The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Wargo helps Oberlin win NCAC title
Keystone graduate Shannon Wargo is flourishing during her time at Oberlin College.
But that wasn’t the case early on.
The sophomore contributed to the Yeowomen’s second straight North Coast Athletic Conference outdoor championship at Allegheny College on May 5.
Wargo finished third in the 4x400 relay (4:06.52), eighth in the open 800 (2:29.15) and ninth in the 1500 (4:56.86). After experiencing bumps and bruises during track and cross country, Wargo feels healthier her sophomore season.
“I had medical issues over the summer that carried over into cross country season,” she said. “I didn’t put a lot of training in because of that. And then I had knee issues, and then track came and I needed to work a lot of the kinks out. So up until recently I was All-Ohio and I’ve finally been able to be more of the racer that I know I’m capable of, breaking the 15 and probably having my best double ever in the 800.”
At the Kenyon College Invitational on April 21, Wargo earned the team 10 points in the 800 with a career-best time of 2:18.85.
“I trusted my training, trusted where I was at,” she said.
Wargo still keeps in touch with Keystone’s program. Her father, Scott Wargo, is an assistant coach.
Wargo played soccer growing up, and in middle school decided to run cross country. Her father encouraged her to try it, but never directly forced her.
Running wasn’t always a passion, until it grew on her.
“I knew my dad ran but it was never something I felt I had to do, too,” Wargo said. “I remember in middle school thinking I probably won’t run in high school. But that changed, and my freshman year in high school, I said I probably would never run in college. And that changed. It definitely helped having someone that encouraged me and helping me see things I could do in track and believe in myself.
“My sister runs at Keystone, my dad helps with coaching over there and my brother runs for the middle school track team.”
In her senior track season at Keystone, Wargo qualified for a state berth in the 1,600 and placed fourth in Division II. Her
teammate that season, Beth Plas, placed third in the pole vault, Mitchell Coe placed seventh in the 100 and Steven Speck placed 10th in the high jump.
Having her three teammates with her and all of them placing is a lasting memory she has.
“I just remember having three of my best friends and being surrounded by people who took the sport just as seriously as me,” Wargo said. “I remember walking off the track my senior year and having my friend (Plas) coming up to me because we were so happy of what I had done and what she had just done because we both had these goals and to be able to accomplish them our senior year on the same day was a really
great memory.”
Wargo is studying biology with a concentration in genetics, and track and cross country are her primary extracurricular activities.
“It’s hard to be involved in other things because as a runner, it’s a year-round sport and there isn’t an offseason,” she said.
Her goal for this season is earning a nationals berth, which she did last year in the 1,500. Her big-picture goal is to become an All-American in the 800.
But for Wargo, her performances over recent weeks has been an encouraging sign, and more of them will merely place her past injuries as a footnote of a highly successful career.