Huskies announce a pair of incoming grad transfers for next season...

The Huskies' 1500 meter room just got a teeny bit crowded with the announcement from the school that NCAA third place finisher Sam Ellis (Paul Merca photo) from Princeton will finish his collegiate running career at the University of Washington.

In addition, NCAA steeplechase runner-up Kayley DeLay (Paul Merca photo) from Yale will transfer to Washington, according to a press release issued by the school Thursday morning.

Ellis, who has a personal best in the 1500 of 3:37.60, which he set in the NCAA championship semifinals, was part of the Tigers' distance medley relay team that finished fourth in this year's NCAA indoor championships in Birmingham, as they ran 9:26.01.

Ellis has run at Dempsey, as Princeton sent some runners to the UW Indoor Preview in January, where he finished third in 3:57.02.

The Decatur, Georgia native joins a UW 1500 squad that includes NCAA champ Joe Waskom, fifth place finisher Luke Houser, and seventh place finisher Nathan Green.

DeLay, a native of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, ran the third fastest time in collegiate history at the NCAA championships in Eugene two weeks ago, clocking 9:25.08 in finishing second behind Courtney Wayment Smith of BYU.

DeLay finished tenth in the NCAA cross country championships last fall, running 19:38 over the 6k course. She finished 15th in the NCAA indoor 5000 this winter.

She also has a personal best of 4:12.12 in the 1500 and a 5000m PR of 15:36.66.

Both Ellis and DeLay are entered in the Toyota USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene that begin Thursday.

The University of Washington's release is available here.

NOTE: The sports information offices of the University of Washington, Princeton University, and Yale University contributed to this report.

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