Girls’ Player of the Week : Franke Manages to Do It All, Within Limits

Allison Franke said she didn’t really know what a discus was until she was a sophomore last year at Canyon High School.

“I hadn’t really heard of it,” she said. “But I always wanted to throw something.”

Six months after she started throwing the discus, Franke won the event at both the Southern Section and Master championships.

She went on to place fourth in the state meet with a personal best of 138-feet 6-inches.

Franke, The Times’ player of the week, improved that mark by more than a foot on Friday. She threw 139-10--the third best mark in the state this season--to lead Canyon to a second-place finish at the Katella Relays.

Franke also triple jumped 36-6 3/4, one inch off her best, and long jumped 16-6.

Saturday, Franke was the standout female performer at the Brea-Olinda Relays.

She won the 100-meter hurdles (15.4 seconds), the triple jump (35-6) and the discus (117-11), again leading Canyon to a second-place finish.

Mike Sayward, coach of the Canyon girls’ team for 13 years, said Franke had “the finest performance of any Canyon (track) athlete ever during the regular season.”

Franke, who also plays varsity volleyball and basketball, had wanted to limit herself to one sport when she enrolled at Canyon in the fall of 1986.

“I decided I should go with the sport that I would go the furthest with,” she said.

Franke, who ran track and played volleyball, softball, basketball and flag football through junior high, decided to specialize in track and field, and play the other sports just for fun.

The decision came to her when she entered the school’s weight room for the first time last year.

There, Mike Casteneda, the shotput and discus coach on Canyon’s track team, asked Franke to do something many of the other girls could not--a chin-up.

Franke did eight.

“I guess that’s when the idea popped into his head that I’d be a pretty good discus thrower,” Franke said. “There was some strength in my arms from softball.”

She said although she too had the feeling that the discus might be a promising event for her, she never thought she would accomplish so much so quickly.

“I had hoped to be one of the top throwers in the state last year,” she said. “But in reality, I thought that was a pretty far-fetched dream.”

“I guess I strive for the highest (goals), and then somehow bring myself up to that level.”

Franke gives much of the credit for her success to her four coaches: jumps coach Al Miranda, hurdle coach Al Rodriguez, Casteneda and Sayward.

“It’s hard to imagine doing any of this without them,” she said. “They’re the best in the county.”

And, right now at least, so is Franke.

TOP PERFORMERS

Suzi Lucas of Corona del Mar long jumped 18-3 Thursday in a nonleague dual meet.

Terry Carpenter of Edison pitched a no-hitter and struck out 16 to lead the Chargers to a 2-0 victory over Sunny Hills Tuesday.

Paige Lauby pitched a no-hitter to lead El Toro to a 9-1 victory over Foothill.

Kim Engstrom pitched a no-hitter and struck out 14 to lead Liberty Christian to a 13-1 victory over Pioneer Baptist Tuesday.

Freshman Jennifer Smith pitched a no-hitter and struck out 16 to lead Capistrano Valley to a 5-0 victory over Santa Ana Valley Tuesday.

Allison Bedford had 4 hits, scored 5 runs and drove in 6 runs to lead St. Margaret’s to a 39-8 victory over Van Horn.

Allison Franke

Canyon High School

Position: discus, triple jump, hurdles.

Height, Class: 5-9, Jr.

Last Week: Franke threw 139-10--the third best mark in the state this season--to lead Canyon to a second-place finish at the Katella Relays Friday. She also triple jumped 36-6 3/4, one inch off her best, and long jumped 16-6. Saturday, she won 100-meter hurdles (15.4 seconds), the triple jump (35-6) and the discus (117-11) at the Brea-Olinda Relays.