Brendan Franz Class: Freshman Hometown: Olympia, Wash. High School: Bellarmine Prep Position: XC / Mid-Distance Experience: FR/FR

Assistant coach Mike Nelson on Franz:
"We're excited about the addition of Brendan to the cross country and distance squad. He chose Marquette over several schools out west, and we're glad to be adding another strong miler. Brendan is a diverse athlete who will tackle multiple distances for us. He'll race everything from the 800 to the 5,000 meters, but his best event is probably the mile."

High School: Franz was a three-year letter winner in cross country and also earned a pair of letters in track and field at Bellarmine Prep ... Named captain of the cross country team and track and field distance group during his senior season ... Helped 1,600-meter relay to a sixth-place finish at the state meet during junior year and holds the school record in that event ... Owns personal bests of 1:56.82 (800-meter run), 4:04.18 (1,500) and 4:21.27 (1,600) ... Placed ninth in the 1,500-meter run at the 2010 USATF National Junior Olympics.

Personal: Franz is the son of Matt and Anne Franz and was born in St. Louis, Mo. ... Has a younger brother, Ian, and an older sister, Laura ... Father wrestled at William and Mary, while sister ran at Trinity ... Plans to major in biomedical engineering.