Lucas Francis never has trouble staying in his lane. This North Penn senior has surely been on a roll this season… but enough with the puns. When it comes to bowling, you can count on Francis follow through with a perfect game. 

Francis has been an asset to the bowling team all four of his years at North Penn High School. Although a lot of his success has been during his seasons with the high school team, his passion stemmed from a deeper root.

“I’ve been bowling for about 10 years and I first got into it from my grandfather. He was a very good bowler when he was growing up. Eventually, he taught me once I was around 8 or 9 years old and just got me into a league and then tournaments and it just took off from there,” Francis explained. 

High school Coach Don Stadnycki still had his eye on the young prodigy for a while. 

“I knew of him before he was able to bowl for me as a freshman and actually visited him in action bowling in a junior league. I was excited to see his early talent. The wait for him to be eligible to bowl for North Penn was greatly anticipated,” Stadnycki stated.

When it was time for Francis to make his presence known at the high school level, it only took him one season before breaking his first school record. He broke the school’s highest average record in his sophomore year, then went on to beat his own record in his senior year.

After breaking multiple records after that, this year Francis was able to accomplish his biggest achievement yet. Just as of a few weeks ago, Francis broke the All-time State Record for Highest Average.

“I’ve broken I think every record in North Penn High School and now the state record is one that I’ll be holding onto for a while. It’s pretty cool to get,” Francis said.

Before Francis broke the record it was 239.1 points averaged. With averaging 4.1 points more, over 42 games averaging at 243.2, Francis was able to beat the record by a good amount of points. 

“As for the state record, he always knew what was needed to achieve it and the drive to get there was relentless. The inter feeling he had once accomplished was seen and the pride was established,” Stadnycki exclaimed.

“It was a great feeling to break it because I got close to it my sophomore year and I knew with a little more hard work and dedication, I would be able to get close to it my junior year or senior year. I was eventually able to break it this year and it was just a relief and a really good feeling,” Francis went on to say.

Aside from his many records, Francis has also won two national titles, one at age 13 and one at age 15. He has also won countless state tournaments. Although his time at North Penn is coming to and end, as a student-athlete with this much talent, Francis has many opportunities for him outside of North Penn’s doors. 

“As for his future, he already has connections and opportunities awaiting him down the road, and with his work ethic for both education and bowling, I am sure it will lead to a stellar career,” Stadnycki stated.

Francis has not yet decided where he plans to attend college, but his two top picks are Purdue University and Ohio State. Whichever school he ends up picking, he will be continuing his bowling career there. 

It is undeniable that the success Francis has gained over the years is due to his endless work and passion for the sport, but Francis has made it clear that he couldn’t have done it without his people in his corner. 

“It’s really cool. It’s a great feeling to share with my coach who has been with me for four years, my team, and just for North Penn… I just thank my parents, my friends, and families for always backing it up and then our coach and our team for putting it all together,” Francis concluded.