Salute to Seniors: Shamus Malia (Scarborough High School)



Name: Shamus Malia

School: Scarborough High School

What was your most memorable race?
My most memorable race was probably 2016 FOC. Even though we placed second as a team to Falmouth, I ran a huge PR to finish 12th with my teammates Andrew Goodwin and Connor Coffin right behind me. Running like we did that day also made me feel like we had brought Scarborough XC back to the level that it had been a year ago which was something we really strived for all summer and fall to make possible.


Who would you consider your biggest competition over your four years?

Definitely Josh Lombardo of Westbrook, Caleb Pendleton of Bonny Eagle, Deering and Falmouth.



What was your greatest accomplishment?
My greatest accomplishment was probably helping my team win the 4x800 in outdoors and then coming back to get third in an extremely close 1600 at the state meet.


If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running career in high school?
I definitely would have started running earlier as I did not run at all until indoors my sophomore year.  


What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
The most difficult obstacle I had to overcome was probably this year after falling in the indoor state's mile. It took me a long time to allow myself to forget about that horrible experience of not scoring for my team to get back to competing with the same confidence I had running indoors and in XC my senior year.


What will you miss the most?
Definitely my teammates, all of the great friends I have made in the SMAA and throughout the state, and team dinners with the boys.


What advice you would give to younger athletes?
I would say one of the most important things to remember is that seeds and predictions mean nothing. Respect your competition but at the end of the day no matter what the seeds or people say, if you've stayed consistent and done your work, don't let anyone stop you or tell you otherwise.


What influence has your coach had with respect to your performance and overall life goals?
I have been lucky enough to have had phenomenal coaching through Scarborough's XC and track programs. Probably the greatest thing I learned was from Coach Veilleux who emphasized that anything of value that you do is going to have some pain involved. Because of that when you learn to embrace pain and block everything out other than the goal to win, you are unstoppable.


What are your college plans?
I will be attending Merrimack College where I will continue running XC and track.



Who would you like to say thank you to?
I would like to give a huge thank you to my parents for always supporting me through good and bad performances. 

Coach Veilleux and Coach Harmon for believing in me and always giving me the opportunity to achieve greatness.

Mrs. Veilleux for all of her support, encouragement, and motivation to myself and the team.

My teammates especially Sam Rusak, Ben Batoosingh, Sebastian Osborne, and Jarrett Flaker for motivating me towards becoming a better runner and athlete.

Connor Coffin for doing XC. You helped make XC really special and I know you're gonna kill it for years to come.

All the older distance guys who showed us the way like Colin Tardiff, Andrew Sholl, Connor Doherty, Jacob Terry, Jacob Bloom, Colin Jones, and Will Fowler.

The distance squad this year especially Brian Farino, Erik Larkin,  Connor Coffin, Harrison Osborne, Charlie Piper, Tristram Coffin, Kyle Jordan, Will Onorato, Anthony Gatti and Andrew Goodwin. Was a blast running with you boys, I'm gonna miss you all.

Shoutout to Noah Drapeau for training solo with Schuler all season to help us in the 4x8 indoors and outdoors.


Is there anything else you'd like to add.
Keep the legacy alive boys, make your era a great one.          


Farino.... Crush it next year.



More Coverage

Do you know a class of 2017 track and field or cross country athlete? We'd like to salute them! Have them answer the following questions plus send 2-3 photos (can not be from another website or publication) to dveilleux@milesplit.us