Carlynton sprinter Sydney Franchick finds belated success in long jump

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, May 25, 2018 | 10:42 PM

Sydney Franchick's mind was made up. After graduating from Carlynton, she would go to Penn State to study physical therapy.

She even made the deposit to reserve her spot with the incoming freshman class.

But events of the past few weeks might have the senior rethinking her future. At the Baldwin Invitational, she eclipsed 16 feet in the long jump for the first time. Then, at the WPIAL Class AA championships, she came a quarter-inch from reaching 17 feet — without even hitting the board on the takeoff.

Colleges, including some Division II schools, started calling. Scholarships suddenly were a possibility.

“I'm definitely looking into it,” Franchick said. “(Going to Penn State) is still my plan. … But I am definitely going to talk to coaches to see if (jumping in college) is an option.

“If I would have been jumping like this last year, I would have considered it before I made my decision for Penn State.”

Cougars coach Nate Milsom said he believes Franchick has much bigger jumps in her future if she chooses to continue.

“She just really this past month exploded in the long jump,” he said. “She had a couple good jumps last year, but nothing like she's done this year.

“She's just one of those kids who works so hard at everything she does. You always love having those kids who are willing to be taught, and she just takes everything in.”

Franchick competed in the long jump in the past but wasn't fully committed to it until last season, when she started practicing it with more purpose. Until then, her specialty was sprinting.

She has been leading off the Cougars' 400 relay team since her freshman year and helped that group reach the PIAA meet in each of her four seasons.

“I don't think there's anyone in the WPIAL who can run the curve as fast as her,” Milsom said. “If the 100 was run on the curve, she'd be right up there with anyone in the WPIAL.”

At the WPIAL championship May 17, she, fellow seniors Arieona Smith-Purdue and Katie Kozy and sophomore Ainsley Pearce placed fourth with a school-record time of 50.86 seconds. That broke the mark set during Franchick's freshman season, when current Duquesne basketball player Conor Richardson was part of the relay.

“It was really awesome,” Franchick said. “We kind of didn't know who to put in that third leg, but (Pearce) really picked it up quickly.”

The Cougars' 400 relay entered the PIAA meet ranked 18th out of 25 Class AA schools. Franchick ranked 15th among 25 competitors in the long jump.

As happy as she was to return to states with the relay, the chance to compete as an individual for the first time was even more tantalizing. Whether it is her final track and field competition remains to be seen, but she already accomplished something that seemed impossible just a year ago.

“I was stuck in the 15s (feet) the past two years,” she said. “After (Baldwin), I was more confident. It's exciting to go (to states) in two events. I didn't think this would happen. I'm just exceeding my expectations.”

Chuck Curti is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at ccurti@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CCurti_Trib.

Tags: Carlynton