Font ResizeBRATTLEBORO -- It’s possible that a freak accident in the fall, when a car ran over his leg, prevented Jacob Ellis from winning the Triple Crown -- state titles in cross-country running, Nordic skiing and track during his senior seasons.
But it didn’t keep the 2012 Brattleboro Union High School graduate from claiming the Reformer Athlete of the Year award.
He was one of the 10 best athletes in the state this past school year in all three sports that he competed in, and recently struck gold in the 800 and 1500 at the state outdoor track meet.
"Toughness," responded Ellis, when asked what it is that makes him so successful. "You have to work hard in practice and put in the time, but once you get on the track or on the trail you have to really, really want it. I’ve always been very competitive."
After maintaining an A average in the classroom, Ellis is headed to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he’s considering majoring in Government and Legal Studies. He will continue to do three sports, including cross-country running, indoor track and outdoor track.
And he’s due for some good luck this fall.
"One memory that stands out from cross-country, is the Thetford Woods Trail Run," said Ellis. "It was probably my best race of the season. I was right on the heels of the best runners in the state, fell in the mud just before the finish and I came in fourth."
The 6-1, 145-pounder
During a Nordic skiing season that was often missing a very important ingredient -- snow -- Ellis is proud of the way his BUHS team stepped up at the Classic Vermont State meet in Grafton. He would place 10th in that event.
Once the spring sports season began, Ellis started turning some heads. He was named outstanding male athlete at the Burlington Invitational, broke the school record for the 400, broke the state record in the 800 and 1500, struck gold twice at States, and earned a silver medal at the New England Championships.
He mentioned that he had his eye on breaking the 800 record all season, which made that achievement in Essex his best memory from this past spring.
"Jacob sets high standards and goals and works very hard to achieve them," said John Dimick, head coach of the BUHS track team. "His season is even more remarkable considering his leg was run over by a car midway through the fall cross country season."
Ellis was one of 10 area athletes chosen as a Reformer Athlete of the Month during the 2011-12 school year. The others were: Brattleboro’s Halie Lange, Tommy Heydinger, Kayla Wood and Isaiah Ungerleider; Leland & Gray’s Nicole Sherman; Hinsdale’s Skylar Bonnette and Allison Scott; and Bellows Falls’ Will Bourne and Kendrick Mills.
Shane Covey can be reached at scovey@reformer.com or by calling 802-254-2311, ext. 163.
