EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday or Friday throughout the calendar year.

By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal, Fennimore Times, Boscobel Dial

Ruah Franzmann-Simmert, So., Tri-State Homeschool Falcons, track and field

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Ruah Franzmann-Simmert is one of the best distance runners in the country in her age group.

Franzmann-Simmert, 15, who is home schooled and lives near Barneveld with her parents Kate Frazmann and Brian Simmert competes at the prep level for the Tri-State Homeschool Falcons (formerly the Flamingos) in cross country and track and field.

She competed in the AAU Junior Olympic Games in Greensboro, N.C. last week in track and field after advancing past the district qualifier in Wauwatosa June 22 and a regional qualifer in Minnesota June 27–28. 

The local sensation earned All-American honors in Greensboro by placing fourth out of 66 competitors, in the girls 1,500 meter run in the 15–16 age division, with a time of 4:47.93.

Frazmann-Simmert also competed in the girls 15–16 800-meter run, ranking fifth after prelims with a time of 2:17.26, and ultimately placing 11th in finals at 2:17.64. 

The Junior Olympics brought more than 12,000 track and field athletes to North Carolina A&T’s Truist Stadium July 28–Aug 3. The Junior Olympics also  featured baton twirling, dance, fencing, field hockey, gymnastics, jump rope, karate, taekwondo, swimming and trampoline/tumbling.

Franzmann-Simmert, who will be a sophomore this fall, finished second out of 56 runners at the Wisconsin Home School Cross Country State Championships in Boscobel last October as a freshman with a time of 20:02.99 to lead the Lady Falcons to a second-place team finish.

She also finished third overall (out of 160 runners) with a time of 19:28.2 at the Dick McKichan Platteville Invitational Sept. 30 behind WIAA Cross Country state qualifiers Ellie Robinson (18:33.7) of Dodgeville and Adalee Berget (18:58.4) of Darlington. 

Franzmann-Simmert would have been in contention to earn a trip to the WIAA Cross Country State Championships last fall, but home school teams are not WIAA membership schools and thus not allowed to compete in the WIAA tournament series.

Franzmann-Simmert was also a track and field standout this past spring for the Tri-State Home School Falcons, finishing second in the girls 1,600 (5:17.53) behind Robinson (5:15.02), fourth in the 4x400 relay and 10th in the triple jump (29’11”) at the Boscobel Sparky Reynolds Invitational May 10.