With each passing day, Avery Shaw’s legend continues to grow.

The latest chapter in her prolific track and field story came to pass when the Warrenton junior thrower did something that had never been done in school history.

At the Fort Zumwalt North Invitational on April 19, Shaw collected gold in the discus (34.6 meters), shot put (11.72 meters), and javelin (33.58 meters). The triple golden feat was a first in school history for a single meet.

“It was a good day,” Shaw said. “I did not know I was the first person in school history to do that, I just thought it had been a while since someone did. Things are going really well. I got off to a really good start this season and it’s just been improving from there.”

As Warrenton coach John Jeskey sees it, Shaw is doing so much more than improving her efforts through weight training and continual work on her throwing form during practice.

She’s also making the team around her better just because of who she is.

Jeskey pointed to sophomore Makayla Witthaus as a prime example of Shaw paving a path to success for younger throwers and the team, by extension.

“She just has this hunger to make herself better every day and to help those around her,” Jeskey said. “It’s great to see as a coach because I know the younger athletes look up to her. They are constantly trying to compete with her. I know Makayla views her as a role model.”

Witthaus wholeheartedly agreed with Jeskey’s assessment of how she views the upperclassman and just what Shaw brings to the table, especially for those around her, even to go so far as to say that Shaw was her very reason for being on the team in the first place.

"Avery is the one that convinced me to try out throwing my freshman year,” Witthaus said. “Every day at practice she drives me to be better. She sets the standard for how to prepare and warm up for competition."

Shaw said that the team works well as a collective and that she gets as much as she gives, though.

While she wants to do as much as possible to help the younger girls out, there aren’t times when she doesn’t benefit from words of encouragement from her teammates.

“Every now and then, one of the girls will come to me and ask ‘Did I do this right?’” Shaw said. “We’re all just really supportive. I do (learn as much from them as I think I help them out.)”

While Shaw’s intangible contributions are unquestionably solid, her overall numbers – beyond that of her school record-setting performance at Zumwalt North – are also impressive.

Shaw finished 16th in the shot put and 15th in the discus at the Class 4 state meet in Jefferson City last year. She currently has a season-best throw of 12.00 meters in the shot put (which ranks her sixth in Class 4), 34.6 meters in the discus (ranking her 13th), and 33.58 meters in the javelin (ranking her 31st).

Her efforts are all leading up to, hopefully, an impressive finish to the season at the state meet, even though she knows just getting back to Jefferson City won’t be easy.

“There are some really great throwers in the district,” said Shaw of the Class 4 District 4 meet at Jefferson City Helias later this spring. “I know that whoever makes it to state is going to earn it. I’m going to work as hard as I can to be one of those (qualifiers). Going back to state would mean so much to me.”