By Bill Abramson, The Standard Times (New Bedford)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Molly Rouillard was so nervous before a race with her Dartmouth High School teammates that her stomach was in knots.

Even though she broke the record for the 400 (59.7) at the high school, she was so stricken by nerves leading up to a race that when she went to Bridgewater State University, she limited her running to alone time.

"Track made me nervous in high school, so when I got to Bridgewater, I just wanted to go to school and run on my own," Rouillard said. "My mom (Jen) would walk a 3-mile loop and my goal that summer was to run the 3 miles."

After running the 4-by-mile relay during a relay meet for Dartmouth, which she called "the longest four laps ever," Rouillard found herself running more than that as a warm-up.

Getting Molly to even think about running for college teams took a chance meeting with her Dartmouth High coach, Jeff Reed, at the New Bedford Half Marathon.

"He looked at my times and told me to e-mail the track coaches at Bridgewater State," Rouillard explained. "I didn't e-mail the coaches — Jim Simoneau and TJ Smith — right away, but when I did, I said I was interested in joining the team and sent my 5K times from my road races. TJ e-mailed me right away and said I could try out for the cross country team.

"I never ran cross country in high school because I was playing soccer. I had a lot to learn about cross country, but running with a bunch of girls and getting back to workouts was hard. They were the nicest people and I felt really welcomed, and they were intrigued by my story of having never run cross country."

A 13-time MASCAC (Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference) Cross Country Runner of the Week, Rouillard won the conference individual title and captured MASCAC Runner of the Year honors for the second straight season. She was also selected to the Capital One Div. III Academic All-District One Women's Track and Field/Cross Country Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (Co-SIDA). She is carrying a 3.74 grade-point average and has been on the Dean's List every semester.

"Molly is certainly a leader through example," BSU cross country coach Simoneau said. "Her hard work and dedication are a reflection of her desire to compete at the top national level of her sport. Underclassmen learn what it takes to excel at the collegiate level by following in her footsteps.

"Molly has been captain of the cross country team the past two years because of her leadership qualities. Her willingness to master the mental aspect of cross country running to match her talent level will prove invaluable during the late-season national competitions."

Her cross country teammates joined forces with the coaches and convinced Molly to run track that winter, and she was the MASCAC Runner of the Year.

The third-year collegiate runner holds the BSU track records indoors for the 400 (58.20), the mile (5:15.79) and the 3,000-meters (10:25.57), as well as the 10k record (36:19.51) outdoors. Her fourth attempt at the 10k (6.2 miles) last spring came at the NCAA championships in Calif.

"Outdoors, I thought I'd be a miler (1,600 meters), but one afternoon after practice, the coach (TJ Smith) said he wanted me to try a 10k in the meet at Stonehill. I won by 15 seconds," Rouillard said. "My time was better than I thought and I loved the race. It was 25 laps and was so much fun."

After the race at Stonehill, Molly ran the 10k at the New Englands and the ECAC meets, winning all-region honors and qualifying for the NCAA the following week. She finished 12th in the country.

"The 10K is getting in the groove," she said. "I just run and don't think about it. I set my tempo the first 5K and then the race starts."

"Molly is an incredible talent and a famously hard worker," Smith said. "She shows up early on Sundays to squeeze more miles in before the rest of the team gets to practice. She is always the last one to leave, and doesn't take her ability for granted.

"She has an unrelenting positive attitude that keeps the entire team on an even keel. She is so approachable and mild mannered that people would never guess she is one of the best runners in the country."

In the conference (MASCAC) meet, Molly was first the last two years in cross country and won the 400, the 3k and the 1,000 indoors. Outdoors, she won the 5k and the relays.

"When I was little, my nickname was 'Molly I can do it.' I was very determined to do things on my own and never let people help me," Rouillard said. "Whether it was the monkey bars or learning to tie my shoes, I was very determined. I'm still doing things on my own."

Her workouts span 70 miles a week, causing teammates and family to question her sanity.

"They think I'm crazy, but I love it," she said.