Cross Country Head Coach

Matthew Ellis serves as Bellarmine Preparatory School’s Head Coach for Boys and Girls Cross Country and Boys and Girls Track and Field. With nearly three decades of coaching experience and 30 years in education, Coach Ellis has built one of the premier distance programs in Washington State.

Under his leadership, Bellarmine teams have achieved remarkable success, including the 2016 Washington State 4A Boys Cross Country Championship and the 2004 and 2013 Washington State 4A Girls Cross Country Championships. His teams have qualified for Nike Team Nationals twice, finishing fourth nationally in 2004, and have captured multiple Washington State 4A Girls Track and Field titles. Overall, his programs have earned 18 state trophies across cross country and track and field, along with 33 individual boys and girls state champions.

Coach Ellis has mentored athletes to historic performances, including Washington State all-time best marks in the 1600 meters and 3200 meters, a U.S. number one freshman miler, and national podium finishes at Nike Team Nationals and Foot Locker Nationals.

His coaching philosophy is simple and powerful: to love the process. He believes deeply in aerobic exercise as a lifelong pursuit and views distance running as one of the most important behaviors for living a long and healthy life. He is passionate about working with motivated young people who strive for excellence and who embrace discipline, consistency, and growth.

A Seattle native, Coach Ellis competed collegiately at the University of Puget Sound, where he was an NAIA All American in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and served as team captain. He later earned his graduate degree from Western Washington University. As a post collegiate athlete, he won both the Capital City Marathon and the Napa Valley Marathon and competed for the Fairhaven Racing Team and the Asics FootZone Racing Team.

Coach Ellis currently serves as president and head coach of the Tacoma City Running Club, where he has coached three athletes to qualify for the Olympic Trials and helped develop a USA 100 kilometer national champion. He enjoys running, hiking, traveling, cooking, and sharing good food with family and friends. He is married to Nancy Vitoria Ellis, an SEC 10,000 meter champion.

Coach Ellis continues to shape student athletes who pursue excellence not only in competition, but in life.