Bridgewater State Runner Molly Rouillard Back in NCAAs

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Her list of accomplishments as a runner at Bridgewater State University is an impressive one.

Molly Rouillard has earned NCAA Div. 3 All-America honors, set seven individual school records and won New England and Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference championships.

Imagine what Rouillard would have done had she not gotten a late start to her track and cross country careers at BSU.

After graduating in 2008 from Dartmouth High, where she played soccer and was a sprinter, Rouillard shunned sports the first two years that she was in college.

“I just didn’t really want to do anything,’’ said Rouillard. “Track and soccer made me really nervous in high school. I just didn’t want to do it. I just wanted to do a few things on my own.’’

One of those things was running, and after Rouillard took part in the New Bedford Half Marathon in the summer prior to her junior year at BSU, her high school coach, Jeff Reed, took note of the ability she had and suggested she join the Bears’ cross country squad.

“I hadn’t had any plans to run (at BSU) until that summer,’’ said Rouillard. “I thought I was done. But he found out my time and that’s what started me.’’

Beginning in the fall of 2010, Rouillard put together a running career to remember over the past three years at BSU, becoming one of the best in program history.

Her final chapter with the Bears takes place this week at the NCAA Div. 3 Championships at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Rouillard, who earned All-America honors at the indoor meet in March, will compete in the 1,500-meter race (preliminary on Thursday, final on Saturday) and the 5,000-meter race (Saturday). Rouillard also qualified for the 10,000-meter event where she was 12th at the NCAAs last year, but is limiting her participation to two races.

Seeded seventh in the nation in the 5,000 with a school-record time of 16:55.72, Rouillard is ranked 12th in the 1,500 with a school-record time of 4:31.17.

Rouillard was selected the Div. 3 New England women’s outdoor track athlete of the year this spring.

After not racing the first two years on the BSU campus, Rouillard is happy she became part of the cross country and track teams for the past three years.

“I’ve really enjoyed running at Bridgewater,’’ said Rouillard, a physical education major who received her degree last weekend. “I’m really glad I joined. I can’t imagine not doing it. I just love it so much. I’ve met so many great people.’’

Rouillard set three individual outdoor school records and was part of two relay team marks while during the indoor season she established four individual and three relay records.

A three-time MASCAC cross country runner of the year, she earned All-New England status in track three years and hit a high point this winter, reaching All-America status.

Rouillard finished seventh in the mile at Naperville, Ill., with a time of 4:53.68.

“That was really cool,’’ said Rouillard, who went to the NCAAs in cross country last fall. “It was kind of unexpected. But I worked really hard and to have that kind of race on that kind of day was really cool.’’

After being a sprinter in high school, Rouillard had to learn the ropes of running for distance in college, and after an adjustment process, she found it to her liking.

“I just love going out for runs and just running miles,’’ said Rouillard. “You can clear your head after a long day at school. I get out with my friends and run. It’s a lot of hard work, but I like it.’’

That hard work resulted in one of the best running careers ever at BSU by Rouillard, who received the Adrian Tinsley Scholar-Athlete of the Year award recently.

“All the hard work that I put in paid off,’’ she said. “It’s been determination and hard work and never giving up even if you have bad days. If I had a bad day, I’d just push through it.’’