Running her way into the NCAAs

Cross country runner Mollie DeFrancesco is a team player in an individual sport

VANESSA ZUIDEMA / contributing photographer

Individually, this season couldn't have played out any more perfectly for senior cross-country runner Mollie DeFrancesco. Not only did she become the first JMU female in history to finish first in the Colonial Athletic Association Cross Country Champion-ships, she also placed eighth at the NCAA Southeast Regional meet on Nov. 10, qualifying her for the NCAA national race on Nov. 19. But individual accomplishments are not what DeFrancesco is about.

"She's a positive role model for everyone and really is not out there just for herself," senior teammate Sarah Burkett said. "She is out to win for the team points not for self-glory. When she heard our team was shafted a bid to go to NCAAs she said she wanted to skip out of them to go race with our team at ECACs. That is a great example of a thoughtful teammate."

DeFrancesco said she felt the entire team deserved a chance at the NCAAs.
"My team did not qualify for NCAAs because of a loophole in the qualification system," DeFrancesco said. "But I earned an automatic bid from my finish at regionals. In that respect, it's hard for me to say that I am completely content because my team deserves to go just as much as I do. It's heartbreaking. But we have done a lot of good things this season to be proud of."

Despite DeFrancesco's desire for team glory, there is no doubt of her individual talents. Running hasn't always been her main passion, though.

Growing up in Albany, N.Y., ballet took center stage in life.

"I was a ballet dancer before I started running," DeFrancesco said. "My friends were all joining the track team in high school and I thought it would be fun to do the hurdles, so I actually started as a sprinter, hurdler and high jumper."

DeFrancesco didn't dominate the sport at first. In fact, it took her time to adjust to distance running.

"My sprint coach put me in the pentathlon and you have to run an 800 as one of the events," DeFrancesco said. "I hated it because I thought two laps was a long race, but the distance coach convinced me to run cross country in the fall. We won the state championship that fall, and when my dance instructor made me choose one or the other, I chose running. But I never got that serious about it until last year. I wasn't even going to run in college."

This newfound dedication to running is a big part of what has allowed Defrancesco to perform at higher levels, according to coach Dave Rinker.

"In the animal phase, the runner goes from enjoying running to embracing the hard work, the constant fatigue and the pain," Rinker said. "In this phase it is not a matter of hurting, because they are always tired, and yet they can drive straight through it. Mollie is getting close to the animal phase where both her mental and physical strength allow her to take the physical abuse that a national class runner must be able to endure."

According to Rinker, DeFrancesco has grown mentally since coming to JMU.
"She has gone from someone who ran because she enjoyed it and was fair at in high school to someone that can stand outside of themselves," Rinker said. "Mentally she is getting where times, places and finishes are not as important as the process and the limits that her body and mind have are shoved aside. She has gone from someone who was not very good to one of the best in the region."

Burkett agrees that DeFrancesco's hard work has been a key factor for her and has also rubbed off on her fellow teammates.

"Mollie is both a team leader and an outstanding teammate," Burkett said. "She has worked extremely hard, and last outdoor track season she started to go to the next level. Since then she has kept moving up, which is a great example for our team that hard work can really pay off."

Defrancesco said that Rinker's coaching method also has been a factor behind her recent successes.

"Coach Rinker is a great coach, and I owe a lot of my success to him. I just do what he tells me to do. It's that simple."

Those simple coaching strategies, along with a clean physical fitness record over the last two seasons, are what have guided Defrancesco, according to Rinker.

"Advice and coaching strategies I have given to her have been to run far, run fast, don't complain and don't worry," Rinker said. "We stress the process and not the results, although eventually the clock must be brought into the equation. Mollie does have talent, and to maximize that talent, she must be willing to pay the price over and over again without questioning why she is paying the price.

"I do not tell Mollie anything that I don't tell everyone," Rinker said. "We have several young ladies that have a chance to be very good. Mollie has been able to stay injury-free for two years and that has allowed her to be able to train at 80-plus miles per week of hard work. She has handled the climb up the ladder without putting pressure on herself."