Medal of Courage

Francis won the New Jersey State Wrestling Championship in 1992 while wrestling for Boonton High School. With a high school record of 111-9 he decided to attend Rider University to continue his wrestling career. At Rider, Francis was a Conference Champion in 1994 and 1995 and named the Most Valuable wrestler in 1995.

During the summer of 1995 Francis was in a life threatening vehicular accident in which he suffered a severely broken leg that required a steel rod to be placed through the entire femur with pins on both ends. The rod remains in his leg today. Due to the leg and severe trauma to his body Francis remained in critical condition for several days. The doctor actually had to drill out the center of the entire femur bone to place the steel rod through it. His ever wrestling again seemed out of the question.

But Francis had other ideas. Lying in his hospital bed, he explained to his coaches that not only would he wrestle again but he would still accomplish his goal of being a Division 1 All-American. He returned to college in a wheel chair and things looked bleak. After several months, he began to walk on crutches and watch wrestling practice. Soon he asked his coach if he could start working with him on the mat. With apprehension, Coach Taylor agreed to try to help him return to the sport Francis loved.

Francis could not support himself on his bad leg so working on takedowns was out of the question. Since Francis had exceptional skill in the top position, he realized that to improve he must improve his offense. He said, " In order to come back and be an All-American I must get better than I was before on the mat." With determination and unusual courage, Francis pushed himself through pain and exhaustion. Coach Taylor reflected, "I knew his leg would never reach what it was before the accident, but I watch his heart begin to grow to make up for it. In all my years of coaching I never saw courage like this."

Francis realized his dream. During his senior year he improved day after day through determination and hard work. At the NCAA tournament he defeated the number 7 seeded wrestler in the first round, a wrestler who would the following year become the NCAA champion. Francis finished eighth in 1997 at the National Championships at 142-pounds with a rod and pins in his leg. He was and is an inspiration to his teammates and coaches, a man of great courage.