Shannon Titus had an impressive high school career.
Now, the recent graduate of Bowling Green High School is preparing to run at the collegiate level.
Titus has received a scholarship to run cross country and track at Belmont University, an NCAA Division I school in Nashville, Tenn.
"I wanted to go somewhere different, somewhere away from here and I wanted to go to a school that was in a bit of a bigger city," Titus said. "I wanted to get away from BG and have some new experiences."
Titus, a state cross country qualifier last fall, also visited Wagner University in Staten Island. N.Y. and Lipscomb University, also in Nashville. Belmont is a liberal arts school with an enrollment of approximately 4,800 students.
"I loved Nashville and the school was the right size. You can walk from campus to downtown Nashville," Titus said. "I didn't want to go to a big school, but not a really, really small school, either, and it's a Christian school, too. I liked the feel of the school, the campus is gorgeous and the running situation was good. Everything just worked out."
Titus, who had a 3.9 grade-point average, finished 33rd in the state cross country meet last fall. She finished second in the regional to qualify for state after winning the district meet.
"She was a dedicated runner who got a lot out of her ability," BG cross country and track coach Brian Tucker said. "She's the type of kid you like to have on your team. She works hard, she has a good attitude, she stays out of trouble and she gets good grades."

Belmont won the Atlantic Sun Conference championship last fall, it's sixth conference title in the last seven years. Three of the team's nine runners were seniors last season, including runners who finished first and ninth in the conference meet.
"Next year might be a rebuilding year," Titus said. "But that's something I want to be a part of because I'll have a chance to contribute right away. They have a good team and I liked the girls on the team. It should be a fun team to be a part of."
Titus' track season this spring was cut short by a stress fracture in her femur. She started running again last week and will gradually build her mileage and conditioning back up. She's currently running a couple of miles each week.
The injury sidelined her in late April, but she expects to be healthy by the time she goes to Belmont.
"It was a gradual thing. I thought it was a muscle strain at first," Titus said. "It didn't hurt too much at first, but it kept getting worse. I didn't want to go the doctor because I thought it would get better in a couple of weeks, but it never did and I ended up missing the last month of the season.
"It was hard being injured, but I just tried to be a good teammate and cheer everyone and the team on."