Susan Molloy’s first experience with the Midshipmen came during the 2020 fall cross country season when she came on board as head coach Kim Lewnes’ assistant coach. She joined the staff as an experienced athlete, coach and member of the Naval Academy family.
In four seasons as an assistant coach, the women’s cross country team had historic success.
The Midshipmen won back-to-back Patriot League Championships (2021, ’22), recorded a pair of Army-Navy Star Meet victories (2021, ’22), and registered consecutive seventh-place finishes at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional (2021, ’22).
In 2021, Navy placed its five scoring runners in the top-12 and within 14.7 seconds of each other to capture the 2021 Patriot League Championship – the fifth in program history and the first since 2012. The team finished with 47 points to edge Boston University, who came in second with 52 points. Elizabeth Sullivan and Ellie Abraham led the way as they finished back-to-back in seventh and eighth place, respectively. Sullivan’s result garnered her a First Team All-Patriot League nod, while Abraham, Winter Boese, Maddie Warrender, Emily Boutin, and Jessica Nangle all garnered Second Team All-Patriot League honors.
The team repeated as Patriot League Champions in 2022. Navy placed nine runners in the top 20, including individual medalist Emily Boutin, to post a team score of 38 to win to its second consecutive title. The Midshipmen's top five all finished in the top 11. For her efforts, Boutin was named the Patriot League Runner of the Year, while Ellie Abraham joined Boutin with first-team all-conference distinction. Sophie Compton, Elizabeth Sullivan, and Mia-Claire Kezal each earned second-team honors.
In addition to consecutive PL Championships, the Midshipmen captured back-to-back Stars in the Army-Navy Star Meet during Molloy’s stint at the Academy.
Navy defeated Army by a score of 20-35 in the 2021 Star Meet at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls. The Mids crossed the finish line consecutively in spots two through six and were separated by just 31.8 seconds. Ellie Abraham was the day’s standout with a second-place finish before Sullivan, Boese, Boutin, and Nangle all clocked in. Army’s second finisher was nearly 15 seconds back of Nangle.
Navy’s final point total of 20 equaled the 2012 and 2016 Midshipmen squads for the lowest winning score in a Star Meet in the past decade. Following a one-point loss in 2019 and a two-point defeat in 2020, it was Navy’s first win against Army since 2018.
In the annual Army-Navy Meet in 2022, the Midshipmen placed seven runners in the top 10 to post a 26-33 victory over the Black Knights at the USNA Cross Country Course, giving Navy back-to-back Star wins. Emily Boutin finished second overall, while seniors Elizabeth Sullivan and Winter Boese finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in their final Army-Navy cross country race. Navy punctuated the victory, claiming seventh (Mia-Claire Kezal), eighth (Carolyn Thurlby), ninth (Alanna Julius), and 10th (Sophie Compton) places.
Racing at Lehigh University, the Mids turned in the program’s best finish at the 2021 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship since 2012 with a seventh-place result in the team standings as all five of their counting runners placed amongst the top-53 individuals in a field of 193. Elizabeth Sullivan led the Mids’ effort as she crossed the finish line in 25th place, good enough to earn All-Regional honors.
Powered by an 11th-place finish by Emily Boutin, the Navy women's cross country team registered a seventh-place team finish at the 2022 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional at the Penn State Cross Country Course in University Park, Pa., tying for the best finish for the Midshipmen over the past 15 years (2008, '11, '12, '21). For her efforts, Boutin was recognized as All-Region.
Academically, the Navy Track & Field / Cross Country program had four student-athletes earn College Sports Communicators (CSC), formerly College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), Academic All-District distinction during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. Maddie Warrender (’22) received third-team Academic All-America laurels in her final season after earning CoSIDA Academic All-District three times (2020, ‘21, ‘22) during her career.
During the 2023-24 school year, four cross country runners were among Navy’s five women’s cross country / track & field student-athletes named to the CSC Academic All-District team. From that foursome, Ellie Abraham and McKenna Brophy earned CSC Academic All-America honors with the duo both earning second-team nods.
Elizabeth Sullivan (2021) and Emily Boutin (2022) were honored as a USTFCCCA All-Academic individual award winner for finishing top-25 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional and posting a minimum 3.25 grade-point average. The team was recognized with the USTFCCCA All-Academic team award in both 2021 and 2022.
Additionally, Ellie Abraham (2023), Boutin (2022), Sullivan (2021), and Warrender (2021) were named to the Academic All-Patriot League Teams.
The Midshipmen had at least 18 student-athletes recognized on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll in 2021 (20), 2022 (21), and 2023 (18).
Molloy competed on both the cross country and track & field teams for Auburn University from 1983-87. She went on to have a successful career as an elite runner which included qualifying for the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Marathon Trials, winning the Marine Corp Marathon and setting the Army Ten Miler record that stood for 15 years. For the last 25 years, Molloy has dedicated herself to coaching at various levels. Most recently, she coached the cross country and track & field teams at Mountain Brook High School in Alabama and led those programs to numerous state titles.
Molloy and her husband Chip, a 1983 USNA graduate, are proud parents of three adult children and sponsors to Midshipmen. They currently reside in Annapolis.
