(Claudia Francis right with her father Andrew Francis- left)
By Christopher Hunt
Claudia Francis could have picked any school in the country. Anyone would gladly have her. The Cardozo senior is the best half-miler in the country and probably still has the biggest upside of any high school runner you can think of.
And she picked the University of Oregon.
“Oregon is Track Town USA,” she said. “You don’t want to miss that.”
Francis chose a Ducks singlet ahead of Villanova, Stanford and Tennessee. But Oregon coach Vin Lananna always had the odds tilted in his favor. Francis had dreamed of going to Oregon ever since she won the 800, 1,500 and 3,000 as an 11-year old at the 2004 Junior Olympics at the famed Hayward Field.
Then there’s the fact that her older sister Phyllis accepted a scholarship to...
