University of Tennessee Athletics
Track & Field
- Title:
- Director of Operations
- Email:
- ewortham@utk.edu
- Phone:
- (865) 974-4000
Ellen Hurst enters her eighth season as the Director of Operations for Tennessee Track & Field in 2023-24.
Formerly Ellen Wortham, Hurst was a student-athlete at Tennessee from 2009-12 and was named the SEC Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2012. She graduated from Tennessee, summa cum laude, with a B.A. in Psychology, earning an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
The Maryville native holds the Tennessee school record for the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 55.55, which she set at the 2012 SEC Championship. She won back-to-back SEC Championships in the 400-meter hurdles and won another SEC title as part of the 2009 indoor distance medley relay team.
She also ran the second leg on the 2010 distance medley relay team that won the NCAA indoor national championship. Hurst was joined on that team by Phoebe Wright, Chanelle Price and Brittany Sheffey as the quartet finished in 10:58.37 to claim the title. She was an 11-time USTFCCCA All-American performer, including nine first team appearances.
Hurst competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2012 and 2016 - making the semifinals for the 400m hurdles in 2012 and finishing 10th, 0.1 seconds from qualifying for the final.
In 2014, Hurst enrolled at Nicholls State University and graduated in December 2016 with an Ed.S. in School Psychology. While at Nicholls State, Hurst also worked as a graduate assistant in the athletics business office where she worked with the school's athletic accounts and the ticketing office. During her assistantship, Hurst helped to organize athletic fundraising events and award banquets. In addition to her responsibilities as a student and graduate assistant, Hurst also served as a volunteer coach for the Colonels' track and field/cross country teams.
For the year prior to joining the track & field staff at Tennessee, Hurst worked as a school psychologist intern with Alcoa City Schools. Her time there was spent serving the students and teachers as a resource for behavior plans, academic interventions, and comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations.
