GRAND FORKS — Former Grand Forks Red River pitcher Shelby Frank has transferred to Texas Tech University for her final year of college eligibility.
Frank graduated from the University of Minnesota in May. She announced her transfer to Texas Tech University last week, and the school confirmed her transfer on Wednesday.
The Red Raiders’ track and field program is led by Wes Kitley, who is entering his 26th season at Texas Tech.
During Kitley’s tenure, Texas Tech won two men’s team national championships, including the 2024 indoor title, and produced 34 NCAA champions and 14 Olympians.
Last season, the Texas Tech women’s team placed third at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships and seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in June.
At the outdoor championships, Frank placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 200 feet, two inches, and seventh in the hammer throw with a record of 224-5.
Frank also had two top-seven finishes at this summer’s U.S. Olympic Trials.
She was the only woman to reach the finals in both the discus and hammer throw at these trials. She placed fifth in the discus with a score of 201-10 and seventh in the hammer throw final with a toss of 226-7.
Frank won the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA West Regional Championships in the hammer throw. She became the first NCAA All-American in the Hammer competition.
The Grand Forks-Red River native won her first career Big Ten championship in the weight throw this season with a throw of 24.14 meters (79 feet, 2 inches). This result was the second best in the NCAA during the indoor season. She placed second at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a distance of 23.42 meters (76 feet 9 inches).
Frank was named the Big Ten Indoor Championship Field Athlete of the Year and the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Field Athlete of the Year.
In high school, Frank won the North Dakota State Discus four times in a row as an eighth grader, freshman, sophomore, and junior. Her senior year’s state tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
