On Wednesday, May 29, 2019, Quakertown senior Adria Retter was recognized for committing to continue her track and field career at Swarthmore College. To view photos of the event, please visit the photo gallery by clicking on the following link: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/p179292119
Adria Retter- Swarthmore College (Track & Field)
Major: Cognitive Science
Final list of colleges: Swarthmore, Messiah, Lehigh
Reasons for choosing Swarthmore: “Small familial environment, rigorous academic setting and track team dynamic.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in track and field at the collegiate level? “The recruiting process started at the end of junior year due to my shoulder injury. After PR-ing in the fall of my senior year with discus, coaches started paying serious attention.”
Coach Jason Anderson says: “If you’ve had the great fortune to be Adria’s teacher or coach, you have probably come to the realization that we have, and that really right in the beginning of the relationship you understand that you as the mentor are really learning about how to live, how to succeed, how to try the hardest at everything you do. It’s really been a privilege. It took all three of us (coaches) to manage everything that Adria does, whether it’s the 7 a.m. lifting workouts on Saturday or the Sunday after her trip to Q-Mart throwing in the circle or you might even see her outside during lunch at school throwing in her circle. As a student, she really has no equal. She literally is first in her class. As an athlete, I had to Google to try and find some words. When I Googled it, I found that athlete is Greek for competing and winning prizes. I thought to myself how many times I’ve seen Adria go out and win prizes, and I kind of envision in the foyer of her house there’s this huge pile of medals where she comes in from a hard day in the discus circle and the shot circle and takes off her gold medal and chucks it on this big pile and adds one more medal to the medal pile. Adria is the personification of an athlete. Dr. Hood taught her how to long jump in like six seconds, so she did that in our meets. She would have won a varsity letter with just those points, let alone shot put and discus. She holds the school records for both shot and discus for women’s track and field, and they’re insurmountable. I don’t think they’ll be broken for decades. She was the first female athlete from Quakertown to qualify for Penn Relays. She got eighth in that international competition at the oldest continuous running athletic event in the country. She has received lots of awards, lots of recognition. Probably the best thing I could say about her though is how perceptive and thoughtful she is, the approach she takes with people she comes in contact with. If there’s something that’s vexing you, you should probably ask Adria for her advice. If you want a non-judgmental explanation of the workings of the world, you should probably ask Adria. If you just want to see an elite athlete use a fluid motion to throw a (discus or shot put) very, very, very far, you can watch Adria do that. The opportunity to be part of her life these past three years is a gift that I will cherish. Swarthmore is very lucky to have convinced her to attend. On behalf of our entire team, we wish her the best. We congratulate her on being one of the best student-athletes to ever graduate from Quakertown.”
About Adria:
Favorite food: Watermelon
Favorite movie: Willy Wonka
Favorite music: Brandi Carlile
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