Pennsbury’s Hannah Molloy running off to Iona College
FAIRLESS HILLS – PennTrackXC, on its website PaMileSplit.com, called her the best No. 2 runner on any team in state history. For some, that statement might be considered faint praise, but for Pennsbury senior Hannah Molloy, it’s a great complement.
Molloy would most likely be a No. 1 on any other team but the Falcons. But she happens to hang with some of the best runners to ever don a cross country uniform at Pennsbury. One of those is classmate Olivia Sargent, who captured state gold last fall with a time of 18:01.
Hannah is that fast. She proved it too, when she turned in a time of 17:59 in the District 1-AAA race last October at Lehigh University. Molloy now has four state medals in cross country, and hasn’t finished worse than 10th in any Pennsylvania race since September 2013.
Recently, Hannah announced her intention to take her game to the next level at Iona College. While she also considered Temple, Penn State and Liberty, Molloy decided she wants to run with the Gaels.
“The coaches were really nice there and there was really no pressure to decide so,” explained Hannah. So she committed in November and made it official last fall during the first signing period.
Molloy plans to run cross country and track at Iona. The Gaels have gotten themselves a solid runner in Hannah, says Pennsbury indoor track coach Tim Cass.
“When you need her, she’s there,” said Cass. “She’s so consistent.
“When you are looking for a good performance, she’ll give it to you.”
Molloy started making noise on the national cross country circuit a few years ago.
In the 2013 Nike Cross Nationals, Molloy led her team, Lower Bucks XC, with a time of 18:25.8 for 51st place and the team came in 11th, missing an eighth-place medal by a mere three points. The national race took place December 2015 at Portland Meadows Race Track in Portland, Oregon
Last November, the Pennsbury Girls Cross Country team captured the PIAA Class AAA state championship at the HersheyPark 5K Poop-out Hill Course. It was the team’s fifth state title in six years (the Lady Falcons finished a runner-up in 2013).
In addition, Sargent – who has committed to Virginia – won the individual gold medal with a time of 18:01. Molloy (18:37) and junior Mary Webb (18:44) also claimed individual medals with sixth- and ninth-place finishes. All five seniors –Molloy, Sargent, Meri Twomey, Bailey Balmer and Maddie Sauer – broke the 20-minute mark, propelling the state champions to a 25-point win over runner-up Unionville.
“This whole group of girls for us this year has been phenomenal,” said Cass.
“There will be a legacy when she leaves here,” added Cass, referring to Molloy.
“It’s a great day for her and a great day for Pennsbury track. Now, she’ll have four more years.”
Molloy says running with the best right here on Hood Boulevard has driven her to new heights.
“Running with some of the top girls in the state that are on our team has made me want to run in college,” said Hannah. “It’s made me a better runner all the way around.
Last winter in indoor track, Molloy placed in states in the two-mile and was the Suburban One League (SOL) champ in the mile.
Molloy has been even better this winter. She’s ranked sixth in the state in the 3,000-meters, tenth in the mile and is also part of two relays – the 4×800 and the distance medley relay (DMR) – that are among the top five-ranked teams in the state.
In January at the Hispanic Games at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York, Molloy was the first runner to hit the tape in the 3,000 meters, crossing the finish line in 10:17.46. Her personal best in the event is 9:56.20.
In February in the Varsity Classic back at the Armory, she hit the tape first in the 1,600-meters, crossing the finish line in 5:06.40 and she’s broken the 5-minute mark in the event (4:59.31).
Be she ever so humble, Molloy shrugs and says “It’s been a really nice ride. It’s been fun.”
You can bet, it has.
NOTES: Additional cross country commits for the Lady Falcons this school year include Bailey Balmer (University of Texas at Arlington) Meridith Twomey (St. Joseph’s), Olivia Sargent (Virginia) and Maddie Sauer (Manhattan). Another senior – sprinter Dasia Pressley is going to run track at Syracuse.
Contact the author at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter
