Hundreds at vigil mourn former Buchanan standout Shelby Daniele. ‘She was one in a million’
At the same venue where former Buchanan High track and field star Shelby Daniele received so much applause, hundreds came to Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday night to mourn her and say goodbye.
Daniele, who starred at Buchanan from 2016-2019 before moving on to Cal Poly, recently died. She was 23 years old.
A cause of death has not been revealed, and questions remain unanswered surrounding Daniele’s death.
On Friday, it was clear that she meant a lot to so many. Family, friends, teammates paid their respects. A collage of pictures at the vigil displayed Shelby’s time with her friends and boyfriend.
On the Veterans Stadium scoreboard, Shelby’s name was lit up.
“She made an impact on everybody’s lives” a speaker at the vigil said. “She was one in a million.”
Many left flowers to pay their respects.
Others shared tears together.
Daniele was described as someone who was outgoing and funny, and wanted to know about the other person before she said how she was doing.
It was just five years ago that Daniele left her mark with Buchanan.
She won an improbable state championship in the 200-meter sprint en route to helping the Buchanan girls capture the 2019 CIF state title.
During her 200-meter sprint, Daniele reacted with surprise after running in a wind-legal 23.73 — the second-best in Central Section history, historian Ron Blackwood said.
“I saw two girls and I said I have to do this for the team,” Daniele said in 2019. “I ran past them and got to the finish and I was like no way did I just do that? I saw my time and I broke down because I didn’t know what to do. I was excited and it’s an amazing feeling.”
Buchanan High coach Brian Weaver said Daniele’s death has been difficult.
“It’s heartbreaking to so many people, Weaver said. “Her family, her boyfriend, her teammates at Cal Poly. It’s rough.”
Weaver said he came across Daniele a week ago when he was running and she yelled at him and wanted to tell him and say “hi.”
“She called me and said, it’s me. I said ‘I know who you are.’
“She always made time for her old coach.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2024 at 12:52 AM.
