AUSTIN — Valerie Hunt is headed to Lubbock with two more gold medals.
Hunt, a senior at Monahans, won both her events Thursday at the Class 4A UIL state track and field meet. It was the second year in a row the Texas Tech signee left Mike A. Myers Stadium with gold in the discus and shot put.
Hunt set a 4A girls state meet record with a 160-foot, 8-inch throw in the discus and reached 48-7¾ in shot put. Both were significant improvements over her winning tosses last year, 151-1 and 46-0¼, respectively.
“I definitely upped my stuff and my training,” Hunt said. “Being consistent with my throws, it’s got me here. I’m working harder.”
Hunt reached the state meet all four years at Monahans. Last season she also competed in the pole vault, but she said she’ll stick to throwing at Tech. She said it was “kind of a relief” she didn’t qualify in three events because of the busy schedule at the one-day meet.
Hunt didn’t always foresee track in her future. Her first exposure was in elementary school, and then she grew to like it as she got older.
“Junior high I tried it again and ended up enjoying it,” Hunt said. “Here we are now.”
Hunt said the Tech coaches, facilities and her future teammates drew her to the program. She’s looking forward to Lubbock, a similar but bigger city than Monahans with “more food options,” she said with a laugh.
“(I’m excited about) just being able to see what I can do in college,” Hunt said. “Just see how far I can go.”