This Bergen Catholic freshman is shattering records. How high is his ceiling?

Benjamin Shue is not your typical freshman.

He's competed at the national level in wrestling, the shot put and the discus since he was 7. He's traveled all over the country in pursuit of his athletic dreams, and he entered Bergen Catholic with expectations rarely seen of a first-year high school student.

So far, so good.

In his second outdoor track meet, a double dual on April 5 against DePaul and Paramus Catholic, he set a state freshman record and Bergen Catholic school record in the discus, throwing the 3½-pound platter 181 feet, 3 inches. On Wednesday, he broke the national freshman record and the Bergen County record with a throw of 192-3 at the Jack Yockers Bergen County Relays.

"He's still learning and refining his technique,'' Bergen Catholic coach Mike Begen said. "But he's at another level than anyone I've coached before. He's very relaxed and knows his goals and what he wants to do.''

How it began

Shue doesn't remember exactly when he first threw the shot or the discus. He just knows he was about 7 and his parents, Bill (a football player, wrestler and thrower from York, Pennsylvania) and Aileen (an excellent basketball player and thrower at Paramus Catholic), signed him up for a program in his hometown of Carlstadt.

Shue had already spent a season in age-group wrestling and traveled to a summer tournament in Michigan, but now he added shot-putting, going to his first national tournament, in Greensboro, North Carolina in 2012, six weeks before his seventh birthday.

"The really fun part of competing is succeeding and winning,'' said Shue, who liked the sport right away. "But from the beginning, whenever we traveled to wrestling tournaments and track meets, my parents always found something fun for the three of us to do as a family when I wasn't competing. Our trips were our family vacations.''

Both parents were involved in helping coach Benji, as the couple had met while attending Albright College in Pennsylvania, where Aileen Mulligan still holds the indoor school record in the weight throw and is second in the hammer throw.

"She brags about that all the time,'' said Benji, who added the discus to his repertoire when he turned 10. "Mom was always better with the discus and hammer, but dad was better with the shot.''  

He won several age group shot put titles and won his first national discus crown at age 10 at a meet in Kansas, the day after his worst-ever performance in the shot.

"This can be a very humbling sport,'' said Shue. "I had won several age group championships in the shot and at this meet I was 10th. I just knew I had to keep working hard.''

Making decisions

Shue kept wrestling and playing football at a high level, and he competed on the national level as a thrower, becoming one of the five finalists in the 2017 SportsKid of the Year contest sponsored by Sports Illustrated,

He and his parents made the decision to attend Bergen Catholic, where he could compete at a higher level in all three sports and get a good education.

At the same time, they made another, more controversial decision in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that started in the late winter of 2020: Shue repeated eighth grade.

"I was doing well that winter in youth wrestling and had a good chance to win at states, but then COVID happened,'' said Shue, who will turn 17 on Sept. 12. "COVID and sports were a big consideration for why I repeated eighth grade and I'm happy with the decision.''

Losing the opportunity to play sports during the pandemic made for a frustrating and upsetting year, which also included his parents splitting up and the death of his beloved grandfather, James Mulligan.

"I was stuck at home all day in a program (based in Monmouth County) and I wasn't so focused myself,'' he admits. "I had lessons to do in a couple of subjects, and if I didn't feel like doing them, I could do two (the next day). 

"I had to wait until someone got home to take me to do my sports. Then I hurt my back last spring and didn't really have a track season. It was frustrating.''

On to Bergen Catholic

The 2021-2022 school year brought Shue back into a school building for three seasons of sports at Bergen Catholic. At 6-foot-2, 245 pounds, Shue is a lineman on the football team, and he wrestled several varsity matches at 285 pounds behind state runner-up Dominick Brogna.

When wrestling season ended for Shue, he took a back seat to no one.

He threw unattached in three late-season winter meets in the shot put, reaching an indoor best of 58-2½ to take fourth in the 17-18 age group at USATF indoor Youth nationals at Ocean Breeze in late March. That mark is one of the top 20 indoor throws in Bergen County history and is second behind only Shaun McGregor's 60-4¼ effort from 1996. It was the seventh best throw by a New Jersey thrower this winter. 

That set the stage for his official high school throwing debut on April 1 at the oddly-named Maryland "No" Trail Invitational at Bohemia Manor High School in Chesapeake City, Maryland, more than 150 miles away from Oradell.

On a cold, damp day when the Crusaders spent three hours on a bus each way and six or more hours at the facility, Shue unleashed an outdoor shot of best of 58-0½ and threw 167-10 in the discus.

 "Even though it was cold, and I was tired, I was in the zone (while I was throwing the shot) and it was really clicking,'' he said after the meet. "I was disappointed with my discus throw, though.''

Four days later, he remedied that with a 181-3 throw that broke the previous state freshman record of 169-6, set in 2012 by Sam Mattis of East Brunswick, a 2021 U.S. Olympian, who won the 2015 NCAA and 2019 U.S. titles.

On April 14, he won the Mountie Madness shot (57-11) and discus (170-4) titles at Suffern (N.Y.) Middle School.

"He's worked so hard to get to this point,'' said his father, Bill, who is a Dwight-Englewood weight coach. "It's been awesome for me to see as a father – and as a coach.''

What does the future hold? 

Veteran coach Mike Theuerkauf of Demarest, one of the top throws coaches in the state – and a New Jersey state and ACC shot put champion himself – thinks Shue could be the best combo-thrower in state history before he graduates.

"He is very strong and fast for his age, and he has the drive, the passion and the talent to be the first New Jersey thrower to throw 70 feet in the shot and 200 in the discus,'' said Theuerkauf, who has known Shue for several years. "He has always worked hard and always has fun. And he's around people who are looking out for his best interests.''

Bergen Catholic coach Begen called Shue a great leader and great teammate.

"He cares more about the team than himself,'' Begen said. "After he set the discus record, the first thing is asked was what the team score was. He's very mature for his age and he's a very good leader, and he helps with the less experienced throwers.''

No one has a higher expectation than Shue himself.

"I know it would be very difficult to do, but I would like to win a state championship this year in something," he said. "I know that there are a lot of great throwers in both events in New Jersey. But I expect a lot from myself.''

Benji Shue by the numbers

Shot put

Bergen Catholic major meet record — 58-0½ (currently No. 40 in Bergen County history).

Bergen County freshman record (old mark 51-8 by Andrew Trumbetti, Demarest, 2011). No. 2 in state history (record, 67-10¼ by Nick Vena, Morristown, 2008).

Personal best — 59-1 in dual meet (Bergen Catholic school record, 59-6½ by Carl Barisch, 1969)

Currently ranked 12th since 2000 among all American freshmen (Vena's mark is national class record)

Bergen County record — 68-3 by Andy Papathanassiou, Emerson, 1985.

New Jersey state record — 75-10¼ by Vena, 2011.

National record — 81-3½ by Michael Carter, Dallas, Texas, 1979.