Marble Falls grad Chloe Ellis to run in college

CAPTION: Chloe Ellis shined in her final year as a Lady Mustang runner, advancing to postseason meets and displaying her heart, according to head coach Brenda Gonzalez. Courtesy photo

Chloe Ellis, who graduated in May from Marble Falls High School, will be a middle-distance runner for Jacksonville College.

Cross country and Lady Mustangs track and field head coach Brenda Gonzalez commended Ellis for her choice and her work leading up to it.

The runner created an online profile that included her race times in cross country and track and field. That compelled Jacksonville College coaches to contact Gonzalez requesting more information.

“They eventually reached out to her,” Gonzalez said.

At the time, Ellis had already been accepted to Angelo State University and planned to attempt to walk-on to the teams. But that changed once Ellis made contact with Jacksonville College, deciding instead “to accept the offer,” Gonzalez said.

Girls run a two-mile cross country length. Ellis competed in the mile and two mile in track.

The city of Jacksonville is about a 15-minute drive from Bullard, site of the Class 4A Region III track and field meet, and about a two-hour drive from Huntsville, site of the Class 4A Region III cross country meet. In other words, Ellis is familiar with the area, Gonzalez said.

The coach pointed out Ellis has overcome injuries to get to this point. She suffered them while in high school leading up to her final year as a Lady Mustang athlete.

“She was coming back and getting back to her best performances,” she said. “I was really excited for her.”

Ellis will leave for Jacksonville in Aug. 3. Until then, she is running with her former teammates as they’re preparing for the 2025 high school season.

Gonzalez called Ellis “a great teammate and a great leader and shows up to help her teammates.”

“(Jacksonville College is) getting a kid who works hard and wants to get better,” she said. “She knows the next level is tough. I think the season wasn’t long enough for her. She barely missed advancing to regionals. This gives her an opportunity to fulfill those times she fell short. I’m super excited for her. There are challenges. I think she did a very good job on that. I think she had more left in the tank and she gets to do it again.”

CAPTION: In her final year, Chloe Ellis (center) served as a mentor to Reese Massey (left) and Ines Ruiz. Courtesy photo