Prior to last fall, only one Andover High athlete had won Eagle-Tribune girls cross country Athlete of the Year dating back to the 1989 season.
Now, Molly Kiley has done it twice.
After another huge fall, Andover High senior Kiley has repeated as our Eagle-Tribune MVP.
The Boston University track recruit joins Maggie Mullins (2010-11) as the only Golden Warriors to earn the honor, and becomes the fifth athlete to win it in back-to-back seasons, the most recent being Meghan Cross of Pinkerton (2017-18) and Mullins.
An Eagle-Tribune All-Star as a freshman and sophomore, no one knew her better than her coach, Sue Kiley, who also happened to be her mom.
“Molly was an excellent captain and inspiration to her teammates thanks to her work ethic and results,” said Sue Kiley. “She works hard every day and races with tenacity, smarts and determination.”
Despite missing a few weeks at the start of the season due to COVID-19, Kiley was quickly back in form, going undefeated in the dual meet season.
Kiley placed second at the Merrimack Valley Conference championship (18:37), missing the title by just one second. She then placed fourth at the Division 1A meet in 17:57, the fastest Andover High cross country time for a certified course that they have on record. She was also third at the Bay State Invitational (19:37.5).
Also an Eagle-Tribune All-Star distance runner in spring track, Kiley won the MVC title in the 2-mile (11:08.59) and placed fourth in the mile in Division 1s (5:13.27).