Cornell University Athletics

Shields was a two-time All-American in track, placing fourth in the hammer throw at the 1974 NCAA outdoor championships and fifth a year later. He won the outdoor Heptagonal championship in 1975 and placed second in 1974 in that event. Shields won the college shot put competition at the 1975 Penn Relays. At the outdoor IC4As, he placed fourth in the shot put and sixth in the hammer in 1975 and was fifth in the hammer in 1974. He placed third in the hammer at the Meet of Champions in 1975, posting the school's second-best all-time throw of 202-0. At the indoor IC4As, Shields was fifth in the shot put as a junior and eighth as a senior. He was the starting offensive tackle on the 1972 varsity football team that went 6-3.