Track: Marisa Ellis Really Wants to get to 37 Feet!
Junior Trackster Marisa Ellis is taking her jumping skills to Corpus Christi this
weekend in hopes of having her next stop in Austin.
Ellis is trying to do two things actually at this Region Meet. She wants to make it to Austin, but more importantly she wants to beat her best jump (which was performed as a Freshman) of 36’ 11.5”.
That jump two years ago allowed Ellis to go to a Region Meet as a freshman in the 4A Classification representing Midlothian.
Pretty big shoes to live up to….her sophomore year she only got to 36’8” and this year she jumped 36’10” at the District 26-3A Meet.
So now you can see her drive to not only beat the competition, but also beat this freshman from two years ago, that has dogged her ever since.
“I need to improve my vertical,” Marisa Ellis jumped up to answer on what has kept her from achieving that magical 37’ barrier. “I wanted to get to that 37’ and the week before district I could not sleep and I had my best jump this year…I kept picturing in my head the jump and I had a hard time sleeping.”
Ellis moved here from Midlothian this past Summer and ever since she stepped on Campus, the young lady has had a presence in the sports arena.
Volleyball? She was only substituted for once or twice…Basketball? Not her first love, but she more than came through for the team and had some valuable minutes for the team…Track? Her first love…
“Triple Jump has always been my thing,” Ellis said. “Jumping is a solo thing and I love track a lot because I love the winning.”
Winning has been pretty common for Ellis this track season as she has also excelled in the High Jump and will be competing in that event also in Corpus Christi.
“The High Jump is a side thing,” Ellis said while comparing the two events. “I will be competing in the Triple Jump on Friday, so if I do well, then it might motivate me a lot and take away the nerves when I compete in the High Jump on Saturday.”
When comparing the best Triple Jumpers in the Regions, Ellis has the second best jump and if that holds fast, then she would represent Canyon Lake in Austin, in order to qualify for Austin you need to finish first or second in this meet.
Ellis has had just two scratches in the Triple Jump so far this season and now the competition has gone up another notch and nerves and being at the right spot for her jumps is magnified.
“I was in gymnastics and that has helped me in hitting the board,” Ellis said with confidence.
Would she ever be a little risky in a meet? “Not very likely,” Ellis surmised.
However, the 37 foot barrier still looms for this athlete and have we mentioned how much she wants to get that marker? “I have wanted to do that for so long!”
The following is the marks for the Region in both the Triple Jump and High Jump:
Triple Jump
Name School Distance
McPheters Ingleside 37’5.5”
Marisa Ellis CANYON LAKE HAWKS 36’10”
Williams Sam Houston 36’2.5”
Singleton Billies 36’1”
Fort Palacios 35’6.5”
Dixon Liberty Hill 35’1.5”
Brooks Lampasas 35’1.5”
Downie West Oso 34’2”
Boehme Hondo 33’7”
High Jump
Name School Height
Zamzow Goliad 5’4”
Sheppard Cuero 5’4”
Seidenberger Yoakum 5’4”
Garza Yoakum 5’4”
Green Liberty Hill 5’4”
Marisa Ellis CANYON LAKE HAWKS 5’3”
Baldridge Columbia 5’2”
Mitchell West Oso 4’10”
Luce Hondo 4’10”