Francis Off to Fast Start in Fresh Start at Florida
Wednesday, February 25, 2015 | Track and Field, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – When she crossed the finish line of her fresh start, Claudia Francis cooled off like she normally does after a meet. As the minutes and hours passed, a sense of calm arrived.
Was the Rod McCravy Invitational at Kentucky in late January her best performance? No. Did she experience some anxious and uncertain moments after a lengthy period away from competition? Yes. And what exactly did it mean? Perhaps more than anything, proof that Francis is back on track personally and athletically.
“I was pretty satisfied with that,'' Francis said. “It was a good meet considering I had to run three events.”
The 21-year-old Francis transferred to Florida last summer, finishing her course load at Oregon one week, moving cross-country to Florida the next in search of a reboot.
This isn't the first time Francis has packed her belongings to move far away. Soon after earning female Athlete of the Year honors on the New York Post's All-City Team her senior season at Cardozo High in Queens, Francis rejoined older sister Phyllis at Oregon.
Growing up the New York natives made a name for themselves on the local track scene, racing around the city on subways to get to meets before they were in middle school. Coached by their father, Andrew Francis, Phyllis and Claudia (photo, left) developed into standout performers and a year after Phyllis enrolled at Oregon, Claudia headed west too.
She had her moments with the Ducks. Francis qualified for the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 800-meters with a college-best time of 2 minutes, 4.88 seconds at the Pac-12 Championships, the 10th-best in school history at the time.
Still, as her college career advanced Francis began to feel an urge for new surroundings. Her times had stalled as well, prompting a search within for answers. Francis redshirted the outdoor season as a sophomore and did not compete during the indoor season last spring.
Francis also endured injury problems and soon, a sense of being out of place and out of touch so far away from her family in New York.
With her sister's college career over after last season, Claudia began to explore other options.
“I needed a change,'' she said. “I definitely wanted to be closer to home.”
When Gators head coach Mike Holloway received word that Francis was interested in transferring, he did his due diligence. The reports he received were positive, that a change of scenery might be all that Francis needed to restart her career.
“She basically said she had to do better,'' Holloway said. “That was big for me because you don't want to bring a cancer into your program that is going to come in and complain. She never felt like she couldn't run fast here because she had a bad experience. And she never badmouthed the University of Oregon, never pointed fingers at anybody else.
“From the moment she walked onto campus, we fell in love with the person she is and the fact she wants to be great. She fits what we do here. We gave her a chance and she capitalized on it.”
Francis had a strong debut for the Gators with her 800 victory at the Rod McCravy Invitational. She finished with a time of 2:06.96, a personal-best at an indoor event. She earned Southeastern Conference Co-Women's Runner of the Week for her performance.
Running the anchor leg on UF's 4x400 relay team, Francis posted a 52.7 split that helped the Gators set a school record (3:29.58) in the event and post the best time in the NCAA and world this year at the time.
Kyra Jefferson, also a member of the 4x400 relay team, first met Francis when they were sophomores in high school and teammates on a National Scholastic Athletics Foundation team that competed in Puerto Rico.
When Jefferson learned Francis was transferring to Florida, she knew she would fit in well with the Gators.
“Claudia was funny. She tried to teach us all the New York dances. We remembered her,'' Jefferson said. “I hadn't seen Claudia run since we were in 10th grade. I was amazed at how she ran [here]. Starting out, you would think she is down and out. And then all of a sudden she hits another gear. I can tell her training is really paying off for her.”
Francis attributed several factors that prevented her from the type of success she expected at Oregon, including weight gain from a less-than-ideal diet for a runner, growing pains related to life away from home, and her body's adjustment to intense weight training for the first time in her life.
Claudia Francis started here college career at Oregon. (Photo: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com)
In her six months at Florida, Francis has discovered a slice of balance.
“Coming here, the program definitely changed the way I thought of track,” she said. “It was a better environment for me. That inspires me a lot. We make sure we are all the same page and we help each other during practice.”
Francis has improved her conditioning and appears primed to challenge for the title in the 800 at this week's SEC Indoor Championships at the University of Kentucky.
Holloway has seen these situations go both ways during his career. He has seen athletes transfer into his program and have success, and others leave to find success.
He likes where Francis is in her transition phase.
“Claudia has just got to trust her fitness and believe in herself,'' he said. “She is an extremely talented young lady and the more she trusts in her fitness and believes in her true talent, she is going to run really well. She's in shape to run a lot faster. I'm excited about what she could possibly do.”
So is Francis, who hopes her first meet is just the start of better things ahead.
“It was a good opener,'' she said. “But I know I can do more."
