Molly Huddle (2nd, Northeast)

Hometown: Elmira, NY
High School: Elmira Notre Dame
Year of Graduation: 2002

Molly Huddle runs alongside Natasha Roetter at the 2001 Foot Locker Northeast Regional en route to a second-place finish. (Photo by PhotoRun, click to enlarge)

Huddle started to make national news in the spring of 2001 when she won a rare 1,500m/3,000m double at the competitive New York State Meet. One week later, she led the two-mile at the Adidas Outdoor Track & Field Championships for five laps before getting passed by Anita Siraki and Erika Odlaug. She finished third in 10:25.30. She came back the next day to finish third in the mile as well, running 4:50.98.

Huddle was undefeated this season until the Foot Locker Northeast Regional. She led the race early on but Natasha Roetter made a strong move in the final mile to win. Huddle outkicked fellow New Yorker Tracey Brauksieck for third, running 17:59 in her first race at the challenging Van Cortlandt Park course.

Other Notes:
...Has used an aggressive front-running strategy in the past and has been quoted as saying, "That's the way Pre would do it."... Huddle's school has no cross country team so her father, Bob Huddle, serves as her advisor and occasionally a training partner... Huddle has played soccer in the past but gave it up to concentrate on running this year... Ran 16:45 at the 2001 Chris Thater Memorial 5k, breaking the U.S. road record for 16 year olds by 20 seconds.

In the News:
Huddle wins New York State Federation Meet in 18:02 (11/17/01)
Huddle wins sectionals (11/2/01)
Huddle is DyeStat's Nike Athlete of the Week (October 5, 2001)
Wins McQuaid Invitational in 17:04 for 3.0 miles (9/29/01)
Wins Corning Hawks Cross Country Classic (9/15/01)
Huddle finishes third in Chris Thater 5k, runs 16:45 (8/26/01)
A rapid run to the nation's elite (7/26/01)
Huddle wins RRCA Women's Distance Festival in 17:43 [article] (7/19/01)
Molly Huddle leads outstanding performances at 2001 Elmira-Thon (Spring, 2001)