MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin has been stating its case as the nation's premier multi-events program since 2010.
Since then, Badgers have earned 11 first-team All-America honors and notched nine Big Ten titles between the indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon.
Georgia Ellenwood, looks to continue that success in the pentathlon this weekend at the 2016 Big Ten Indoor Championships in Geneva, Ohio.
UW's latest All-American actually hails from Canada, and it was the Badgers' multi-event success that drew Ellenwood, a native of Langley, British Columbia, to Madison.
"The whole college recruiting thing was really new to me back then so I had to limit it to five schools," Ellenwood said. "I had it down to Wisconsin and Oregon, but then I saw that the Wisconsin's women's team went 1-2-3 at the 2012 Big Ten meet in the heptathlon, and I knew UW would be a great school. I saw the athletes coming in and what their scores were and then how they improved, so I knew I could improve.
"Then I visited and everything just kind of clicked with my personality."
The Big Ten runner-up in the pentathlon last year, Ellenwood looks to continue the legacy established by Dorcas Akinniyi, Jessica Flax and
Deanna Latham. Akinniyi and Flax both completed their decorated careers prior to Ellenwood's arrival at Wisconsin, but she is very much aware of what they accomplished as Badgers.
"I didn't really get to practice with Jess or Dorcas, but I did with Deanna and I learned a lot about them through her," Ellenwood said. "She told me what they did and Nate (Davis) has been telling me that I have some (areas to improve) similar to theirs.
"Hearing their stories and what they've improved on is reassuring and has given me confidence, as well."
Ellenwood, it seems, has used the Badgers' recent history to her benefit.
"Georgia has taken a piece of every multi-event athlete she has come in contact with at the University of Wisconsin and used that to help her grow," said UW assistant coach
Nate Davis, who oversees the multi-event group. "She has really worked diligently to improve her weaknesses and I think that will pay off because she has always been a great competitor."
Ellenwood has enjoyed a strong indoor season, highlighted by her pentathlon win at the Jack Jennett Invitational last month with a score of 4,295 points. She fell just four points shy of matching Akinniyi's school record while setting personal-best marks in four of the five disciplines that make up the indoor event.
Last weekend at the Red and White Open, Ellenwood set a personal best in the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.67 seconds, which is tied for the sixth-best mark in UW history.
"I was a little bit intimidated by how fast the indoor season came up, but I know we've been working really hard in practice," Ellenwood said. "I've been training really hard and I think it's finally starting to show in competition now.
"I think I'm a whole new athlete this year. Looking back at my freshman year, it's just crazy how much I have developed. Every year I am building as an athlete and it's becoming easier to bring my confidence into meets now, too."
Ellenwood, who competed for Canada in the heptathlon at last year's World University Games, enters the weekend with her pentathlon score of 4,295 leading the Big Ten and ranking No. 5 nationally. Her primary competition will come from Minnesota's Jess Lehman, the defending Big Ten champion.
"Georgia always competes hard," Davis said. "When you're competing against someone in Lehman, who is possibly the most consistent multi-event athlete I've had an athlete go up against, we just try to do our best because we can't control what the rest of the field does."
"I'm just thinking about each event individually," Ellenwood said. "I'm trying to go out there and be confident and that will hopefully lead me to a good score."
