High school notes: Her daughter graduated from Bacon Academy, but Marycia Malloy never left
Oct. 10—NORWICH — Jordan Malloy, future Eastern Connecticut Conference cross country champion for Bacon Academy, was 5, riding in a stroller pushed by her mom Marycia, who was jogging.
"She kept asking me (to run, too) and I was like, 'No way. There's no way,'" Marycia Malloy recounted recently of her daughter's introduction to running. "We had this mile-and-a-half loop. She was 5 and I was, like, 'Sure, all right, sure. You can run with me.'
"So I ran with the thing empty. We ran half a mile and I said, 'Do you want to rest?' No. We ran. It was like, 'Honey, you can stop now.' No. She ran the mile-and-a-half her first time ever running."
It is a tie Marycia and Jordan Malloy have kept ever since. Mother and daughter. Bacon Academy graduates. Each with a warmth for the running community.
Jordan went on to great heights. A 2022 Bacon grad, she is a three-time ECC champion and three-time all-state honoree in cross country now running at the Division I level for Stonehill.
Marycia, who is a health paraprofessional at Bacon, took over this fall as the Bobcats' boys' cross country coach. Even with Jordan's exodus from Bacon, Marycia couldn't stay away.
"I just fell in love with the sport and the community," said Marycia Malloy, previously a volunteer with the program. "I obviously went to Bacon and I have a strong connection just to Bacon and Bacon sports.
"When the opportunity came up, I thought it was a great way to continue giving back to the sport that gave so much to our family. I was really excited to be a part of the team."
Marycia, a three-sport athlete in high school who played for the girls' basketball team under legendary coach Dave Shea, has run marathons and triathlons. She has cultivated a family that is geared to the outdoors; Jordan, who has worked at Provider Farm in Salem, is majoring in environmental studies.
The Bacon boys, who have five freshmen and sophomores among their top seven and no seniors, were 3-4 overall, 1-1 in ECC Division II headed into Tuesday's divisional meet against Griswold and Killingly. Malloy calls the Bobcats "a really motivated young team."
"I really just grew to love the community and the team, the atmosphere. I love cheering for everybody. I feel like I know a lot of the coaches already, even some of the parents," Malloy said.
"One of the main things I want to do is just spread and encourage the enjoyment of running. I feel like runners are not as appreciated as much as they should be for their effort and dedication. I'm absolutely amazed with it. I always have been."
Scheduling conflict
The ECC cross country championship is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19 at Norwich Golf Course, the same date and time the Shoreline Conference meet will take place at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison.
That means that Old Lyme boys' coach Aron D'Aquila will be relying on his wife Shannon for updates from the ECC meet, where their daughter Maya is a senior for the six-time defending league champion East Lyme girls' team.
"I'm torn," Aron D'Aquila said. "Obviously I'm there with my team and I want to be there with my team. Usually my wife is texting me as (the ECC meet) is going off."
Aron D'Aquila is a 1996 St. Bernard grad, where he ran cross country for hall of fame coach Doug Sharples. He was also a participant at the same running camp, Northeast Kingdom in Lyndonville, Vermont, that Maya attends.
Aron, though, doesn't generally pass on coaching advice to Maya, deferring to East Lyme coach Mike Flynn for that.
"With her, I just get to be dad," Aron said.
On Saturday father and daughter attended the same meet, as East Lyme and Old Lyme both competed in the Bay State Invitational in Devens, Massachusetts. The East Lyme girls were third in the Varsity A race, with Maya finishing in 11th place in 21 minutes, 25 seconds. The Old Lyme boys were 10th in the Varsity B race.
"It was perfect," Aron said. "They were in different races, too, so I got to cheer on Maya."
Good lookin' out
Several members of the Stonington boys' soccer team ran toward freshman goalie Matteo Panciera at the conclusion of Thursday's 6-2 loss at Ledyard. Senior Diego Loyola walked off the field with his arm draped across the shoulders of Panciera, who played the second half, allowing two goals against the unbeaten Colonels.
"I think he's a 14-year-old freshman getting minutes in one of the biggest games of the year. I couldn't ask for a better performance," Stonington coach Mario Costa said of Panciera's effort before lauding Loyola's leadership.
"... That's one thing I really love about this group is that camaraderie between the seniors all the way down to the freshmen. They really bring each other up. That's tremendous."
Battle of the unbeatens
East Lyme's boys' soccer team is scheduled to travel to Ledyard at 11 a.m. Saturday for a matchup between unbeaten teams. Through eight games, East Lyme had only given up one goal this season, while Ledyard had outscored opponents 37-5.
East Lyme was ranked eighth in the most recent state coaches' poll for Class LL/L schools, while Ledyard was 10th.
Said Ledyard coach Bill Glenney: "East Lyme, you can't help it. Every time you look on the CIAC web site, it's Ledyard and East Lyme (as the top-ranked teams) in Class L, Ledyard and East Lyme in the ECC. I watched them last week they're a good team. They're solid. They're going to be a handful for us."
Better to give
Old Lyme volleyball's "Dig Pink" match against Portland last week raised more than $1,000, with the team selling T-shirts and baked goods during the match.
Proceeds will be donated to the Closer to Free Fund in memory of Lynsey Eno, a Westbrook resident and Killingly High School guidance counselor who lost her battle with breast cancer in August.
