Olympian Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone the pride of her N.J. high school

SCOTCH PLAINS, N.J. - New Jersey native Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won gold at the Paris Olympics.

She's the pride of Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains, and is honored in the school's "Tradition Meets Tomorrow" hallway.

"This is set up in honor of Sydney and all of her accomplishments," Sister Percylee Hart, the school's principal, said. "So our challenge now is to update it. What a wonderful challenge to have."

There are a lot of accomplishments. McLaughlin-Levrone is now a three-time gold medal winner, after Thursday's win in the women's 400-meter hurdles, when she broke her own previous world record. It was the sixth time she had set a world record for the 400-meter hurdles. She took home two gold medals in Tokyo , and she was a junior at Union Catholic when she competed in the Olympics for the first time in Rio in 2016.

The school held two watch parties for the Union Catholic community to watch McLaughlin-Levrone compete.

"It's not the gold. It's beyond gold."

She ran from the school corridors to Gatorade labels to Olympic gold.

"Sydney ran on these corridors. And she made it to the Olympics as a 17-year-old. To me, that's just absolutely awesome. And what a role model she is for our students," Hart said.

Hart says McLaughlin-Levrone is an even better person than she is an athlete.

"And that's what makes her a superstar. It's not the gold. It's beyond gold. Her character and her humility," Hart said.