Tonya Nero is part of the 2020 Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame induction class. The class will be inducted on Sat., Jan. 25.

Kirk Hunter helped recruit Tonya Nero for Wichita State before he worked at Wichita State and before she ran under his coaching.
 
While they started at different schools, they ended up at Wichita State together.
 
Nero, from Trinidad and Tobago, excelled as a distance runner from 2009-11. In 2010, Hunter came to Wichita State to coach distance running after 10 years at Butler Community College.
 
Hunter, while coaching at Butler, saw Nero run for Colby Community College at a meet in Hutchinson. He told Marc Burns, then the Wichita State coach, to recruit her.
 
"My top girl, at the time, and I were sitting there watching Tonya, on a 30-mile-an-hour windy day, by herself just cranking off the laps and killing everybody," Hunter said. "We were like 'That girl is really good.'"
 
Nero soon proved Hunter correct on her way to induction into the Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame.
 
"I think I called Marc from the track," Hunter said. "There was nobody close to her. It was a terrible day. To me, that showed mental toughness. Showed the ability to be probably better than she had shown to that point."
 
Nero appreciated Hunter's helpful personality. She is in her second year as a graduate assistant coach at Wichita State while she runs professionally.
 
"I felt like I had a family that was away from home," she said. "I could ask (Hunter) about anything. He never acted surprised if I said something or asked a question. He was like a dad and it made me close to him."
 
In 2009, Nero finished third in the Missouri Valley Conference cross country meet and helped the Shockers to a team title. A year later, she won the MVC title, again part of a team title, and finished 16th in the NCAA Championships.
 
In track, she won six MVC titles and earned All-American honors in the indoor 5,000 meters and the outdoor 10,000 in 2011. She was a part of three MVC track championships and earned Most Valuable Athlete honors at the 2010 MVC indoor meet.
 
In indoor track, she ranks second on Wichita State's career list for the 5,000 (16:01.69) and fifth in the mile (4:46.35) and 3,000 (9:30.10). Outdoors, she ranks second in the 10,000 (33:11.71), third in the 1,500 (4:22.74) and fifth in the 5,000 (16:19.17).
 
"She's very coachable and she never had any fear," Hunter said. "You would tell her to do something and she would just do it. There was no question. She would go out and do it and perform at a very high level."
 
Nero came from a running family. Her parents met on the Jackson State University track team. She followed her older brother, Sendino to Colby. Scarla Nero, her younger sister, followed her to Wichita State.
 
"I started running at 5 years old with them and never stopped," she said. "Back home, running was just fun. Wichita just felt like home and I felt loved."

She loves the solitude of running. She sings motivational songs from artists such as Trinidad's Rizon – "Act Like You Know" is her current favorite – and others.
 
"I feel free," she said. "I can talk to God. I can sing my songs and have my mind somewhere that is not here."