Oct 4, 2016 By Eleanor Bailey 8 min read

Socialization fueled Savannah Shaw’s passion for running at first. But today, winning fires up the Upper St. Clair junior.

Shaw was in eighth grade and living in Seattle when she started racing. A lacrosse player in the spring, Shaw picked up cross-country because her mom, Tara, wanted her to participate in a fall sport. Since all her friends were “doing it” Shaw decided on cross-country. “I ran for the social aspect,” Shaw admitted.

Socializing, however, hampered Shaw’s success.

“My mother realized that it wasn’t much of an effort for me. So at my last race, she told me not to talk to my friends and run real hard, as fast as I could,” she continued.

Shaw ran so fast she won the race.

“I was hooked on running ever since,” she said.

Indeed, Shaw no longer plays lacrosse. She runs spring track, excelling in the mile, in order to help her cross-country efforts. “I knew with cross country that I would have to do track, too, and I fell in love with the mile. Track and running has progressed me so much more,” she said.

This fall, Shaw’s progress has been remarkable. She started the cross country season by winning the California University of Pennsylvania Invitational. She followed that with a runner-up showing in the Red, White and Blue Classic at Schenley Park. Last week, she shattered the school and course record during a tri-meet with Bethel Park and Baldwin.

Shaw clocked an 18:05 and smashed the Boyce-Mayview Park course record of 18:37.4 set Sept. 22, 2015, by Dani Hinish of Bethel Park. Shaw also shattered the school mark of 19:25 set Oct. 9, 2012, by Betsy Erlanger.

Of the milestones, Shaw said they were unexpected, especially the team record, because she hadn’t broken 19:03. So that was a lot of time to take off a personal record in one meet, she explained.

“It was hard to believe,” she said. “I pushed hard the first mile. My time was 5:23 and I thought that was kind of slow. But then I said, ‘hold on, that’s really fast.’ I didn’t know what my time was at the second mile but I gasped when I looked at the clock and I was 100 yards away. ‘This is crazy’, I said. ‘Magical.’ Some really amazing runners have competed on this course so it truly was amazing.”

Before the season concludes with the WPIAL finals, set for Oct. 27 at Cooper’s Lake, and the PIAA championships, set for Nov. 5 in Hershey, Shaw plans to continue her amazing feats. She hopes to medal at states and place among the top three in the district.

Her stiffest competition will be Lauren Finkiotis. The Oakland Catholic senior won the Red, White and Blue Classic in 18:30.12, while Shaw secured second in 19:03.89. Finkiotis has run a personal record 18:15 this season.

“At RWB, I had my sights on (Finkiotis) the whole time, but she won,” Shaw said. “But I think it will be closer (at the WPIALs). The goal is to get out and be competitive with her and do better,” she continued. “I’ll have to wait and see how it goes.”

Winning the WPIAL title is Shaw’s dream.

“Oh my goodness that would be crazy,” she said. “I’m going to push hard but there are so many really good runners. It’s good to make goals. I like to keep it open.”

Shaw is open to the possibility that her running will take her places, particularly to college. Her goal is to run at the Division I level. Currently enthralled with “Running With The Buffaloes,” a book given to her by her coach Doug Petrick that chronicles the University of Colorado’s NCAA championship run, Shaw has considered a collegiate career. In addition to Colorado, Shaw is interested in the programs at the University of Washington and North Carolina State, which is ranked eighth in the country.

“I would love to have the running college experience,” she said. “Colorado would be quite a jump,” she admitted. “Washington has both a great cross country and track team that is ranked. North Carolina State is a great school. My parents and grandparents attended the school,” added the 16-year-old daughter of David Shaw. “But I am open to anything. I’ve moved a lot so I don’t mind going far.”

Indeed, Shaw has lived in many places, moving as many as seven times in her lifetime. She has lived in Seattle, Los Angeles, Florida, New York and North Carolina because her father has been relocated. He is in the advertising and marketing business.

“It’s hard to pick a favorite location because they all have a special place in my heart,” she said. “I’ve lived in a lot of beautiful places and have made a lot of good friends, particularly when I was running in Seattle.”

Not for a minute does Shaw ever regret specializing in running. “As much as I liked the other sports, particularly lacrosse, I loved running more. I made the choice and don’t regret it. Running year-round is good for you.”

In addition to running cross country and track, Shaw attended a training camp in Colorado this summer in preparation for the season. She has also competed in road races such as the Jingle Bell Run in Seattle and the USC Community Day 5K. She trains six days a week.

“Coach Petrick tells us it’s not magical. There is no secret formula (to getting better). Just practice and do that well. I’m looking for consistency for sure and I think six days of running leads to consistency.”

Plus, Shaw said her faith plays a role in her success.

“I’m a Christian, and I have a lot of faith. I see the courses that I run as challenging and when I see a hill, experience a cramp or have pain, I prayer about it and I run through it.”

Throughout the races, Shaw also has her friends along side of her. That, of course, is important to her.

“I love my team and my teammates, and we have had so many cool experiences thanks to running. Our team has evolved a lot, and I’d love to have my team come to states (with me), too. That would be one of my other goals. My friends are really important to me.”

USC teams are 5-1

The USC girls’ and boys’ cross country teams were both 5-1 heading into this weeks’ final meet of the season with Canon-McMillan and South Fayette.

In the meet against BP and Baldwin, Vianna Shiry, a freshman, finished second behind Shaw, while Lydia Lucas took third. Nicole Naumann and Sarah Martin rounded out the Panthers’ top five finishers.

“The girls ran smart and really aggressively,” said Petrick. “It’s great to see kids step up in big races when it counts the most. This group of kids have diverse interests and talents, but when its time to race they come together as a group. “Coach (Maureen) Chermak and I are so proud of the selflessness they demonstrate every time that they race. The fact that Savannah, Vianna, and Lydia were the first three girls in the finish is just a testament to the hard work and intelligent decisions that they have made on a daily basis. To have Nicole and Sarah run so strong is really rewarding. It’s obvious how the girls inspire each other on a daily basis.”

On the boys’ side, Casey Conboy set the tone. The Baldwin harrier, like Shaw, shattered the course record. His time of 15:50 smashed the old mark by 20 seconds. CJ Hess of USC finished runner up while Justin Densmore, Matt Higgs, Alex Shaw, Tommy O’Brien and Mike Gallagher ran in a tight pack and rounded out placed four through eight overall.

“It was awesome to see the course record go down by Casey,” Petrick said. “He’s a smart runner and very well coached.

“CJ has been so tough and consistent all season,” Petrick continued. “He’s only a sophomore and gets better with each outing. The daily tone he sets at practice really has helped the other guys elevate their game.

“Our next five guys ran in a pack and gutted it out at the end racing each other. Coach Chermak has talked all season about pushing yourself all the time in races. If you continue to do this, it becomes a habit. It made us proud to see that pack come in and no one was content with easing up- even though they were all Panthers.”