Shaleah Colaire ran her first collegiate race. She’s only getting started.

Shaleah Colaire strolled into Manley Field House surrounded by her teammates as if she’d known them for years. The freshman sprinter from Ontario seemed at home, as if the transition from high school to collegiate athletics was just another hurdle to jump.

Before her first-ever collegiate race, Colaire was both nervous and excited. When the 60-meter hurdles at the Greg Page Relays had ended, Colaire found herself in first place with a personal-best time of 8.54, the ninth-fastest time of any Atlantic Coast Conference runner this season. A month later, at the Southern Tier Collegiate Open, she won again, finishing with a time of 8.76 and exciting SU’s coaching staff.  

“Usually, for freshman,” assistant coach Dave Hegland said. “If they can come in and get back to where they were as high school seniors after the whole transition to being college students, that’s a good year.”

But, with success comes pressure. While Colaire’s goal is to “run fast all the time,” she knows that she has set high expectations with her undefeated start. 

“I’m a freshman and so being on top is kind of like okay, I don’t know how everyone else is going to feel about that,” Colaire said.

Colaire said the first two meets have reminded her of “high school meets.” During Colaire’s senior year at St. Mary’s Catholic (Ontario), the sprinter won the 100-meter hurdles at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations Provincial Championships. 

It’s not uncommon for a freshman like Colaire to come in and help the team immediately, Hegland said. She’s one of four freshmen — along with Kate Kemnitz, Aja Davis and Dennisha Page — to hold team-best times in 2020. 

While many of Colaire’s teammates have yet to run their primary races or events, Colaire’s victories have motivated the team and everyone is happy for her, Hegland said. 

Though her main event is hurdles, Colaire also runs the 4×400-meter relay. Colaire, the only underclassman in SU’s group, assisted the Orange in a relay victory at the Southern Tier Collegiate Open. Because of Colaire’s versatility, Hegland said she projects to be a key contributor to the team’s success this season and for the rest of her collegiate career.

“She’s a really competitive kid, she wants to do a lot, she’s got big goals for herself,” Hegland said. “She should be a really big part of what we do.”

Colaire will have an opportunity to meet the high standards she’s set for herself when Syracuse’s track and field team splits up, racing in New York, Boston and Ithaca this weekend. Colaire and Hegland both said the meets starting on Jan. 24 feature tougher competition. Still, Colaire remains confident in her skills and ability to sustain her success.

“I know I can hurdle and I know I can do my best out there,” Colaire said before a Jan. 17 practice, “I know what I need to do before the race and I know how I’m going to execute it.” 

Hegland said the upcoming meets will give him an opportunity to gauge his roster’s ability against better opponents. Regardless of the competition, Colaire is always trying to run a personal best, she said.

“I want to keep my form and make the standard for Canadian nationals and Junior Olympics,” Colaire said.