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Francesca Green enters her 16th season as the men’s and women’s sprints and relays assistant coach while still handling meet management and equipment distribution for the Wildcats. She was named Associate Head Coach for the program on Oct. 20, 2021.
Previously, Green served as UA’s Director of Operations for cross country and track and field for four seasons. She has also been a member of the Team USA staff for the World Championships. She was the head manager in 2013 and 2015.
The sprint team’s 2024 campaign was highlighted by Second Team All-America honors for Trayvion White-Austin, Brian Limage, James Onanubosi, and Tyson Tippett for their efforts in the men’s 4x100m relay. At the NCAA Championships, the team clocked a school record time of 38.75. White-Austin also competed in both the 100m and 200m at the NCAA Championships and broke the school record in the 100m during the outdoor season with a time of 10.14. Additionally, freshman Jade Brown set a new Arizona freshman school record in the 100m with a time of 11.53. The sprint team totaled 12 top 10 all-time performances in school history and had seven scorers at the Pac-12 Championships during the outdoor season. In the indoor season, White-Austin also broke school records in the 60m and 200m.
Green’s 2023 season was highlighted by the men’s 4x100m team of Trayvion White-Austin, Brian Limage, Carl Hicks, and James Onanubosi breaking the 33-year-old school record set in the event during the 1990 season. The group did so at the NCAA West First Round Championships, winning the event with a time of 38.82 and qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships where they then placed 18th overall. Another highlight included White-Austin breaking the school record in the indoor 200m during the indoor season with a time of 20.44. At the outdoor Pac-12 Championships, Green coached four scorers for the Wildcats: White-Austin who placed third in the 200m, the men’s 4x100m team who placed fourth, the men’s 4x400m team who placed fifth, and the women’s 4x400m team who placed seventh.
During the 2022 campaign, the Arizona track and field program earned four competitors in the NCAA Outdoor Championships with Reinaldo Rodrigues and Jared O'Riley representing the men's team in the championship and Talie Bonds and Shannon Meisberger representing the women's team. Rodrigues finished 18th in the long jump and O'Riley finished 21st in the javelin to represent the program on a national stage in Eugene, Oregon. Bonds earned her way into the finals in the 100m hurdles and grabbed All-American honors and Meisberger earned her second straight All-American nod in the 400m hurdles, becoming the first Arizona women's athlete to earn back-to-back First-Team All-American honors since Sage Watson in 2016 and 2017.
In 2021, Green coached her athletes to several accomplishments including four NCAA Championships qualifiers, four First-Team All-America honorees, two school records, one conference champion and a U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier. At the NCAA Championships, the men's 4x400 relay team of Johnnie Blockburger, Calvin Wilson, Isaac Davis and Umajesty Williams broke the all-time school record with a time of 3:03.58. Running the anchor leg, Johnnie Blockburger also had a historic freshman season, breaking the all-time 400m school record with a time of 44.71, making him the first Wildcat to run under 45 seconds. His time stands as the ninth-best all-time U20 time in the world and the fourth-best in the U.S. He went on to claim the Pac-12 400m title with a time of 45.57. He qualified for the NCAA Championships where he ran 46.40 and went on to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials where he ran a time of 46.75. Blockburger also ran PRs of 20.70 (200m) and 10.28 (100m) to place himself in Arizona's all-time top 10 in both races. He was named the Pac-12 Men's Freshman of the Year. Another member of the school record relay team, Umajesty Williams moved up to number five on Arizona's all-time 400m list, clocking 45.76 at the NCAA West Prelims. On the women's side, Neysia Howard ran the two season-best times in the 100m (11.73) and 200m (23.72) races. Shannon Meisberger also ran a PR and the ninth-best 400m time in school history at 53.11.
In 2018, Green lead the women's 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay teams to the National Championships in Eugene, Ore. The 4x100-meter relay team of Savaughn Christman, Tatum Waggoner, Pamela White and Brena Andrews clocked a season's best time of 44.72. The 4x400-meter relay team of Diana Gajda, Karolina Pahlitzsch, Katelin Warren, and Waggoner clocked a season's best 3:24.26 at Hayward Field. Individually, Green's sprinters set top-10 Arizona marks on both the men's and women's side. Waggoner set the No. 2 400-meter mark in school history with a time of 51.89 ran at the Pac-12 Championships. On the men's side, Umajesty Williams set the Arizona Freshman record in San Diego with a time of 46.14. Sophomore Zakee Washington set the No.10 400-meter dash mark in 46.45.
