Shelby Daniele. That’s not a name Fresno natives would not know. Local audiences thronged the Veterans Memorial Stadium in numbers to watch a local young athlete compete and bring in accolade after accolade.
Remember that blistering 23.73s across 200m—the second-best in Central Section history, historian Ron Black-wood said—to help Buchanan High School clinch the 2019 CIF State championship? Deep community roots saw her move out of Fresno the following year with dreams of pursuing a job to give back to society. Five years later, a crowd is gathered at the same stadium yet again, but this time, for a different reason…
On Friday, friends, family, and countless others arrived in hundreds. Some cried, some hung their head low, and others discussed the five-time All-Big West honoree’s impact on the community. But one common theme settled within conversations and thoughts: The kind of person she was.
A fellow athlete’s father, Brian, credited the school record holder in women’s indoor 200 for being the “driving force” behind his daughter Eva’s decision to run track after the unfortunate news surfaced. Shelby’s former coach and Buchanan High’s Track and Field Head Coach Brian Weaver remembered the 23-year-old for her selfless attitude despite being a fierce competitor. “She mentored so many athletes…Kept them going when times were tough – after graduating she would take her personal time to come say hi to all the coaches and athletes,” he said.
Just a week before her passing, Shelby had reportedly tracked down Weaver while he was on his daily run. “She called me and said, ‘It’s me’. I said, ‘I know who you are’,” he said before adding, “She always made time for her old coach.”
After Daniele joined Cal Poly to pursue a bachelor’s degree in agriculture, she competed for the Mustangs and still holds the program record for the fastest indoor 200m at 24.69s. She’s also the No. 2 all-time in school history in women’s indoor 60m event at 7.62s, and the second fastest all-time in women’s 100m (11.58s). Additionally, she’s also tied third all-time in women’s outdoor 200m (23.57s).
In the personal note section of her Buchanan High School career profile, it said, “I believe it’s the best school [Cal Poly] for me to grow in academics and athletics, and it’s a place I feel I would be comfortable at because it’s so close to home” with a career ambition of securing “a position in my job that involves agricultural business so that I can improve the environment and give back to our society.”
