Bangor High School senior Alyssa Elliott, who has won state Class A championships in the triple jump and long jump and is a two-time All-New England selection, is taking her talents to the University of Connecticut.
Elliott said she really likes the coaches and had talked to other athletes who had attended UConn and they told her they loved it there.
“That helped with my decision-making,” said the 5-foot-11 Elliott, who will be on a full scholarship. “UConn had reached out to me last year and I was really excited about it. I kept in contact with them. It came down to three schools but UConn is where I really wanted to go.”
Elliott said she is going to be transformed into a heptathlete, a challenge to which she is looking forward.
That event involves seven disciplines: the 100-meter hurdles, the high jump, the long jump, the javelin, the shot put, the 200 meters and the 800 meters.
“I am super excited about it. That’s what I’ve wanted to do for a while,” she said. “I was a distance runner when I was younger.”
She said UConn coach Moose Akanno told her she has good potential in the various events and he felt she could be a successful multi-event athlete.
The 17-year-old Elliott said she plans to work on some of those events during the indoor and outdoor track seasons if they are held during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She plans to sign her National Letter of Intent on Monday afternoon.
Bangor High track coach Al Mosca said Elliott is a great example of hard work paying off.
“She is obviously very talented but she has worked so hard on her strength and conditioning that she has made herself very strong,” Mosca said. “She has worked her tail off to get this.
“She has God-given ability but she didn’t rest on it,” he added. “I’m very proud of her.”
Elliott in February led the Rams to their first Class A indoor state title since 2013 when she won the triple jump (37 feet, 6 inches) and long jump (17-9 1/2) and also ran a leg for the 4×200 relay team that finished third.
She went on to place sixth in the long jump at the New England Championships.
The 2020 outdoor season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a sophomore, Elliott won the long jump at the indoor and outdoor state championships. She placed third indoors and fourth outdoors in the triple jump and took sixth in the triple jump at the outdoors New Englands.
Elliott also owns the Penobscot Valley Conference-Eastern Maine Indoor Track League girls triple jump record at 38-0. Her career best in the long jump is 17-10.
In addition to track, she also played soccer at Bangor High for three seasons.