In 2016, Green helped lead the indoor school record-breaking 4x400-meter relay squad of Tatum Waggoner, Gia Trevisan, Nnenya Hailey and Sage Watson to an eighth-place finish with a time of 3:32.78. That relay team broke the school record two weeks earlier at the MPSF Championships with a time of 3:32.54. The women earned second-team All-America honors with a 13th-place finish in the semis at 3:33.56 behind Watson, Katelin Warren, Trevisan, and Jasper Gray. The men’s squad of Michael Demby, Collins Kibet, Bryce Houston and Miles Parish earned honorable mention accolades by placing 19th with a time of 3:07.97, the second-best time in school history.
The 2015 squad set two school records and flourished under Green’s guidance. Tyrell Johnson broke the school record in the 60-meter dash during the indoor season when he clocked a time of 6.66 at the MPSF Championships. Johnson also took third place at the Pac-12 Championships in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.41. Also, the 4x400-meter relay team of Blake Eichler, Pete Lauderdale II, Bryce Houston and Miles Parish broke a 34-year school record at the NCAA West Prelims with a time of 3:04.51. That relay teal also took second at the Pac-12 Championships with a time of 3:06.35. The relay team of Isaac Hing, Johnson, Eichler and Ty Brandt took sixth place at the Pac-12 Championships in the 4x100-meter relay. Lauderdale II took fourth place at the Pac-12 Championships in the 400-meter sprint with a mark of 46.36. Eichler also took seventh in the 400-meter sprint at the Pac-12 Championships with a time of 47.10. Diana Gajda finished in eighth place at the Pac-12 Championships in the 400-meter sprint with a time of 53.48. The relay team of Bealoved Brown, Tatum Waggoner, Traci Lynn-Hicks and Rachel Johns earned a fifth-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships in the 4x100-meter race with a time of 45.21. Also, the 4x400-meter relay team of Gajda, Nnenya Hailey, Jasper Gray and Waggoner finished in 10th at the Pac-12 Championships with a time of 3:42.99.
In 2014, Green led Shapri Romero to the NCAA Championships indoors and outdoors. Indoors, Romero earned a 15th-place at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 400-meter race, good for second-team All-America accolades. Outdoors, Romero competed in four events at the 2014 Pac-12 Championships. She ran on both relays and she individually ran in the 200 meters and 400 meters. She took fourth place in the 400 meters and fifth in the 200 meters. She also became the first athlete in program history to earn all-conference accolades in both sprint events at the same conference championships. Green coached Jasper Gray and Romero who split a 52.08 in the 4x400-meter relay as the anchor, helping Arizona to a second-place finish. In the 4x100-meter relay, Germe Poston and Romero ran the second and fourth legs, contributing to the Wildcats’ third-place finish. That same 4x100-meter relay of Tamara Pridgett, Romero, Traci-Lynn Hicks and Poston set the school record in the event with a time of 44.27. The previous record was set in 2006. At the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Romero finished in 14th place in 200-meter sprint and 11th in the 400 meters, both good for second-team All-America accolades.
The 2013 sprints crew improved once again under Green’s tutelage. Indoors, Germe Poston posted a personal-best time of 7.46 in the 60-meter dash at the New Mexico Classic. At the MPSF Championships, she scored for the Wildcats by placing sixth in the event and she took sixth place in the 200 meters as well.
Shapri Romero ran the 400 meters four times during the indoor season and clocked a personal best each time she stepped on the track. She earned a runner-up finish in the event at the 2013 MPSF Championships. Her personal-best time of 53.26 came at the Arkansas Final Qualifier; unfortunately, she did not make it to the NCAA Indoor Championships. Romero also ran the 200-meter dash and took third place in the event at the MPSF Championships.
On the men’s side, Sean Delfani had a breakthrough performance at the 2013 Don Kirby Invitational where he ran the 400-meter race in 46.88, a huge personal best. Later in the season he took third place at the MPSF Championships with a time of 47.63. Newcomer Bernard Dickerson-Quinn also scored for the Wildcats at the MPSF Championships, taking seventh place in the 400 meters with a personal-best time of 48.18.
Outdoors, the 400-meter run was a strong point for the Wildcats. At the 2013 Pac-12 Championships, Dickerson-Quinn (fourth place) and Delfani (eighth place) both earned All-Pac-12 honors in the event. Dickerson-Quinn’s time of 46.30 at the Pac-12 Championships was a personal best and set the outdoor freshman school record. It was also the No. 7 time in UA history. Dickerson-Quinn went on to compete at the NCAA West Preliminaries in the event. Delfani’s season-best time of 47.25 came at the Stanford Invitational.
The men’s 4x100-meter relay team and the men’s 4x400-meter relay team qualified for the NCAA West Preliminaries on the year. The 4x100-meter relay team finished in seventh place at the Pac-12 Championships and the 4x400-meter relay team clocked a season-best time of 3:08.20 and took third place.
