HILLIARDS — James Parenti enjoys throwing his weight around.

The Moniteau graduate and Grove City College freshman excelled in the weight throw this indoor season for the Wolverines.

Parenti finished 23rd at the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference Championships in early March at Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y.

To get there, he threw the weight 50 feet, 3½ inches at the Presidents' Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship in late February. His throw was good enough for second in the conference and also broke his own school record that he set earlier in the season.

“It was great,” Parenti said. “That was really the goal I had coming in.”

Parenti came to Grove City College with some experience throwing the weight, even though it is not a sanctioned PIAA event.

He qualified for the New Balance Indoor Nationals in the weight throw as a senior for the Warriors.

“I was actually lucky enough to get to do it in high school in our indoor season (at Moniteau),” Parenti said. “In college, it gets 10 pounds heavier.”

At first, that was a daunting adjustment for Parenti, who admitted he got by in high school throwing the weight with pure strength.

That doesn't works so well with the heavier implement in college.

“I could muscle it quite a ways in high school,” Parenti said. “I could throw it OK without much work on technique. In college ... it was tough.”

The biggest thing Parenti had learn was to slow down.

“It's really easy to just slip and want to go fast and just rip it out there,” Parenti said. “I was trying to be lightning quick and that doesn't work.”

Parenti had to do a lot of the work on his own.

He was his own weight throw coach and filmed himself to pick apart his technique.

He also sent his videos to other throwers, hoping to get their critique.

“It's a lot of trial and error,” Parenti said.

A week before the conference championship, Parenti sent a video of his throws to former Slippery Rock University standout thrower JJ Ollio.

Ollio was a 20-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship qualifier, a 10-time All-PSAC honoree and a three-time national qualifier.

Parenti said the feedback was invaluable.

Parenti believes he is just scratching the surface on what he can do in the weight throw.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Parenti is throwing when and where he can.

It's been a challenge.

“It's tough to really not be able to get out and do things,” Parenti said.

Parenti is also a defensive tackle on the Grove City College football team.

He saw some action as a freshman this fall.

“It was more fun than I expected it to be,” Parenti said. “Going into it, I wasn't too sure about playing football, too.”

But Parenti, who was on some good football teams at Moniteau, said the positive attitude with the Wolverines was infectious.

Grove City has gone from a string of winless seasons just three years ago to back-to-back years in which it won a postseason bowl game.

“No one ever takes a day off,” Parenti said. “Even when you go in thinking maybe I'll take it easy, there's no way you can. You just want to go all-out all the time and that's a pretty special thing about this program.”