Bergen Catholic star thrower Benjamin Shue makes his college choice
Benjamin Shue has known what he wanted to do in sports since before he was 8 years old. He's known from the time he went to his first wrestling matches, played in his first football game and threw the shot and discus for the first time.
"Every little kid growing up wants to play college sports on the Division I level, and it's awesome that I am going to get the chance to do that," the Bergen Catholic junior said.
He announced on Instagram on Wednesday morning that he has verbally committed to throw the show and discus at the University of Texas.
"I wanted to make my decision now and get it out of the way so I can enjoy the rest of this season and my senior year next year,'' said Shue, who selected the Longhorns over other NCAA powerhouses like South Carolina and Penn State. "It's such a cool school and has every thing I want."
Shue, who will major in mechanical engineering, started at guard this year for the Crusaders football team that won a third state Non-Public A title. He also finished fourth in the state in the 285-pound wrestling weight class the last two winters.
That led to talk that Shue might try to play one of those two sports as well as throw in college , but the 6-foot-2, 285 pounder chose to become a full-time collegiate track and field athlete.
"Texas produces throwing legends and I've wanted to throw for (Texas throws coach) Zeb Sion since I started following him several years ago," said Shue, who has had a stunning career since he entered high school in the fall of 2021. "It's also the highest-rated school for mechanical engineering of those I looked at." (U.S. News & World Report placed the UT Cockrell School of Engineering as #11 in the nation in its most recent rankings)."
The University of Texas is the alma mater of Ryan Crouser, a two-time Olympic and World Champion in the shot put, who set the world record last year when he threw the 16-pound shot 77 feet, 3½ inches.
Shue set the New Jersey freshman record in the discus early in his freshman year and went on to set the national freshman record of 192-3 at Bergen County Jack Yockers Relays exactly two years before he announced he was headed to Austin. The 192-3 throw, one of an amazing 14 over 190 feet in his career, broke the 42-year old Bergen County mark set by two-time Olympian Mike Buncic of Fair Lawn, who threw 189-7 in 1980.
Shue extended his Bergen County record to a personal best of 200-10 last May, a state sophomore record, and came close to that personal best when he won the prestigious Arcadia Invitational a week ago with a dramatic 200-3 throw on his final attempt. Tuesday, he threw a personal best 204-10 1/2 in a dual meet with Paramus Catholic, but that isn't recognized as a county record unless it is thrown in a meet with five or more teams.
His personal best in the shot put of 64 feet was set at last year's Bergen County Meet of Champions, and his professed goal is to become the first New Jersey high school thrower to throw 70 feet in the shot and 200 feet in the discus.
Ironically, Crouser, who won the NCAA shot put title four times, does not hold the school record in the event. That mark is held by Tripp Piperi, who won the 2022 NCAA title and is currently ranked 12th in the world by World Athletics and is still coached by Sion in his professional career.
"I know I can improve my strength and coach Sion is perfect for that," said Shue, who hopes to throw at the Texas Relays as a high school student next year with the proposed change in New Jersey's spring schedule. "There's such an awesome atmosphere for everything down there."
Shue hopes to finally add an elusive State Meet of Champions title this spring after finishing second the last two years in the discus and in the top five for the shot. He also placed second at the past two New Balance Nationals at Philadelphia's Franklin Field.
He might have missed out on this year's SMOC as well because of a conflict between the state championship and the USATF U-20 World Championships qualifier in mid-June but the USATF announced that the United States will not send a team to Lima, Peru for the World Championships this summer, citing travel concerns.
"It's my last chance to make U-20s," said Shue, who started high school a year late because of the 2020-21 COVID pandemic. "I'm really disappointed that I don't have a chance to go to Worlds but now I can win a state title."
Shue can officially sign a letter of intent to attend Texas beginning Nov. 13.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Benjamin Shue verbally commits to Texas track and field
