On Friday, Jan. 7 Farmingdale State indoor track jumper Qasim Ellis won the Triple Jump in the Metro Coaches Invitational at the New Balance Track & Field Center in Manhattan.
Ellis leaped a school record 14.47m (47’ 5 3/4”), breaking his current coach Reggie Routier’s previous record of 47’ 5 1/4”, which was set in 2007.
This mark improves Ellis’s National qualifying mark. He also placed 8th in the Long Jump with a leap of 6.67m (21’ 10 3/4”). Ellis was the top Division III athlete in the event.
Ellis, 21, is a senior studying Computer Science at Farmingdale State College.
Son of Darryl and Aminah, Ellis graduated in 2007 from Farmingdale High School, where he was a four-time County Champion and an All-Long Island Long Jumper. He was second in the state for the Long Jump, ranked 14th in the nation for the Triple Jump and was a member of the Empire State 4×1 team. Ellis is also an ECAC Champion.
“Qasim, he was an excellent student, he was a great excellent athlete and he’s a great person; he works very, very hard,” said Farmingdale High School Track and Field Coach Walt Henning upon hearing the news. “He’s so well rounded and such a nice person, it was a pleasure coaching him.”
Henning coached Ellis during his high school years, saying the team would practice for hours, six days a week.
Farmingdale State College will compete on Friday, Jan. 21 at the Great Dane Invitational at the New Balance Track and Field Center in New York City, and on Saturday, Jan. 22 at the Wesleyan Invitation at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.
For more information including a season schedule of events visit www.farmingdalesports.com.
