Shelbi Vaughan
Legacy High School
Impact Statement
Vaughan’s ability with the discus is stellar. She has had success on every level, including the Olympics.
Biography
The three-time state discus champion set a national high school record in the event at the Texas Relays on March 31. Her throw of 191-6 bettered by nearly 15 feet the personal best she had established just one week earlier and broke the national record of 190-3, which had stood since 2009.
She went on to set the all-class state record in the 5A state meet with a throw of 187-10, and also won her first shot put title with a throw of 50-1¼. She was the state runner-up in the shot put her sophomore and junior seasons.
This year’s discus title was her second in 5A. After transferring from Azle High School, where she won the 4A discus title as a sophomore with a throw of 144-8, Vaughan won as a junior with a then-5A record throw of 161 feet. Deceptively fast despite her 6-foot-2 frame, she also ran on Legacy’s 4×100 relay team. Last summer, Vaughan won the discus at the USATF Outdoor Junior Championships at Eugene, Ore. (165-5) and the Pan-American Junior Championships at Miramar, Fla. (174-3). She was the bronze medalist at the IAAF World Youth Championships at Lille, France (172-6). Her meet-best throw of 176-5¼ didn’t count because it occurred in the preliminaries.
An all-around athlete, Vaughan started playing T-ball at age 3, played basketball until her sophomore year and, despite her track and field accomplishments, will attend Texas A&M University on a volleyball scholarship, though the outside hitter plans to compete in both sports. Vaughan, who holds a 3.7 grade-point average, led her team in kills (579), blocks (70) and aces (51) and was second in digs (367).
At Texas A&M Vaughan continued her success. As a freshman, she was named Girls Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News. She won four Southeastern Conference Championship titles. As a sophomore and junior, she won the Outdoor NCAA Championships in the discus. As a senior, she finished sixth.
In 2016 Vaughan was a member of the United States Olympic Team.
Photos
Community Service
Vaughan volunteers to feed the homeless and also volunteers with special needs students.
