CHERRY TWP — It was counter to everything James Parenti is as an athlete.

Ferocious on the football field, the Moniteau senior is known for his will, tenacity and ability to use his tremendous strength to roll up pancake blocks as an offensive guard and bowl over lineman as a defensive tackle.

But the weight throw during the indoor track and field season was different for Parenti.

The weight throw required patience. Finesse. A certain calm temperament.

“You have to let it do its thing,” Parenti said. “You have to relax, which was hard for me to do.”

Parenti tackled that challenge by going zen. He did yoga and lots of visualization.

It worked.

Parenti's best throw of the season was 63 feet, 7 inches at Youngstown State and he qualified for the New Balance Nationals Indoor meet at the Armory in New York City.

Parenti didn't do as well as he would have liked there, throwing 59-8½, but the experience was invaluable.

“When you walk into that building where every great track and field athlete in this country and a lot of other countries have entered — not a lot of people do that,” said Moniteau throwing coach Ryan Protzman. “He was there with the best of the best.”

Parenti was a late bloomer in the event, which isn't exactly prominent in Pennsylvania.

That was one of the draws for Parenti to try the weight throw.

“It was just something different, something interesting,” Parenti said.

He never touched the weight during his freshman season and threw it just a couple of times as a sophomore.

Even last year, he barely scratched the surface on what he accomplished this winter.

“It was kind of a big improvement,” Protzman said. “He got a weight for Christmas his junior year — Santa Claus was nice — and he threw 50-10 last year. This year, he just took off.”

Parenti will put the weight away for outdoor season.

Next year, he will attend Grove City College to play football and throw for the Wolverines' track and field team.

He's already gearing up for that experience.

An all-state selection as an offensive guard, Parenti figures to be a major part of the Grove City College line in years to come.

But Parenti never really had any inkling of playing football in college until his senior year at Moniteau.

“I thought I was just going to go somewhere and throw,” Parenti said. “But (offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator) Derrick Baney invited me down for a gameday visit and it was just awesome. Seeing the enthusiasm of all the coaches and the players, I knew that was something I wanted to be a part of.”

Grove City is also a rising program.

After enduring a 33-game losing streak, the Wolverines made strides in the 2017 season and then had a breakthrough 2018 campaign with an 8-3 record and a bowl win.

“That's also something I want to be a part of,” Parenti said.

He was a part of a resurgence of sorts at Moniteau.

The Warriors reached the District 9 semifinals in the fall.

“I'd like to think we changed the culture a little bit,” Parenti said. “I just wanted to do my part as a senior and a leader. I played varsity my freshman year and I remembered all the seniors and what they meant to the team and I wanted to make that type of impact.”