Athlete of the Week

Franchelle Hill

This week's Athlete of the Week holds the second-fastest time in the 100M race and she's only a junior. With a time of 11.66 seconds, imagine how fast she'll be next year!

Franchelle Hill is a track and field star at Hightower where she has added medal upon medal to an already sensational season. She even helped bring home the district championship in the 4x100 relay as the anchor of the team.

"It's very exciting to be a junior and having that time," Hill said. "It's really exciting to run against some great people and be able to say that ‘Yes, my time is the second best in the state.' But I am trying to get to No. 1. I'm happy with it but I'd rather be No. 1."

Hill's coach, David Pollack, thinks she has what it takes to be a state champion – "if not this year, it will be next year."

"She is definitely one of the best in 5A," Pollack said. "She has tremendous athletic ability with a desire to never quit. She is never going to be out of a race no matter how far behind she is."

Pollack attributes her success in part to the leadership role she's taken and contends that she "has a bright future ahead of her."

That bright future comes on the heels of her past, which includes a father who is a record-holder in track and a mother who also ran track in high school.

Hill's father is Frankie Hill, a one-time national titleholder from Abilene Christian University. She hopes to follow in his footsteps one day and achieve three things – win a state championship, get an athletic scholarship and be the best athlete she can be.

She's on her way to accomplishing all three.