Benjamin Shue Named New Jersey Track & Field Player of the Year

Photo Credits:

BERGEN CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-ATHLETE NAMED GATORADE NEW JERSEY BOYS TRACK & FIELD PLAYER OF THE YEAR

(June 27, 2024) — In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Benjamin Shue of Bergen Catholic High School is the 2023-24 Gatorade New Jersey Boys Track & Field Player of the Year. Shue is the first Gatorade New Jersey Boys Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Bergen Catholic High School.

Athletic Excellence

The 6-foot-2, 275-pound junior throws specialist won the national championship in the discus at New Balance Nationals Outdoor this past season and took second in the shot put to earn dual All-American honors. At the Non-Public Group A state meet, Shue launched the shot a personal-best 69 feet, 2 inches, a winning effort that ranked No. 6 nationally among boys prep competitors this spring at the time of his selection. He also PR’d at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions, this time in the discus, winning with a throw of 205-4, which ranked tied for seventh nationally.

Academic Achievement

Shue has maintained a 97.63 GPA in the classroom. He will begin his senior year of high school this fall.

Exemplary Character

Also an offensive lineman on the school’s state championship football team as well as an All-State wrestling performer, Shue has volunteered locally by working with aspiring wrestlers in grades K-8, and on behalf of the West Milford Youth Track Club Camp. He also has donated his time measuring throws distances and recording results at area youth track and field meets.

Source Link: https://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/winner/benjamin-shue/40543

Athlete's Latest Article

Injured Shue repeats at Meet of Champions

Jun 05, 2025

Shue repeats as discus champion despite injury woesShue is undoubtedly the best thrower in New Jersey. A 43-year-old North Jersey discus record? In the bag. 2024 New Balance Nationals? Of course, he brought home the title. 2024 State Meet of Champions? It was a given. But a torn pectoral muscle has slowed down his trajectory. For the last four weeks, Shue has not practiced and his results, although still among New Jersey’s best, have significantly dropped. A 174-10 throw at the Gene “Red” Littler Bergen County Championships was still good for first place, but was over eight feet behind his throw at the league championship. Teaneck’s Everton Bills outhrew Shue by over 13 feet at the Bergen Meet of Champions. Shue’s throw of 173-4 at the Non-Public A group meet led to just his third second-place finish at a New Jersey track and field meet in four years. Shue called his injury a guessing game. One day it would be great. Another day it wouldn’t. To repeat at SMOC, he needed luck to be on his side and a fast start to break his funk. He got both. “I knew that if I was going to do something, I was going to have to put something out there first to set the tone. I feel like I did that today,” Shue said.A throw of 186-11 set the standard. But the job wasn’t finished as Petter Donini, Anthony Liakhnovich, Capp DeShelpo and Bills remained in contention. He paced back and forth between throws. His father, Bill, shouted instructions and guidance to him and Bills, who he helps train, to help with the process. Yet as the event continued, his chest pain got worse and worse, which resulted in shorter throws. Liaknovich went close. Donini went closer and came within two feet of the Texas signee. It seemed inevitable that someone would catch the stricken Shue. But his first throw was enough to hold off the six from each of his close competitors for a first title in just under a month. “I saw them bomb and I just got that feeling like when I’m about to wrestle or play a football game,” Shue said. “It wasn’t easy, but getting the first throw out of the way just took a lot of pressure off me.”

Meet of Champions: Ben Shue repeats as discus champ

Jun 04, 2025

Bergen Catholic’s Shue overcomes injury to defend discus title at 2025 Meet of ChampionsDespite battling a partially torn pectoral muscle that has hampered his performance in recent weeks, Bergen Catholic senior Ben Shue delivered when it mattered most. On Wednesday, Shue captured his second consecutive Meet of Champions discus title with a throw of 186-11—an emphatic statement of resilience and determination.Shue had finished second in both the Bergen County Meet of Champions and the Non-Public A Championships, falling 30 to 40 feet short of his personal best. Many in his position might have ended their season early. But Shue, driven by a champion’s mindset, chose to compete.With the crowd clapping in rhythm—a signature move that’s become synonymous with his throws—Shue stepped into the circle and launched the winning mark, securing his place atop the state once again.“It’s not sugarcoating it to say that this season was tough,” said Shue afterwards. “I was coming from football season where I had torn rotator cuff and the throwing didn’t hurt, so in in my head i’m fine, but I couldn’t lift at all. I had to stop lifting during football and wrestling seasons. I finally was able to go 100% and had my best chest workout the Saturday after Penn Relays. That Tuesday afterwards was when I tore my pec”.“This was the best I felt with my chest”, Shue added. “Can’t complain with having it on a day like this and it’s it is special because of how things went last year, being pissed off from shot put to coming over here to PR and have a top five mark all time in SMOC [State Meet of Champions] history with no technique involved, I was just pissed off”.“I didn’t know how far it was gonna be, I thought it would be around what I threw or a little bit farther, but I knew I could come up with something around there because I’ve done millions of times, but it was just it was getting it done and that feeling of relief. After that last one, I looked at my dad, he fist bumped me and I shed a little tear, I knew it was special”.His journey through the Meet of Champions has been anything but linear. As a freshman, he entered as the top seed but finished sixth. He placed second as a sophomore before breaking through last year with a 205-4 throw, the fourth-longest in New Jersey history“Through the years this meet has owed me,” said Shue with a smile. “From freshman year, me and Fabian [Gonzalez] being one and two in the state all year long to finishing sixth, I went from freshman year to sophomore, both me and Fabian, dueling it out to where we’re both injured by the end of the season, then last year, I just kind of put it all together and this year, I just had to rebuild myself to to make my chest as good and ready as possible and it was enough today”.This season, he closes out his high school career with a season-best of 200-1, once again finishing as the state’s top discus thrower.For Shue, it’s a fitting end to a remarkable high school career—one defined not just by distance, but by heart.

Interview With Boys Discus Champ Benji Shue

Jun 04, 2025

In today’s video, we’re diving into an exclusive interview with one of New Jersey's standout athletes of the season, Benji Shue. Fresh off his impressive victory in the boys’ discus event, Benji shares his journey, training insights, and what it takes to dominate in such a challenging sport. Whether you’re a track and field enthusiast or just curious about what goes into becoming a champion, you won’t want to miss this. Let’s hear from the champ himself!" Click link below for full interview.