Aidan Elbettar

Willington Wright

Sprints/Jumps

/ Track & Field

Photo by: Corey Mueller

Photo by: Elijah Carr

Photo by: Don Liebig

Height:
6-9
Class:
Junior
High School:
Newport Harbor
Hometown:
Newport Beach, Calif.

2024
Competed in the shot put event during the indoor campaign… Recorded his season-best mark (17.47m) at the New Mexico Team Open in late January… Threw shot put and discus during the outdoor campaign, claiming UCLA’s team-best marks in both events… Claimed victory at the Rafer Johnson-Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational on March 23, throwing 17.08m (56-00.50)… Placed second in the discus event at the annual USC Dual Meet (59.11m, 193-11) with his season-best mark… Finished sixth in the west at the NCAA regional meet in Arkansas… Placed 13^th in the discus event at the national championships in Eugene, Ore., in June… Honors: USTFCCCA Second-Team All-America (discus)

2023
Threw shot put at four indoor meets… Recorded a season-best mark at the Ken Shannon Last Chance Invitational, throwing 17.18m (56-04.50) in the meet… Appeared in shot and discus competitions during the outdoor season, throwing 13 times for the Bruins… Opened the season on the podium at the Ben Brown Invitational, throwing 58.51m (191-11) in the discus event for second place… Followed it up with a win in the discus and runner-up in the shot put at the Rafer Johnson-Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational… His 17.44m (57-02.75) mark at the UCLA-hosted meet was a season-best mark in the shot… UCLA’s top discus thrower, recorded the six of the top seven marks for the Bruins during the outdoor campaign… Claimed victory over the rival USC Trojans at the annual Dual Meet in late April, throwing a season-best mark of 60.44m (198-03) inside Drake Stadium… Finished eighth in the Conference and 13^th in the west at the respective postseason meets... 2023 NACAC U23 Championship: Elbettar captured the bronze medal at the U23 championships in Costa Rica… The Bruin competed in the discus throw, launching a discus 53.21m in the final.

2022
Competed in four indoor and six outdoor meets, throwing in both shot put and discus events... Came away with discus victories in the USC Dual Meet (58.51m, 191-11), the West Coast Relays (58.47, 191-10) and the Chris Rinne Twilight (58.00m, 190-03).

2021
Competed unattached in the shot put and discus at the Jim Bush Legends Invitational … Took sixth place in the shot with a mark of 15.94m (52-03.75) … Finished ninth in the discus with a toss of 48.12m (157-10).

High School
Shot put PR: 63-09.00 … Discus PR: 200-08 … Two-year letterwinner in track & field at Newport Harbor High School … Lettered in football in 2017 … Won five of six throwing competitions in a shortened 2020 outdoor season, including PRs in the shot put and discus at the Marina vs. Newport Harbor Dual Meet (March 11) … All-American thrower as a junior … 2019 CIF-SS Champion in the shot put (58-11.00) and discus (193-03) … Finished second in the shot put with a throw of 62-04.75 … Secured 15 victories or runner-up performances his junior season … Won the shot put (60-10.25) and discus (158-11.75) competitions at the 2019 USATF Southern California Association Junior Olympic Championships … Took fourth in the discus (188-08) and sixth in the shot put (63-02.00) at 2019 New Balance Outdoor Nationals.

Personal
Born in Ramsey County, Minn., to parents Jay and Tess Elbettar … Has two brothers, Blake and Camron, and two sisters, Tessa and Nora … From Newport Beach, Calif. … Decided to attend UCLA because, “it was the most well-rounded of the schools I went to on official visits” … Admires throwers Ryan Crouser, Daniel Stahl, Federick Dacres, and Mac Wilkins … Enjoys computer gaming and watching anime … Plans to major in Environmental Science.

UCLA New Director of Track & Field: Joanna Hayes

Friday, June 21

UCLA New Director of Track & Field: Joanna Hayes

Friday, June 21

UCLA Track & Field Jim Bush Legends Invite (April 13, 2024)

Wednesday, April 17

powHER of the Pac: UCLA's Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Monday, June 27

Sixteen Individuals, Both Teams Earn USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors

Tuesday, July 22

Seven Bruins Earn Academic All-District Honors

Tuesday, June 24

Women Finish Up NCAA Championships With Two More Scorers

Saturday, June 14

Pinckney, Clement II Score for UCLA on Day 3 of NCAAs

Friday, June 13

University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

2023 Track & Field Roster

Roster

Ka'Leila Abrille

Katerina Adamiec

Sophia Alexander

Audrey Allen

Eric Allen, Jr.

Liam Anderson

Josh Bailey

Mia Barnett

Mateo Bianchi

Federica Botter

Bella Browne

Chloe Browne

Mia Cervantes

Alexandra Chan

Chris Chavez

Kaho Cichon

Aly Conyers

Carly Corsinita

Tierra Crockrell

Patrick Curulla

Harrison Dance

Jelaani Davis

Jai Dawson

Maddy Doane

Carlie Dorostkar

Aidan Elbettar

Kris Emig

Gwyn George

Conor Gibson

Hailey Golmon

Isabella Grant

Sophia Hartwell

Keaton Heisterman

Eden Henderson

Sam Herenton

Peter Herold

Christopher Hill

Sophia Hoelzel

Ugonna Ikejiofor

Amber Jackson

Jalyn Jackson

Kate Jendrezak

Ashley Johnson

Naomi Johnson

Sydney Johnson

Jada Jones

Mia Kane

Gabriel Katches

Anoop Khatra

Aaron Kim

Benjamin Kirk

Mackenzie Kirk

Catherine Leger

Allison Leigh

Aiden Lieb

Lydia Liu

Mayyi Mahama

Jadyn Marshall

Andrew Martinez

Jade McDonald

Sam McDonnell

Lauren McFall

Kerrigan McGreevy

Ronan McMahon-Staggs

Michael Mireles

Myles Misener-Daley

Cristian Moore

Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck

Antonie Nortje

Camryn O'Bannon

Hunter O'Brien

Chinyere Okoro

Jake Parker

Miliana Perez

Makenzy Pierre-Webster

Michael Pinckney

Rose Pittman