Sisters Lauren Ellsworth-Barnes and Alena Ellsworth shared nearly everything at BYU: classes, homework, two majors, track workouts and even a track and field national title. They have so much in common that they are often mistaken for fraternal twins despite their two-year age difference.
Growing up in the Arizona heat, Lauren and Alena were among the top high school track athletes in the nation, and they dreamed about running together in college. Intense national recruitment and a narrow window of opportunity would make it difficult to turn that desire into reality.
Among all the different schools and coaches lobbying to recruit her, Lauren, the older of the two sisters, ultimately decided to attend BYU on a track scholarship.
“I was getting recruited by lots of schools, but what drew me to BYU was that you could do both running and nursing,” Lauren said. “Even though it wasn’t going to be easy to be in a very time-consuming major, I was never going to give up running.”
“My experience at BYU has made me look at all the aspects of life,” she said. “It’s not just about being a good runner, it’s about being a good person. You can be excited about your success and the success of others. You can do everything you want to do. I can be a mom, and I can be a mom and a good nurse.”
Lauren went to BYU for one year before serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Des Moines, Iowa.
Alena also happily accepted an offer from BYU women’s track coach Diljeet Taylor. Even though Coach Taylor wanted Alena to run 800 meters, something Alena didn’t do much in high school, she was determined to follow Lauren and found the offer impossible to turn down.
As the sisters’ schooling progressed, they experienced some epic setbacks and triumphs on the track. The pair ended up on the same distance medley team, a relay of four teammates who run different lengths of the track. During the race, the first team member runs 1200 meters before passing the baton to the 400-meter, 800-meter, and 1600-meter runners.
Their distance medley team was picked as a favorite to win the national title in 2020, but unfortunately, the meet was canceled because of COVID-19.
Picking themselves back up for the following year, their hard work paid off in 2021 when Alena ran the 400m at a scorching fast pace of 52 seconds before handing the baton to Lauren for a grueling 800m sprint. Ultimately, the team ended up bringing home the national title with a school record and a total time of 10:52.
“Running a relay is different in that you don’t just care about running fast so you can win, you’re also motivated to run fast for the other women on your team,” Alena said. “It’s something we will remember forever because it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Off the track, the sisters shared classes and studied together. Alena surprisingly discovered that she was passionate about nursing while Lauren was on her mission, and upon her return, the sisters ended up in the same class and on the same track for graduation.
“What I loved about BYU was the spiritual aspect of our education that was incorporated into every class,” said Alena. “In nursing, we learned that God has created a perfect system and that everything has a purpose. This is an incredible place to be.”
Both Lauren and Alena completed their coursework in December and will be walking in this month’s graduation ceremonies.
Continuing their pattern of doing so much together, both sisters got jobs at the NICU at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.
