monday Club Eyes Olympics". Garden City Telegram. 1960-01-07. p. 5. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Olympic Laurels". Haskell News. 1957-12-19. p. 5. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  16. "Ann Roniger Not On Olympic Team". The Emporia Gazette. 1960-07-18. p. 7. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "U. S. Record Set by Leah Bennett". The Honolulu Advertiser. 1962-01-15. p. 43. Retrieved 2019-12-27 – via Newspapers.com.
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