Track and field: Thunder Hawk with a future

May 3---- Francis O'Malley's path as a state champion thrower started as a favor.

Francis had been to plenty of track and field events and would retrieve shot puts and discuses when his brothers Thomas and Charles threw for Montevideo. Before seventh grade, he went to a throws camp in Granite Falls hosted by Tom Thorkelson. Thorkelson is the throws coach at Gustavus Adolphus College and a Granite Falls native.

Montevideo co-head coach David Schimming thought Francis had potential. So he asked Thorkelson for 10 minutes of his time.

"I said I'd like for Francis to learn the right technique now, but he wasn't so sure about it," Schimming said. "Tom said, 'Well, I'll tell you what: He can try it for the first 10 minutes and if he's not ready, I'll come tell you."

It didn't even take that long.

"After about five minutes, he came over and said, 'Holy crap, he's going to be good. He can stick around.'"

Now a senior for the Thunder Hawks, Francis is a defending state champ,

with a throw of 57 feet, 6 inches.

Then on April 26, Francis won the shot put at the Hamline Elite Meet against throwers from all three classes with a toss of 55-8.

What started with a request has evolved into a top-tier thrower.

"They gave me the encouragement and the motivation to say, 'Hey, if you take this down the road, you can go pretty far," Francis said. "That kind of struck my interest right away. I thought it was fun and just enjoyed doing that."

The pressure was on all afternoon at the Elite Meet at a rainy Hamline University in St. Paul.

Francis hit his high mark of 55-8 on his second throw. Each thrower in the 12-person field had six throws. Centennial's Timothy Ball tied Francis with his third throw. Because of that, the second-best throw by Francis and Ball would declare a winner.

"Pressure is a privilege," Francis said. "I'm just glad I wasn't really paying attention to throws with it being a rainy day. My plan was to warm up and stay warm and be ready when it was my time."

Schimming was marking the throws. On Ball's final toss, he hit 55-3.5, putting him in first place. Francis still had one more attempt.

"The kid's a competitor," Schimming said. "He steps up."

"That last throw had some adrenaline in it," Francis said. "I kind of keyed on some technique stuff and got that last one out there."

Francis' final throw was marked at 55-5.5, two inches ahead of Ball. Francis didn't know if he had won until his coach got very vocal.

"I gave a pretty good shoutout," Schimming said with a laugh. "A good ol' 'Atta boy!'"

He also competed in the discus, placing 11th at 151-7. He was the Class A state runner-up last season at 164-1.

Francis dominates in the thrower's circle. He sports a personal best of 57-7.5 in the shot and 165-1.5 in the discus.

But he's also fleet of foot.

Francis is part of the Thunder Hawks' 4x100- and 4x200-meter relay teams. This season, he's spent the majority of time in the No. 2 spot in both relays.

"There are some special throwers out there and some of the really good ones can cross over and do some sprints," Schimming said. "This is one of them."

On being both a thrower and a sprinter, Francis said, "It keeps you busy, that's for sure. It's nice knowing that I can contribute in other aspects. We preach that this is track and field, not just track, not just field.

"I know we got a great shot at being something special for the guys' team. Knowing that I can throw the ball around and I can also get up and go, it's nice to compete in every aspect that I can."

Francis was the Thunder Hawks' running back in football. He was a Mr. Football finalist after running for 1,930 yards and 23 touchdowns. He's signed to play football at Division II Minnesota-Duluth where he's slated to play in H-back.

In the winter, Francis was also a powerlifter. It was another interest inspired by his older brothers when Francis was 13 years old

"They took me under their wing," Francis said. "They always went to the gym and being a little brother, you look up to them and you want to do what they do. They taught me the techniques to get the first couple steps under my belt."

He finished first in the 2023 USA Powerlifting High School Nationals in the Men's Raw 110 kilogram (242 pound) division. He scored a combined score of 727.5 after squatting 255 kg (562.1 lbs), bench pressing 185 kg (407.8 lbs) and deadlifting 287.5 kg (633.8 lbs).

Today, Francis said his maxes are 425 pounds on bench, 635 on deadlift, 565 on squat and 350 on clean.

If all goes according to plan, O'Malley will have another crack at a state championship or two when the state championship meet takes place June 6-8 at St. Michael-Albertville High School.

Whether he wins another championship medal isn't at the forefront of Francis' goals. He's more about setting a winning tone for those wearing Montevideo purple.

"My whole high school career, it's always just kind of been a legacy for the younger kids to take over," Francis said. "Leave as a good example. I don't really care about the championships or whatever as long as kids remember that you can go far and do good things with a good attitude, good character and being kind to others."

During the school day, Francis works with kindergarteners.

"I'll even play dodgeball with 'em, even though I'm significantly better," O'Malley said with a laugh, thinking about how much he's got to hold back against the youngsters.

"In their eyes, he's like a minor celebrity," said Montevideo co-head coach Todd Rietveld. "But he doesn't act like that. He's that role model they can talk with and kid around with."

Francis saw first-hand how taking 10 minutes can set someone on a winning path.

"It's just being the most ideal role model that maybe you would have liked to have growing up," Francis said. "It's just a blessing to have that opportunity to be a role model for the kids."

Said Rietveld, "I think his legacy will be realized for several years to come because of the connection with the young kids that we have."