Fast on her feet

JUNEAU - Whether it's in the classroom, on the track or a 5k course, few - if any - can catch Juneau-Douglas High School's Leah Francis.

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Michael Penn / Juneau Empire

Entering her senior campaign, Francis is gunning for a four-year sweep of the girls' cross country state championship, the 1,600 and 3,200-meter state titles, as well as another 800-meter state gold medal to pair with the one she won as a sophomore.

A cross country sweep has happened just twice before, by Kodiak's Kristy Klinnert (1983-86), and Seward's Emily Ransom (1990-93). No boys' cross country runner has ever won more than three titles.

Only a fool would bet against the sweep. Francis has won the 5k by no less than 14.3 seconds, and by as much as 37 seconds. One word sums both of those margins up -dominant.

Francis is a big fan of outdoor sports, be it running, skiing or rock climbing. But she admits she lacks in the hand-eye coordination department.

"I like soccer, but I'm really uncoordinated so I can't play basketball," she said. "I can't catch things or throw them. One time, this girl on my team threw a basketball at me and it hit me in the forehead when I was putting my hands up to catch it.

"Yeah, I'm not coordinated at all."

Francis began running seriously as a freshman after participating in track in middle school. Heading into her freshman cross country season, she didn't know what to expect.

"Coming into high school, I thought I was going to get last at everything and everyone was going to be so fast," she said. "I never thought I would win state."

But after winning the Lynx Invitational, Francis' confidence began to grow, though she never considered herself a favorite to win the final meet. But then it happened for the very first time.

"I had a lot of adrenaline, and I was really excited. It was a lot of fun," she said of winning her first state championship. "I was really nervous beforehand, so I guess mostly I was relieved. I had been stressing out for weeks, and that day I was really nervous, throwing up. Once it was over, I was just glad it was over. I didn't care what happened."

JDHS girls' cross country coach Merry Ellefson said during that first season, Francis stepped onto a team that had "a strong value system in terms of commitment to each other and the work, whatever that work is." She said Francis has continued to carry that torch.

"Leah came to the high school with an extraordinary amount of talent, but I think what's most important in her athletic growth has been her commitment and her will. She has a lot of will, grit and commitment," she said. "She's moving into her fourth year and she's a co-captain. She's grown into an amazing leader and an inspiration both for the boys and the girls, certainly locally, but also state-wide.

"The leadership she provides is going to continue to inspire this team well beyond her years here."

So 10 state titles and counting later, doeswinning ever become ho-hum?

"I don't usually feel like or assume that I'm going to win anything," Francis said. "I usually go into races thinking that anything can happen because anything can.

"I guess winning is better than not winning," she continued. "But it's not really that much about winning. Racing is a part of what you have to do when you run, and I just like to run. And when you race, the point is to win, so it's good to win."

Francis also ranks at the head of her class academically, with virtually all of the top running schools in the country hoping to add her to their program. She is wide open on her college decision, with schools all the way from Boston College to Stanford on her list, including several Ivy League schools. Francis said choosing a future major will be asdifficult as choosing a school.

"I like all of the colleges I've visited except for a couple. I just want to be far away from Juneau weather," she said with a grin. "I don't really know (what to study), either. I might go into visual arts, or be a doctor, or maybe an English major."

But first, there are a few more high school titles to win and goals to reach.

"I would like to start breaking 18 (minutes in the 5k) on a regular basis instead of just once," she said. "I have to keep taking hard classes, even though I don't want to. I just want to get better. Every year my goal is to get faster times. Maybe I'll win the 800 again."

Only a fool would bet against that.