Bacon’s Malloy Running to Stonehill

Four years ago, Bacon Academy freshman Jordan Malloy shocked the local cross country community by winning the Eastern Connecticut Conference (ECC) cross country championships, defeating Montville’s Mady Whittaker who was a senior and the reigning champion. 
           
“I didn’t think I could catch up with [Mady] but I knew I had enough at the end,” recalled Malloy, “It was surprising, but I was very happy. I feel like that gave me a lot of confidence.”
           
Malloy would go on to have four fantastic seasons on the trails across the state and has now committed to continue her competitive running at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass. 
           
“I wanted to stay in New England because I love New England,” said Malloy, who was influenced by 2019 Bacon Academy graduate Andrew Janus, who now runs for the Stonehill College men’s cross country team. “I went there and met the team and I just really loved the atmosphere there. The coach is amazing, the campus is great.” 
           
Malloy is currently running distance events for the indoor track and field team and will do the same this spring during outdoor track season for the Bobcats. She has compiled an impressive resume at high school, which includes two ECC cross country championships and a third place finish at the Class M finals this fall.
           
She first started running 5K races in elementary school with her mom, Marychia Malloy. It’s then when Jordan discovered that she had a knack for distance running. 
           
After attending a magnet school for art in the sixth grade, she realized didn’t want to specialize and came back to public schools, joining her first cross country team in the seventh grade. 
           
It was in eighth grade that Malloy was running near the front of the pack. 
           
And then, within the first few months of high school, she was a conference champion. 
           
She credits her coaches and teammates with pushing her and helping her train, adding “I am very grateful for them.” 
           
She added that both the boys and girls cross country teams as Bacon run together, giving her extra incentive and drive during practice.    
           
“The team part is very important. The girls cheer on the guys and the guys cheer on the girls,” added Malloy. “During meets you might feel alone, but we are all cheering each other on.”
           
Because she runs all three seasons, she said she doesn’t have a lot of downtime but enjoys singing in the school’s choir and doing outdoor activities, particularly skiing and hiking, with her family. Her younger brother, Neil, is a sophomore at Bacon, who prefers rock climbing over running.  
           
Malloy is trying to soak up her time left at Bacon, saying, “It is going by fast. I’m trying to make the most of the rest of the time I have here.” 
           
Next fall she’ll be running alongside new teammates at Stonehill, joining the Skyhawks led by Karen Boen. Boen has been coaching at the college for nearly a quarter-century and has led the women’s program to 18 conference titles.  
           
​“Stonehill ended up working out and I’m really happy about that,” said Malloy, who is leaning towards majoring in environmental studies or anthropology. “I don’t know what college is going to be like, but I’m excited.”