By Adam Riglian

Nate Hunter was recruited by major conference schools like Arizona and Syracuse, but he chose to stay close to home and work with the strong throwing coaches at Northeastern.

The Gloucester native’s high school accolades include a New England outdoor shot put championship and three school records in addition to being named an All-State football player. He was also a two-time league MVP, six-time All-Star, National Scholastic All-American and was named to the Super 26 All-State football team by the Boston Globe.

Throwing coach Joe Donahue and head coach Sherman Hart were alerted to Hunter’s desire to attend Northeastern, and soon were among the coaches recruiting him. For Hunter, the decision was simple.

“I’ve loved it here, ever since I was a [high school] sophomore,” Hunter said.

Now entering his first season Hunter said he is right where he wants to be.

“[Hart] keeps the sport at a level where you want to compete,” Hunter said. “And I have seen a lot of coaches, nobody’s better than Joe.”

Donahue has had great success this year with his throwers, senior Derek Anderson qualified for nationals and junior Zara Northover is internationally-ranked.

The Husky staff is equally excited about Hunter, and with good reason. After Anderson departs the team at the end of the spring season, Hunter becomes the heir apparent to the throwing team.

“He doesn’t realize how good he’s going to be,” Donahue said.

Aside from coaching, Hunter attributes his growth as a thrower to Anderson, who plays a mentor role to the promising freshman.

“Physically, he is further along than myself, but needs more big-meet experience,” Anderson said. Along with technical improvements, Anderson is able to impart the competitive knowledge he has learned over a four-year career.

“He’s already shown huge strides in practice and competition. It wouldn’t surprise me over the course of a year if he increased his throw five to eight feet.”

Hunter’s coaches and teammates have commented on his mental and physical toughness. Donahue recalled Hunter calling him after meets, asking him to send a video of his throw.

“I think that once he’s through with freshman jitters, he’ll be right there,” Hart said.

Hart is confident Anderson and Hunter will finish first and second in the shot put at the Colonial Athletic Association Outdoor Championships. For now, Hunter has more reasonable goals set for himself.

Coming off a 51-foot throw last week, and admitting he has thrown much farther in practice, he may score points in any highly-competitive meet.

Hunter will be able to help the team even more in the spring season when his discus abilities will be on display.