By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

LANDIS — Leslie Franks agrees that she is best known around Rowan County as a swimmer, but she also quietly made the All-Rowan County soccer team four straight years.

It’s soccer that Franks will pursue in college.
Averett, a Division III school in Danville, Va., provided the best fit for Franks, a fine student who plans to major in criminal justice.
Franks was a star on good South Rowan swim teams that won county championships. She set several school records and claimed two individual second-place finishes as a senior in the 3A Central Regional. She also helped South Rowan relay teams place second and fifth in the regional.
“I guess swimming really has been my dominant sport,” Franks said. “But I was a soccer player first before I got into swimming and I’ve always enjoyed soccer. Now I’m going back to it.”
Franks excels at soccer, although it’s been a well-kept secret because South Rowan soccer hasn’t enjoyed the same level of success as South Rowan swimming. As a senior, Franks was the top goal-scorer for the Raiders and served as captain.
In a 6-0 South Piedmont Conference win against Concord in April, Franks enjoyed a career game, accounting for five of the Raiders’ goals.
Franks and senior Taylor Kluttz were leaders for a young South Rowan soccer team that won seven matches. The Raiders lost, 2-1 and 1-0, to fourth-place West Rowan and lost a 2-1 match to third-place Carson late in the regular season, so there was major progress during the course of a season that ended with a playoff berth.
“We’d lost a lot of girls, so we basically had a whole new team,” Franks said. “But we had freshmen (Taylor Mauldin, Katelyn Goodman and Holiday Harvey) who really came through for us. We worked together and had a year that was a lot of fun.”
Franks should provide a boost for the Averett soccer program. The Cougars were 5-13 last fall.
She can’t boost Averett’s swimming program — because it doesn’t have one.
“I’ll miss swimming,” Franks said. “But I’m sure I’ll find time to get in the pool a little bit.”