The Times-Independent

On the right track

Moab’s Jacob Francis pursues coaching following an elite track career as a walk-on at SUU


When Jacob Francis was in third grade, he aspired to be not a cop, doctor or astronaut, but a track coach.

Francis competes at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track & Field West Preliminary Rounds in Fayetteville, Arkansas on May 27.
Photo by Tyler Jaros

“It was super funny,” said the 2014 Grand County High School graduate. “What third grader is like, ‘I want to be a track coach?’”

But fast-forward nearly two decades, and that’s exactly what’s happening. As Francis concludes a stellar track career at the Division 1 Southern Utah University this year, he’s returning home to pursue his childhood dream: coaching runners.

“It was always a dream of mine,” he said. “I didn’t know if it would ever really happen … and things just fell into place.”

While it may seem odd for a child still years away from middle- and high-school sports, the dream made sense for Francis.

The youngest of eight, he grew up attending older siblings’ track meets and running with his father. Francis credits this exposure for his enduring love of the sport.

“I was never forced into running, which I’m really grateful for, since I never burned out or overtrained,” he said. “But it was always exposure … I remember thinking ‘I can’t wait ‘til I can be there, ‘til I can do that.’”

It was a prescient thought.

After competing on Grand County High’s track team for three years — and vaulting the boy’s team to a state victory each time — Francis began competing his freshman year of college as a walk-on. Four years later, he’s broken the school record for the steeplechase event and qualified for national preliminaries.

“Those things don’t just happen,” said Francis’s college coach, Eric Houle. “They happen in large part because of the program … but more so the dedication and the heart that that athlete has invested.”

According to Houle, Francis has those characteristics in spades — particularly evident given his start as a walk-on.

A distance runner, Francis has also run the 1500-meter event, shown here at
Weber State in Ogden.
Photo by Noah Hales

In college athletics, “walk-ons” must still try out for a team and don’t receive an athletic scholarship, unlike formal recruits. It’s a tough role for any athlete, Houle said.

“You’re adjusting to the volume and intensity [of] the college level, being a walk-on and kind of chasing everybody else,” he said. “To keep that confidence throughout the years and keep working hard and developing is … an adjustment I’ve seen him be able to deal with.”

Francis agreed that during first few years of college track, he had to transition “into that college atmosphere and college mindset of running.” He struggled with injury and ran “OK, but nothing super incredible.” Then, Francis found his groove.

“I got some confidence and started improving a lot — surprising myself, a lot, I guess,” he said. “I didn’t know how fast I could get. I assumed I could get faster than I was in high school, but I never knew. I didn’t know what my limits were, and that’s why I wanted to go to college. To see what I could do.”

“He just got better and better and better, and all of a sudden starting catching these folks on scholarship and surpassing some of them,” Houle said.

Francis also credits his success with meeting his wife, Maddy, on the track team. “Seeing her work ethic and her drive definitely helped shape me into a better runner,” he said.

Halfway through college, Francis had improved enough to receive an athletic scholarship himself.

“I was really grateful for that,” he said.

At that point, Francis had also started competing with SUU’s cross-country program, even though he’d never competed in the sport in high school. Last fall, he ran at nationals with that team, which placed 24th in the country.

Then, during this winter’s indoor track season, Francis set a personal record in the 1500-meter race and helped break the school’s record for the distance medley.

As this spring’s outdoor track season — Francis’s last — approached, the runner said he felt confident about his main event: the steeplechase, a 1.8-mile race in which runners must leap over obstacles and a water pit.

On April 29, Francis was competing at a prestigious meet at Stanford University in California. “It was perfect everything — perfect conditions, perfect weather,” he said. “We went out really fast the first lap and then my mentality was … don’t panic, stay relaxed, money in the bank, you know, and just hold on. … I wasn’t even thinking about the school record.”

After Francis finished, however, he and Houle confirmed that by three-tenths of a second, he’d broken the 26-year-old school record.

He had run the steeplechase in eight minutes, 49 seconds and 49 milliseconds, a time that a few years ago would’ve secured a national title, according to Houle.

“It speaks volumes of where dreams take you and that desire to chase that dream,” Houle said. “ … You shake your head and say, ‘Wait a minute, this guy was a walk-on, and he’s now broken the steeplechase record and qualified for the [national preliminaries].’”

Indeed, on May 27 Francis competed at the national track and field preliminary competition in Fayetteville, Arkansas, capping his college career.

Beyond records, though, Francis credits his running career with developing his coaching skills and honing his leadership. He spent two years as president of SUU’s Student-Athletic Advisory Committee.

“Those kinds of roles … really helped me to mature a lot and get ready for the next step in life, which for me is coaching and teaching,” Francis said.

Francis, with Maddy and their two-year-old son Tyler, recently returned to Moab. In the fall, Francis will finish his degree by student teaching at the high school — while, of course, coaching.

For Dennis Wells, Francis’ high-school coach in both track and football, the move to coaching isn’t a surprise.

“He’s just a really good leader,” Wells said. “He was good at getting his teammates up, getting them pumped and ready for the big game. … I think he would be one heck of a coach.”

Houle feels similarly.

“I predict he’s going to be one of the great coaches,” Houle said. “By the time he’s said and done, he’ll be one of the great track coaches in this state for sure.”

“As a coach … you need to be able to spell the dream; you need to be willing to work hard, which obviously he’s proven,” Houle continued. “You’ve got to be willing to do the things that others don’t want to do to be successful. He possesses those characteristics.”

“Plus, he just loves the sport, loves working with people, loves athletics, and is appreciative of the opportunities that he’s been given,” Houle added.

Francis said he wants to bring more opportunities to the students of Grand County. He’s helping run a summer-long strength and conditioning program for middle- and high-school athletes. Francis also wants to build a stronger program for distance track events and better integrate the cross-country and track teams.

Close to his heart, though, is the Zeke Francis Youth Invitational. Entering its fourth year, the free summer event aims to expose kids to track and field and will be held this year on July 30. With all proceeds donated to Grand County High athletics, the event also honors Francis’s father, who passed away when Francis was 12 and helped introduce him to the sport.

“There’s not a lot of exposure for track in Moab,” Francis said. “…That’s driven me to want to put on this race. I would enjoy maybe putting on more races for the community, because I do find a lot of joy in bringing people together thorough running.”

Houle said Moab is “majorly blessed” to have Francis in town.

“I constantly hear older people say ‘Oh, with this generation, what are we going to do, where are we going to be at?’” Houle said. “Well, let me tell you: with guys like that, this country’s going to be just fine.”