The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Sisters High School senior Ella Bartlett will continue her running career next year for the Nighthawks at Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) in Nampa, Idaho.

Her choice became official on November 28 in a signing ceremony at Sisters High School, surrounded by her parents, coaches, and teammates.

Bartlett, a multi-sport athlete throughout high school, is well decorated as a runner. She completed her fourth cross-country season recently after leading the team as a captain, and helped the Outlaws to second place in Special District 3 and a seventh-place team finish at State. Bartlett ran at the state meet all four years of high school.

In track, Bartlett is coming off a stellar season in which she placed third in the 3,000 meters, lowering her best time to 11:01, and fifth in the 1,500 meters.

"I am really excited to be moving to Idaho next year and take my next steps in my running career, including cross-country, indoor track, and outdoor track," she said. "When I visited I loved the atmosphere of the school and how kind and welcoming the team and coaches were."

Northwest Nazarene competes in the Greater Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) at the NCAA Division III level. Other schools in the conference include Western Oregon University, Simon Fraser, Western Washington University, Seattle Pacific, St. Martin's, Montana State (Billings), Central Washington, Alaska Anchorage, and Alaska Fairbanks.

NNU's women finished eighth among the 10 teams competing, and based on the results from this year's team compared to Bartlett's own times, she looks ready to have a positive impact on the Nighthawks' future team success.