The 5-foot-5 sophomore broke the tape at the NJSIAA Non-Public Class A Championships this past season in a time of 17:57.0, leading the Vikings to the team championship. Sheppard won the Nike Cross Northeast Regional for the second year in a row, breaking the tape in 18:05.9. The state’s returning Gatorade Player of the Year and the winner in eight of her nine races last fall, she capped her campaign with a top-30 finish at the Nike Cross Nationals Final in Oregon.
Sheppard has maintained a weighted 4.16 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her junior year of high school this fall.
An accomplished artist whose work has been selected for display at various art shows, Sheppard has volunteered locally with the Student Movement Against Cancer at her school, which prepares holiday cards for cancer patients. She was also a recent recipient of the Paul Robeson Youth Achievement Award, which honors high-achieving African American students in a variety of disciplines.
