Ann Roniger
{{Short description|American high jumper and pentathlete (1943–2019)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ann Roniger
| image = AnnRoniger1957.png
| alt = A young white woman outdoors; her short dark hair is in motion, suggesting that she is running.
| caption = Ann Roniger, from a 1957 publication.
| birth_name = Martha Ann Roniger
| birth_date = February 13, 1943
| birth_place = Manhattan, Kansas, US
| death_date = June 9, 2019
| death_place = Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US
| other_names = Ann Roniger Hussong (after 1962)
| occupation = Educator
| years_active =
| known_for = Penthathlete
| notable_works =
}}
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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.councilgroverepublican.com/obituaries/dies-sunday-1|title=Dies Sunday|date=2019-06-14|website=Council Grove Republican|language=en|access-date=2019-12-27}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41122786/fran_welch_dies/|title=Fran Welch Dies|date=1970-06-19|work=Council Grove Republican|access-date=2019-12-27|pages=1|via=Newspapers.com}} Ann Roniger attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins for one year, then transferred to the University of Hawaiʻi, on a full athletic scholarship.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41122560/untitled_news_item/|title=Untitled news item|date=1961-08-23|work=Council Grove Republican|access-date=2019-12-27|pages=3|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite web|url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2001/Aug/26/sp/sp03a.html|title=The roots of an athletic revolution|last=Miller|first=Ann|date=August 26, 2001|website=The Honolulu Advertiser|access-date=2019-12-27}}
Career
In 1956, Roniger broke the national standing broad jump record, and tied the National Junior Olympic record for the 50-year dash. From 1957 to 1959, as a teenager in Elmdale, Kansas, Roniger was three-time Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) women's pentathlon national champion.{{Cite web|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1957/10/14/605448/these-faces-in-the-crowd|title=These Faces in the Crowd|last=Phillips|first=Harry|date=October 14, 1957|website=Sports Illustrated Vault|language=en|access-date=2019-12-26}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1958/09/15/568789/faces-in-the-crowd|title=Faces in the Crowd|last=Phillips|first=Harry|date=September 15, 1958|website=Sports Illustratred Vault|language=en|access-date=2019-12-26}} 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.{{Cite web|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/10/06/91167053.html?pageNumber=212|title=Ann Roniger First in U.S. Pentathlon|date=October 6, 1957|website=The New York Times|language=en|access-date=2019-12-26}}{{Cite journal|date=October 1957|title=Wins Natl. Track Honors|url=https://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2097/19323/KSUL0003KS4H1957v003n010a.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|journal=Kansas 4-H Journal|pages=14}} She was featured in Sports Illustrated for her accomplishment.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41123755/more_recognition/|title=More Recognition|date=1957-10-11|work=The Emporia Gazette|access-date=2019-12-27|pages=1|via=Newspapers.com}} In 1958,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41123036/penthathlon_title_on_line_monday/|title=Penthathlon Title on Line Monday|date=1958-08-27|work=The Parsons Sun|access-date=2019-12-27|pages=10|via=Newspapers.com}} she won three events, set two Ozark regional records,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41123576/ann_roniger_sets_2_ozark_records_wins/|title=Ann Roniger Sets 2 Ozark Records, Wins 3 Events|date=1958-06-15|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|access-date=2019-12-27|pages=71|via=Newspapers.com}} 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.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vvrwcB3DeEwC&q=Ann+Roniger&pg=PA385|title=American Women's Track and Field: A History, 1895 Through 1980|last=Tricard|first=Louise Mead|date=1996-01-01|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-0219-9|pages=385, 401|language=en}}
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.{{Cite web|url=https://csurams.com/news/2012/2/6/Where_are_you_now_Lillian_Greene_Chamberlain.aspx|title=Where are you now, Lillian Greene-Chamberlain|last=Hirn|first=John|date=February 6, 2012|website=Colorado State University Athletics|language=en|access-date=2019-12-27}} She aspired to a place on the American team for the 1960 Summer Olympics,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41122374/monday_club_eyes_olympics/|title=Monday Club Eyes Olympics|date=1960-01-07|work=Garden City Telegram|access-date=2019-12-27|pages=5|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41122718/olympic_laurels/|title=Olympic Laurels|date=1957-12-19|work=Haskell News|access-date=2019-12-27|pages=5}} but failed to qualify.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41123115/ann_roniger_not_on_olympic_team/|title=Ann Roniger Not On Olympic Team|date=1960-07-18|work=The Emporia Gazette|access-date=2019-12-27|pages=7|via=Newspapers.com}} In 1961 she transferred to the University of Hawaii, where she continued as a track athlete. In 1962, she set a state women's high jump record at Hawaii's Cooke Field.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41123268/u_s_record_set_by_leah_bennett/|title=U. S. Record Set by Leah Bennett|date=1962-01-15|work=The Honolulu Advertiser|access-date=2019-12-27|pages=43|via=Newspapers.com}}
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.
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.
References
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Category:People from Manhattan, Kansas
Category:American pentathletes
Category:Colorado State University alumni
Category:Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine athletes
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1959 Pan American Games
Category:Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States