Warren's Ellis nets Gatorade track and field honor

In its 30th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, has announced Brittny Ellis of Warren as its 2014-15 girls track and field athlete of the year.

Ellis is the first winner to be chosen from Warren.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the track, distinguishes Ellis as Illinois's best high school girls track and field athlete.

Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National girls track & field athlete of the year award to be announced in June, Ellis joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners selected in 12 sports.

The 5-foot-10 senior won three individual Class 3A state championships this spring and led the Blue Devils to a tie for second-place as a team.

Ellis became the first Class 3A runner in a decade to win the sprint triple, capturing the 100 meters in 11.85 seconds, the 200 in 24.38 and the 400 in 54.19. She took sixth in the 400 at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China in 2014.

Ellis has maintained a weighted 4.40 GPA in the classroom. She has volunteered locally on behalf of Feed My Starving Children and Kindred Life Ministries, providing assistance for teen-aged mothers.

"What separates Brittny from the rest is her humility," said Warren coach Ryan Dunn. "Her attitude, sportsmanship and coachability make it easy for coaches, teammates and even rivals to like her."

Ellis has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in track and field on scholarship at Miami this fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport.

For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of past winners and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit www.gatorade.com/poy.