Bulldog at Heart: CUNE Alumnus Ceron Francisco Sets Sights on Olympics

Photo courtesy of Concordia University, Nebraska Athletic Department

By Nicholas Boys

If home is where the heart is, Concordia alumnus and Olympic hopeful Ceron Francisco’s heart would certainly be found somewhere in Seward.

The Fayetteville, North Carolina native spent four and a half years studying and wrestling at Concordia before graduating last May, thriving in the family-oriented, small-town environment.

Francisco has since moved on to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he is a resident athlete at the University of Virginia and is training for the upcoming world championships in 2019, and ultimately the Olympics in 2020. While he has moved onto other things, the impact Concordia had on Francisco’s life and vice versa has certainly not been forgotten.

“I didn’t even take a visit before signing to go there. Dana Vote, the head coach at the time, saw me wrestle at a tournament on the East Coast and I just trusted him,” Francisco said, “It turned out to be the right decision.”

While living in a small town can be discouraging to some prospective college students, it was an opportunity Francisco relished.

“Everything I needed was easily accessible. There were always great people and it was very family oriented which made Concordia a great experience for me,” Francisco said.

Francisco led the way both on and off the mat for the wrestling program during his time at Concordia. Francisco only wrestled for one year in high school so the transition to college proved troublesome. He posted a 14-18 overall record his freshman year. This changed sophomore year, as he qualified for the national championships, eventually finishing sixth and garnering All-American honors.

Francisco’s junior year proved to be successful once again as he returned to the national championships posting a 30-15 overall record. His college career culminated in a second place finish for the 2017 national championship. That year he amassed a 26-2 overall record while taking home All-American honors while showcasing his development as a wrestler over his four-year career.

“Ceron’s an exceptional young man,” Head Wrestling Coach Levi Calhoun said. “He’s still a rookie wrestler by many accounts having only wrestled for five or six years, so he has a lot ahead of him and I’m excited to see where he goes with it.”

While still being considered a “rookie” in the wrestling world, Francisco turned heads enough to be invited to train at the University of Virginia, a revered Division I Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) school. Like many opportunities, the door was opened through a mutual connection.

“Coach Vote grew up and went to college with Trent and Travis Paulsen, who are both now coaches at Virginia. I visited him one Christmas at Iowa State where I was introduced to the Paulsens who then followed me through my senior year and ended up asking me to come down and train with them,” Francisco said.

Francisco is now a resident athlete at Virginia where he lifts weights in the morning and practices in the afternoons five days a week. In his free time, he enjoys helping out with the Cavalier Club, a youth wrestling club that operates in conjunction with Francisco’s training facility. While he has become accustomed to the new area, it is largely business as usual for Francisco on the wrestling side of things.

“You would think being a big Division 1, ACC school that facilities would be that much better, but it is honestly much the same as Concordia,” Francisco said. “I was back on campus recently talking to the team and letting them know they don’t need to be intimidated by these big schools because everybody trains the same way.”

His recent trip back to Seward coincided with Concordia’s homecoming where he received the award for Male Athlete of the Year, an honor he does not take lightly.

“They really know how to make people feel special, so I was honored to get that award,” Francisco said. “It was also good to see some old teammates, coaches, and professors.”

The effect Francisco had on the Concordia campus, especially the wrestling program, is undoubtedly still apparent.

“I find myself mentioning his name to recruits all the time. Whether it be the way he trained, the way he treated other people, or the way he attacked his school work. He’s still an ambassador for this program,” Calhoun said.

“The name Concordia means togetherness and to me, I feel like when I say I’m a graduate of Concordia, I’m saying that I’m a part of this family,” Francisco said.

Not to be caught up in the past, Francisco has set lofty goals for the future, including winning a world title next year and a gold medal at the Olympics.

So don’t skip watching the wrestling in the 2020 Olympics. You might just see one of your own atop the podium with a gold medal around his neck.