4-time All-American Kavia Francis transfers to Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE – Jamaican sprinter Kavia Francis has chosen Arkansas as her transfer destination from Baylor University and will join the Razorbacks for the 2024-25 season.
A four-time first-team All-America with the Bears, Francis also collected four Big 12 gold medals and one silver medal as a member of Baylor’s 4 x 400m relay. Career best marks for Francis include 22.91 (200m) and 51.15 (400m) outdoors, with indoor bests of 23.26 and 52.70.
Francis, a 5-10 sprinter from Clarendon, Jamaica, attended Holmwood Technical for two seasons after transferring from Manchester High. She ran anchor leg on the Jamaican 4 x 400m relay that finished third in the 2019 Pan Am U20 Championships.
During her 2019 season in Jamaica, Francis placed third in the 400m at the Boys & Girls Championships, and was runner-up in the Jamaican U20 Championships.
At Baylor, Francis qualified for the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 400m and 4 x 400m relay. After producing a 51.17 in the semifinal, Francis earned an individual first-team All-America honor by finishing eighth in final with a 52.16.
Baylor’s 4 x 400m also placed eighth in the 2022 NCAA final (3:28.89) with Francis supplying a 51.4 split on the second leg, which was fastest among the Bear foursome.
In 2021, Baylor finished eighth in the 4 x 100m relay at NCAA Outdoor with Francis on the first leg. The Bears were eighth in the 4 x 400m relay at NCAA Indoor with Francis’ first leg split of 53.09 being the second fastest among that section and the fourth fastest first leg overall among the 12 teams in the three-section final.
Francis ran on the winning 4 x 400 (3:33.28) at 2023 Big 12 Indoor. She was also a member of the 3:26.92 winning 4 x 400m effort at the 2022 Big 12 Outdoor, where Francis set career best times of 22.91 and 51.15 in placing seventh and fourth, respectively, in the conference finals.
In 2021, she finished fourth in the 200m and 400m finals at Big 12 Outdoor while also being a member of a silver medal 4 x 400m relay. Indoors, Francis placed fourth in 400m at the Big 12 meet and ran on the gold medal 4 x 400m relay.