Upper St. Clair runner commits to NC State
While Savannah Shaw will spend the Thanksgiving weekend in New York City, Macy’s, with it’s vaunted parade and iconic store, is not the American corporation on her mind. Foot Locker is.
The Upper St. Clair senior, along with her brother, Alex, a sophomore, will be competing in the Foot Locker Eastern Regionals to be held Nov. 25 in historic Van Corlandt Park. The race has featured many NCAA luminaries and Olympians. Shaw will run the same route they did during their high school careers.
Shaw also has a similar objective.
“To make it to nationals. For sure,” she said. “Considering my progression this year, I think this is a realistic goal but it is still a challenge to be overcome.”
Experience will enable her to surmount the competition. Shaw needs to be among the Top 10 finishers in a race she participated in as a junior. The top 40 from the four regional races, including west, midwest and south, advance to the national event to be held Dec. 9 in San Diego.
Noting she ran well in last year’s race, her high school coach, Doug Petrick expects Shaw to punch her ticket to California.
“She’s improved so much from her junior year and has progressed as an intelligent racer with a nasty kick,” he said. “She’s such a great competitor and thrives in these types of situations.”
Shaw has thrived not just as a top harrier in the district and the state but as the top cross country runner to come out of USC.
After breaking records for the Panthers, securing second place in the WPIAL and taking third in the PIAA championships, Shaw capped her fall campaign with all-state recognition. She earned the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches’ Association’s distinction for cross country for the second year in a row. Shaw is the only runner from USC to secure the honor thus cementing the acclaim as the best there’s ever been in her sport at USC.
“It’s pretty cool to get that title but personally I want my USC records to be broken some day,” said the 17-year-old daughter of Tara and David Shaw. “I would rather the team keep improving than to keep my records forever. We have a lot of young talent on my team and I’m so excited to see where they go.”
Shaw, herself, is excited to see where her talents take her once she enrolls at North Carolina State University. She made a commitment to the Wolfpack on Nov. 8 when she signed a national letter-of-intent, accepting the school’s scholarship offer. She selected the Wolfpack over Syracuse, Pitt and Colorado.
“It had the best mix of academics, athletics and finances,” said Shaw, who will major in business. “I really love the people there; the coaches, team, etc. They also have such a positive and exciting vibe. That’s something I wanted in college after having experienced that in a similar environment here at USC.”
NC State, likewise, wanted Shaw for a variety of reasons. The Wolfpack just won the girls’ cross country title in the ACC and Shaw is a proven commodity, having led the Panthers to their best showing as a team in the WPIAL as well as a section banner with an undefeated dual-meet record.
Petrick thinks Shaw and NC State are a “perfect” fit.
“They are getting an elite runner that has so much to offer. Savannah is a dynamic individual. She has been instrumental in moving our program forward. She helped us improve as coaches and progress as a team.”
Because she will continue to participate in track, Shaw will be even more polished by the time she arrives on the NC State campus next fall. Shaw is both an indoor and outdoor champion that specializes in distances from 800- to 3,200-meters in track. This spring, she anticipates running a sub 4:50 mile and dropping her times in the 800 and two-mile events.
While opportunities to participate in prestigious meets such as the Brooks PR Invitational and Penn Relays are on the table, they are not Shaw’s primary objectives.
“My only goal for running is to improve, no matter how big or small,” she said. “Anything more than that, even winning states, is just icing on the cake.”