PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—Sixth year thrower Adria Retter (Quakertown, Pa.) was recognized for her combination of athletic and academic achievement on Friday afternoon with the announcement of the PhillySIDA Academic All-Area Women's Track & Field Team as voted on by the sports information directors at Philadelphia area colleges and universities. Retter earned a spot on the Academic All-Area Team for the second time in her career and first time at Villanova; she was previously the Co-Performer of the Year at Swarthmore in 2023 when she was the Division III national champion in the discus.
 
The local academic honor is no small achievement, as student-athletes must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher in addition to being among their team's top performers on a conference and/or national level. Retter epitomized both sets of criteria as she compiled a perfect 4.0 GPA for both the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semesters while continuing to build her resume as one of the top throwers in school history. She ends her collegiate career ranked second in the Villanova record book in the discus while owning four of the top 10 single throws in program history. Three of those top 10 marks were recorded during the 2025 season.
 
Retter concentrated solely on the discus during the 2025 outdoor campaign and threw for a personal best mark of 52.31 meters in her second competition of the season. That was just four centimeters off the Wildcats all-time record, and Retter went on to qualify for the championship section of the discus at the Penn Relays for the second straight year while repeating as an All-BIG EAST selection in the event as well. She concluded the season and her collegiate career in the national first round flights at the NCAA East Preliminary in Jacksonville, Fla.
 
In two years at Villanova as a graduate transfer from Swarthmore, Retter left a significant impact in the program record book. She is ranked second in school history in the discus as well as third in the weight throw, fifth in the hammer and seventh in the shot put. Retter earned All-BIG EAST honors in the shot put indoors in 2024 as well as twice outdoors in the discus in each of the past two years. She was the BIG EAST discus champion in 2024.
 
Retter graduated from Swarthmore in 2023 as a Mathematics and Computer Science major, then enrolled at Villanova to pursue a Master's in Software Engineering. She earned a spot on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll in all four of her semesters at Villanova in addition to being named to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team and the BIG EAST All-Academic Team in 2023-24. Those honors will each be announced later this summer for 2024-25.