By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam
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Celia Francis, a native of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, has committed to swim and study at Liberty University, becoming the first publicized commit in the program’s class of 2031. Francis trains year-round with Excel Aquatics and attends Rhinelander High School.
Francis confirmed the commitment in an email to SwimSwam, and provided the following quote:
I am beyond excited to announce my verbal commitment to further my academic and athletic career at Liberty University!! First and foremost, I give all praise to the Lord for guiding my steps throughout this process and for blessing me with the sport of swimming. I am so grateful for this opportunity and for everyone who has helped me up to this point!! GO FLAMES!
Francis, a backstroke specialist who is also strong in the sprint freestyle events and 200 IM, kicked off her 2024–25 season at the Wisconsin Division 1 State Championships in November. She walked away with gold in the 200 IM (2:05.34) and silver in the 100 back (55.39), both personal bests, with the 100 back mark standing as her best as of the time of posting. She also played a key role in helping Rhinelander’s 200 medley relay and 400 free relay take second, splitting 25.85 on the backstroke lead-off of the medley and 52.61 on the 400 free relay, still her current career best.
As a freshman in 2023, she won the 200 IM (2:09.14) and was second in the 100 back (55.87), in addition to nabbing victories in both relays.
At the 45th Schroeder A+ Meet in early February, a final tune-up meet before the Wisconsin Senior Championships, Francis swam a 2:00.18 lifetime best in the 200 back to take fourth and came within a tenth of her best time in the 100 back with a 55.49 for fifth. She also popped a best of 24.41 for 21st in the 50 free, clipping her 24.54 best from the same meet exactly a year prior.
A few weeks later, at the Senior Championships, Francis took second in the 200 IM with a new lifetime best of 2:05.14. She also finished sixth in both the 100 back (55.86) and 200 back (2:01.14), slightly off her best times. It was a major upgrade from her swims at the meet a year prior, where her highest finish came in the 100 back with an 11th-place effort (57.26)—she was also 12th in the 200 back (2:05.33) and 24th in the 200 IM (2:14.10).
Top SCY Times:
50 Freestyle: 24.41 100 Freestyle: 52.61 100 Backstroke: 55.39 200 Backstroke: 2:00.18 200 IM: 2:05.14Liberty is a Division I mid-major private evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, with over 135,000 students—115,000 of which are enrolled in online programs and about 16,000 on campus.
Under the direction of Liberty’s first and only head coach Jake Shellenberger, the Flames decisively won the 2025 Atlantic Sun Championship (ASUN) title by 168.5 points. On July 1, the Lady Flames joined the American Conference as an affiliate member in women’s swimming & diving.
The American Conference meet scores ‘A’, ‘B,’ and ‘C’ finals, and Francis’ personal bests would have placed her in the ‘B’ heats of the backstrokes and 200 IM last season. Times of 54.73 and 1:59.63 were needed to make the backstroke championship finals, while the 200 IM required 2:03.84. Those marks aren’t far off from her current bests, and she still has two more years to develop before arriving in Lynchburg.
Francis’ 100 free bests of 52.61 would have just slid into the C final, as 52.70 was required, while 23.97 was needed to make the top 24 in the 50 free.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to Recruits@swimswam.com.
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