Malia Anderson called it “falling back in love” with running.

The Greensburg Salem grad earned a scholarship to run cross country and track at Georgetown, and after a handful of cross country meets and her indoor track season, the pandemic shut down school and athletic activities. She spent her second year of college taking online classes and, consequently, away from competition.

When pandemic restrictions eased, Anderson was lukewarm about returning to the Washington, D.C., campus.

“I was like, ‘Eh. I don’t know if I want to go back or not,’ ” she said. “So I looked around at some schools and found Cal (Pa.).”

And there she rediscovered her love for running. A little success didn’t hurt.

On Dec. 2, Anderson competed in the NCAA Division II cross country championships in Washington state, making her the Vulcans first women’s individual qualifier in six years.

Landing at Cal was no accident for Anderson. Her father, Machael Anderson, attended Cal, and her uncle, Kelly Parsley, the former track and field coach at Point Park, ran for the Vulcans. Parsley, she said, is acquainted with Vulcans coach Daniel Caufield.

“(Georgetown) was good. It was definitely a lot different than what I thought D-I running would be,” she said. “I think it was just, for me, it was super overwhelming being far away from home because I come from a really big family, and I am very family-oriented.

“Going (to Georgetown) and being, like, four hours away and having to do their education … it’s a lot harder. The people I met, my coaches and everything were super nice and super supportive, but it just wasn’t the right fit for me.”

Anderson was a volleyball player at Greensburg Salem and never ran cross country, focusing on middle-distance track events.

At Georgetown, she ran in only three cross country meets. But her lack of collegiate experience in the sport didn’t hold her back once she arrived at Cal.

In fall 2021, she earned second-team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference honors after placing 26th at the conference meet. She vaulted to sixth in the PSAC meet this fall before finishing eighth at the Atlantic Regional to earn an at-large bid to nationals.

“I wouldn’t really say it was a surprise,” Caufield said. “It was more a case of a timing thing. In other words, was it going to happen now, or was it going to be another year? Again, with her level of talent and her level of excitement to run and to compete, to me, it was just going to be a matter of time.”

Cross country season might have been an overwhelming success for Anderson, but that was just the tuneup. Track always has been at the top of her list, and, with indoor season about to get underway, she has considerable success upon which to build.

In the spring, she won the PSAC title in the outdoor 800 meters and anchored the conference-champion 1,600 relay team.

She is counting on her experience and success in cross country to fuel her in indoor and outdoor track. This season, she is adding the mile to her repertoire and hoping to break the 5-minute mark. She also wants to break 2 minutes, 10 seconds in the 800.

“(Making cross country nationals) honestly meant a lot,” she said. “Going into all the races, I was getting more of a learning experience and building more for my track seasons coming up. Once our regional meet happened … I made an at-large bid (to NCAAs). I was super excited.

“Now I can take that over to indoor track and outdoor track and, hopefully, it’s nationals there, too.”

Caufield said Anderson’s talent is undeniable, and he is confident she will add more accolades to her resume this winter and in the spring. In terms of goals, Caufield said he has his athletes focus more on what makes them comfortable and eager to compete.

“I’ve been involved with track since I was a little kid myself, and you start realizing that, in general, most people run their best performances when they’re happy,” he said. “So we just try to focus a lot on how do we get each individual on our team to that place. Malia is no different.”

But if Anderson is happy and enjoying herself, Caufield said, it can’t mask a highly competitive streak. He called it a “smell blood” mentality.

Caufield pointed to the 1,600 relay at the most recent PSAC championships. Anderson was the anchor runner, and by the time she received the baton, Caufield said, she was a good 30 to 40 meters behind the leader. Still, he said, he had no doubt Anderson would carry the team to victory.

Which, of course, she did.

Caufield has lofty expectations for Anderson, who, after this season, retains two more years outdoor track eligibility and one each for cross country and indoor track. He uses words such as “All-American” and “Olympic trials” when discussing her ceiling.

For her part, Anderson is glad to be back in her comfort zone and looking forward to what the future holds.

“I feel like right now I’m in the best shape I’ve been for a long time,” she said. “I’m excited for the rest of the year.”

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