Ankeny Centennial senior Ellie Blevins has verbally committed to join the Northern Iowa women’s track and cross country programs.
Blevins said she mostly looked at schools in the Midwest as she wanted to stay close to home.
“I kept my search pretty short when going on official visits just so I wasn’t too overwhelmed with a choice this fall,” said Blevins. “I really like how UNI supports their runners and continues to grow them as they come into the program. Their coaching staff is big on taking good and making it better. It is a place that I felt like I could grow as an athlete and as a person.”
Blevins was a four-time state cross country qualifier and a two-time placewinner at Centennial, where she helped the Jaguars to a program-best runner-up finish in the Class 4A state meet on Oct. 31. She took 14th as a senior after placing eighth as a junior.
On the track, Blevins helped Centennial to a seventh-place tie in last spring’s state meet, the team’s highest finish ever. She placed eighth in the 800 and anchored the Jaguars’ fourth-place 4×800 relay.
Blevins also ran on the sixth-place 4×800 relays in both 2024 and 2025.
The distance standout will be transitioning from one program with a positive culture to another.
“Their team atmosphere was definitely something I really liked as well,” Blevins said. “They are all driven girls and work hard together.”