She is what any coach would want in a senior leader. Ciara Frank is athletic, versatile, coachable, competitive, and helps her team in any way possible.

Whether stopping shots as a goalie for the Aberdeen Central soccer team or competing in multiple events for the Golden Eagles track and field squad, Frank is a difference maker.

“She has just turned into an all-around versatile athlete. If she wanted to play basketball, she could have been a great rebounder, run in the lane, doing whatever she wanted to do,” said Central girls’ track coach Jim Appl. “She’s got the abilities and skills to just transform herself. She has gotten stronger throughout the years and she’s really developed into that athlete that every school wants, who can do a variety of things.”

While Frank is naturally attracted to the jumping events, she is always up for a challenge and last year decided to give the 100-meter hurdles a try.

“I always had a fun time watching them and it looked super fun,” Frank said, “so I just decided to try that and it worked out.”

That’s a huge understatement. It worked out so well in fact, that Frank currently has the fifth best time in Class AA in the event so far this spring.

“I feel like it was kind of just natural for me a little bit,” Frank said. “I still have to put in a lot of work to learn the form and get that down.”

Appl noted that Frank is as quick to learn as she is to clear the hurdles.

“The biggest complement I’ll give her is this, when she started hurdling with me last year and we looked at it, I’d say ‘Hey, I need this adjustment made’ and I’d explain it to her real quick or demonstrate it, and she literally the next rep, whether she was full speed or working on it at half to three quarter speed, she could make the adjustment right then,” Appl said. “When you have an athlete like that, it makes it so easy to coach.”

Frank was also a key member of the Central soccer squad. With her length and athleticsm, very little got past her when she was in goal for the Golden Eagles.

“She’s just a very good athlete. She’s so athletic,” said Central girls’ soccer coach Merle Aske. “She can get to the balls that other players can’t. She’s tall, she can leap out of the gym. She can do so many things that just make her a wonderful athlete.”

As a goalie, Frank was put in some tough spots, including a shootout in the playoffs last fall, where her mental toughness was on full display during a victory over Spearfish. The Spartans were unable to get a ball past Frank during penalty kicks.

“It’s really tough, especially when it comes down to those shootouts, because it’s all on you,” Frank said, “but my teammates are really supportive.”

Both the soccer and track squads not only benefitted from Frank’s leadership, but also her willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team.

Last week, Frank filled in at the last minute on the anchor leg of the 400-meter relay and outdueled a sprinter from Watertown to win the race at the finish.

“That’s the thing with her work ethic and just her mentality to do whatever it takes,” Aske said. “I’m sure if the track coach came up and said, ‘Hey we need you to run the mile today,’ she would just go run it. She wouldn’t like it, but she’d go run it.”

When asked to compare the difference between stopping goals in a shootout and having to win a competition on her final jump in track, Frank said the main difference comes down to the team.

“They kind of feel a little similar, but I would say soccer goalie is definitely a lot more pressure, because it’s on you,” Frank said. “The whole game is on you, whereas high jump it’s just yourself that you might let down instead of your whole team.”

Frank took second last year in the high jump and third in the long jump at the state meet. She is currently tied for fourth in the high jump and seventh in the long jump. She would like to finish off her career with a state championship if possible.

“It kind of motivates me,” she said. “If I win it, that would be really nice, but just try and hit a PR at least.”

For Appl, whether Frank wins a state title or not is irrelevant.

“If she becomes a state champ, that’s awesome. If she doesn’t, that’s not going to affect how I view her and everything she’s done for us for the last four years,” Appl said. “There’s no comparison. You can’t talk about that. That doesn’t define who she is as a person and as an athlete.”

Frank will attend North Dakota State University next year and compete in track and field. She plans to do the multis for the Bison.

It’s safe to say that NDSU will soon find out what the Golden Eagles have known for years.

“She’ll be successful in whatever she does,” Aske said, “just because of her mentality and her work ethic, and her willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done.”