On the women’s side, Poston’s personal-best time 11.47 came at the Jim Click Shootout and ranks as the No. 3 time in school history. Her personal-best time of 23.55 in the 200 meters is the No. 6 time in UA history. She earned an eighth-place finish in the 100 meters and 200 meters at the Pac-12 Championships. She made it to the quarterfinal round at the NCAA West Preliminaries.
Romero had a very successful season in the 200 meters and 400 meters. Her personal-best time of 23.50 at the Jim Click Shootout in the 200 meters is the fifth-best time in school history. Also at the Jim Click Shootout, Romero set a personal best in the 400 meters, running 52.37 in the 400 meters, the No. 4 time in UA history. Romero earned a third-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships with a time of 52.40. Romero made it to the quarterfinal of the NCAA West Preliminaries in the event.
The 4x100-meter relay team of Traci-Lynn Hicks, Romero, Pridgett and Poston took fifth place at the Pac-12 Championships with a time of 45.28. They qualified for the NCAA Championships in the event and had a season-best time of 44.74 in the semifinals. The 4x400-meter relay team of Romero, Pridgett, Garland and Moline took third place at the Pac-12 Championships. Their season-best time of 3:32.25 came at the NCAA Championships. They were the fastest team to not qualify for the final of the event.
For the 2012 season, Green had another successful year leading the Wildcat sprinters and relay teams. Indoors, Echos Blevins took second place at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships in the 400 meters, clocking a personal-best time of 54.27. Shapri Romero earned a third-place finish in the 400-meter run at the MPSF Championships with a personal-best time of 54.41. Also at the MPSF Championships, the quartet of Romero, Shale’ Garland, Ariel Coleman and Blevins clocked a school-record time of 3:36.13 in the 4x400-meter relay. They earned a runner-up finish in the event and helped the women’s squad to a second-place finish overall in the team standings.
During the outdoor season, Blevins was an all-conference honoree in the 400 meters, earning a fifth-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships with a time of 53.80. Blevins’ personal-best time of 53.38 came at the 2012 Jim Click Shootout and is the No. 5 time in UA history. Romero has made vast improvements under Green's tutelage, improving her personal-best time of 57.09 in high school to 53.48 at the end of her second year. Romero’s time is the sixth-fastest time in school history. Germe Poston clocked a personal-best time of 11.54 in the 100-meter dash, the third-best time in school history.
The men's and women's 4x100-meter relay team also earned all-conference accolades. The quartet of Tamara Pridgett, Garland, Dahlys Marshall, and Poston clocked the 10th-best time in Arizona history. However, Green's most impressive work this year came with the women's 4x400-meter relay team. Along with a Pac-12 title, the quartet of Romero, Blevins, Pridgett and Moline earned first-team All-American honors in the event, taking sixth place at the NCAA Championships with a time of 3:31.55. No other women's 4x400-meter relay team has earned first-team All-American honors in school history. The quartet also clocked a school-record time of 3:31.06 in the preliminary round at the NCAA Championships.
The 2011 season was another banner year for the Wildcat sprinters under Green’s tutelage. At the Pac-10 Outdoor Championships, the quartet of Christina Rodgers, Shapri Romero, Echos Blevins and Georganne Moline set a school record in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:31.62. They also earned a runner-up finish in the event. The same squad went on to earn second-team All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with their ninth-place finish.
Also, UA’s top women’s 4x100-meter relay time of the season is the No. 10 time in school history. The quartet of Dahlys Marshall, LaTisha Holden, Tamara Pridgett and Germe Poston clocked a time of 45.11 at the Mt. SAC Relays.
On the men’s side, Sean Delfani earned All-America honors as the 400-meter leg of the distance medley relay that finished fifth at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Running with Abdi Hassan (1,200 meters), James Eichberger (800 meters) and Lawi Lalang (1,600 meters), the quartet clocked a time of 9:30.33. Earlier in the season, the same quad clocked a school-record time of 9:28.87 at the MPSF Indoor Championships.
At the Pac-10 Outdoor Championships, Chris McSwain ran to a fourth-place finish in the 100 meters (10.44) and a seventh-place finish in the 200 meters (20.88), clocking personal bests and earning All-Pac-10 honors in both events. Additionally, the men’s 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays both finished seventh, also earning all-conference accolades. During the indoor season, McSwain was the MPSF Indoor Champion at 60 meters with a time of 6.70 and at 200 meters with a time of 21.42.
In 2010, Green guided UA football kick returner Travis Cobb to a spot at the NCAA Quarterfinals in the 100 meters - despite the fact that he hadn’t run on the track in nearly five years. During the 2010 football season, he had 34 returns for 887 yards including one for a 100-yard TD in the win against ranked Iowa. He clocked a 2011 indoor best of 6.89 in the 60 meters to finish seventh at the MPSF Championships. He chose to focus solely on NFL Pro Day and clocked a 40-yard dash time of 4.35. He signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bears.
