Rogers star athlete Ellabelle Taylor brings toughness, stamina from other sports to track

When Rogers High junior Ellabelle Taylor steps on the track, there’s no way of taking her off – both literally and figuratively.

While young athletes these days feel like they have to specialize in one sport, Taylor’s drive to continue working in different aspects is a rarity.

At her most recent track meet at West Valley High School two weeks ago, Taylor was slated to compete in four events that day – with three occurring in a span of 1 hour.

Taylor started off in the 100 meters, ran it in 13 seconds, and 5 minutes later was back on the track for her next event – the 1,600. After running four laps, she caught her breath, watched the 4x100 relays, then hopped on the track again for the 400 to run one lap as fast as she could.

“Usually, when you get kids, they kind of already know what they want to do,” Rogers track coach Brent Palmer said. “But I don’t see much overlap between the 100 and the mile ever. It’s just not something you see the athletes do.”

It’s a unique thing, but the combination of running distances and sprints is no stranger to Taylor.

“In middle school, I would sprint and do distance as well,” Taylor said. “I’ve continued to do that in high school, and it’s been fun, but also tiring, and they are a lot different.”

Taylor has run personal-best times in three events this season and ranks first in the 100 and 200 and third in the 400 in the GSL 2A. She’s also 10th in the 1,600.

Practices have become a little chaotic for Palmer, especially when trying to plan around workouts on certain days as Taylor not only works with him, but now with the sprint and distance coaches.

“For me, it’s really hard from a training perspective,” Palmer said.

But he’s learning to adapt to this unique situation.

“I had to sit the distance and sprint coaches down and let them know she’s interested in doing both and see how things go,” Palmer said. “On days where it’s a lighter day, she’ll go and start timing splits for the mile. She’ll run a 400, then take a small break and goes and does it again. They really are mixing a type of hybrid of training as she’s getting her fast stuff and distance training in.”

Taylor’s background as a multisport athlete is nothing new. She runs for the Rogers cross country team in the fall and then wrestles in the winter. During cross country, Taylor qualified for her first state championship meet and placed 85th overall in the 152-person field. In wrestling, she also made it to state and placed sixth in the girls 110-pound weight class.

Because she competes in those two sports, the transition to track is much easier when it comes to staying in shape even in between seasons.

“I got to go from cross country to wrestling to track, and I still had all my fitness without having breaks in between,” Taylor said. “I felt coming in I was already a bit ahead in stamina and I could work harder and focus on running faster without having to get my condition up again.”

Perhaps it’s the endurance from cross country that makes it easier for Taylor to run shorter events like the 400, or the mental toughness she gets from wrestling that pushes her to want to do more like the 100 and 200. Whatever it may be, her ability to do all without tiring herself out is what really impresses Palmer.

“She’s not outrunning herself,” Palmer said. “That was really my goal in talking to them, is that if she’s going to do both, her health is going to come first. It’s never been a problem though because she’s so tough.”

Even Taylor recognizes the benefits of doing different events and the impact it has on a person.

“In track, having a whole bunch of different things you can do makes track fun,” Taylor said. “If you like running, jumping or throwing, this is the sport for you.”

She may not be the most vocal person on the track team, but what she has accomplished has inspired those around her to try out different events – regardless of how good they might be at first.

“It’s not one of those situations where you are being led by the loudest person in the room but being led by the person that does it right,” Palmer said. “She shows up and works her butt off.

“We see other young girls who show up and find out she does everything, and we start to have others interested in doing other events that never thought they would. I do think she is inspiring, and she doesn’t have to say a word.”