Saint Augustine's Shaw brings home NCAA title, Makes Daddy Proud

 David Shaw Jr. won his first individual national championship
on Friday in the triple jump at the NCAA Division II Outdoor
Track and Field Championships in Allendale, Michigan. The 
St. Pauls native leaped a career-best 51 feet, 11 inches
 on his first jump to claim the title.
CIAA |Contributed photo

ST. PAULS, North Carolina — On Friday afternoon, David Shaw Sr. was sitting in his backyard, waiting to receive a call from his son, D.J., who was competing at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Allendale, Michigan.

When Shaw Sr. finally got the call from his 22-year-old son, there was a brief moment of silence on the other end.

“He sort of paused on me,” Shaw Sr. said. “Then finally he went to laughing and said, ‘Daddy, I won nationals.’

“We probably talked about 20 more minutes and I couldn’t have been prouder.”

David Shaw Jr., or D.J. as he’s commonly known, won the D2 men’s national championship in the triple jump at Grand Valley State University, his first individual title as a member of the Saint Augustine’s University track and field team.

“I couldn’t believe it, it was one of the best feelings ever,” said D.J., who leaped a career-best 51 feet, 11 inches on his first jump to claim the victory. “All I could do was thank God for opportunity. It’s every college athlete’s dream to win a national title.”

The St. Pauls native secured 10 points for the Falcons en route to the school’s third consecutive national team championship on Saturday, making D.J. a five-time national champion. The win also gave legendary coach George Williams his 36th national title, which is the most NCAA track and field championships for any coach, regardless of division.

Shaw Sr., a legendary track coach in his own right after 33 seasons at St. Pauls High School, ran track for Williams at Saint Augustine’s. That made his son’s national title even more special.

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