Green relocated to Tucson in August 2004 to continue her competitive training with head coach Fred Harvey and also worked as a marketing associate for Arizona Athletics. Green came from Purdue University where she spent the 2004 season as a volunteer assistant coach under head coach Lissa Olson with the sprinters and jumpers.
Prior to her arrival at Purdue, Green spent eight years, both as a student-athlete and coach, at Washington State University. Her collegiate coaching career began in August 2000 when the Cougars’ head coach Rick Sloan named her assistant coach in charge of the men's and women's sprints and relays.
In 2003, Green guided Washington State's women's 4x400-meter relay team to All-America honors as they finished seventh (3:35.49) at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Her 4x400-meter relay team later went on to place third at the Pac-10 Outdoor Championships and finished as the runner-up at the NCAA West Regional Championships. Green's women's 4x100-meter relay squad also scored at the Pac-10 Outdoor Championships, placing sixth with a time of 45.49.
Individually, Green coached Tiffany Giles to a pair of top-five showings at the Pac-10 Outdoor Championships, running 23.82 in the 200 meters and 53.82 in the 400 meters. Giles also scored a fifth-place finish in the 400 meters at NCAA West Regional Championships.
Green led Washington State's men's sprinters and relays to a pair of Pac-10 Outdoor titles and a runner-up showing in 2003. Anthony Buchanan won the 100-meter title, clocking a time of 10.10, and the 4x100-meter relay crossed the finish line first with a time of 39.68. NCAA regional qualifier Bennie Chatman placed behind Buchanan in the 100 meters (10.12) and earned the bronze at the NCAA Regional Championships, coming in at 10.48.
In 2002, Green had two sprinters compete at the NCAA Championships: Anson Henry at the indoor meet in the 60 meters (third, 6.66) and Buchanan at the outdoor meet in the 100 meters. Henry continued to train with Green during the 2003 season and went on to place second at Canadian National Championships in the 100 meters (10.04). Henry also competed on the Canadian National team at the Pan-Am Games and World Championships in 2002.
As a student-athlete, Green was one of the most versatile, accomplished and decorated track and field athletes in Washington State history. She won the Pac-10 Outdoor long jump titles in both 1996 and 1998 and earned All-America honors in the long jump during the 1996 NCAA Outdoor and 1997 NCAA Indoor Championships. A sprinter and competitor in the high, long and triple jump events, Green scored 21.5 of WSU's 123 points at the 1999 Pac-10 Outdoor Championships. She ran the anchor leg of WSU's record-setting 4x100-meter relay team (44.50) in 1999. In 1996, Green was a member of Team USA at the World Junior Championships in Sydney, Australia.
A star in the classroom, she was selected as a GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American (District VIII), to the Pac-10 All-Academic team and earned Senior Excellence in Academics honors. She was selected as the WSU Student-Athlete Advisory Board Outstanding Senior, earned the Eagle Hardware and Garden Academic Salute Trophy, selected for the WSU President's Award for Leadership and was honored with an Arthur Ashe, Jr. Award.
The main reason for her stay at Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind. was to train for the 2004 Olympic Trials in the long jump. Green finished in 18th place at the trials but her season- and personal-best mark of 21-1.5 (6.41m) ranked her 15th in the country during the 2004 season.
After the 2010 collegiate season concluded, Green was an event manager for Team USA at the 2010 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Miramar, Fla., where four current UA student-athletes competed (Eichberger, Mohamud Ige, Julie Labonte and Rodgers).
During the summer of 2009, Green was an assistant coach for Team USA at Pan-American Junior Games held in Port of Spain, Trinidad, where she coached the men's sprints and relays. Green helped guide several student-athletes to exceptional results including a 1-2 Team USA finish in the men’s 100 meters and runner-up finishes in both the men’s 200 meters and 400 meters by American male runners. The Team USA men’s 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays were Pan-Am Junior Champions, running 39.06 and 3:03.25, respectively.
Green served as the women's sprint development chair for USA Track and Field where she was the contact for top female sprint athletes in the country in terms of helping them learn the benefits of USATF. Green is also a graduate of the 2007 Leadership Institute for Ethnic Minority females in administration and was a 2008 and 2009 leadership facilitator for the NCAA Division I Regional Leadership Conference for student-athletes.
Green is a 1995 graduate of Kamiakin High School in Kennewick, Wash. From Washington State University, she received her bachelor's degree in kinesiology in 1998 and her master's degree in education with an emphasis in athletic administration in 2000.
