Unmistakable for his physical stature and larger-than-life presence, Ceron Francisco captivated the Concordia University, Nebraska campus during his time as a student-athlete that culminated with his graduation in 2018. Six years later, Ceron delivered his induction speech as one of the latest members of the Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame.
While reliving memories from the not-so-distance past, Ceron was just as charming, gracious and faith filled as the day he wrapped up his collegiate wrestling career. Of course, his low, baritone voice hasn’t changed either.
In recounting his recruiting story with honesty, Ceron told the crowd, via video, “My family was like, ‘You sure you want to go to Concordia?’ I’m going to the middle of nowhere and there’s probably a bunch of white people and I’m going to be the minority there. I took it in stride, and I actually changed my Twitter handle at the time to @CUNEdaddy.”
The moniker of “CUNE Daddy” fit for Ceron, who earned respect almost instantly with his growing reputation as a gentle giant off the mat. The native of Fayetteville, N.C., was a mere 17 years old when he first showed up on the Concordia campus. Ceron himself would admit that he was a project when it came to the sport of wrestling. Former Concordia Head Coach Dana Vote had first discovered Ceron at a tournament in Virginia Beach. Ceron was raw in his technique, but Vote could clearly see the potential.
Ceron grew immensely in his early years as a Bulldog and turned potential into productivity. He finished his college career with 101 wins, two NAIA All-America honors, an NAIA heavyweight national runner up claim, two GPAC championships and a GPAC Wrestler of the Year award. All the while, he had a hand in transforming the wrestling program into a GPAC powerhouse and bringing interest to a sport that had flown under the radar at Concordia. Suddenly, people were attending Bulldog wrestling duals in large part because of Ceron.
Said Ceron of the first time he met Vote, “I had a couple of coaches talking to me out there. A lot of them thought I was a football player, but I was actually there to get recruited to go to college and wrestle. Dana was the one coach that I really connected with. Something really stood out with him. I kind of couldn’t stand Dana after a while because of the standards and the culture he was trying to establish. I was young and a little immature. I loved wrestling, but I didn’t really know what it took. After my first year at Concordia, I was ready to not come back. My dad told me, ‘Go back one more year.’ I went back, took it seriously and my sophomore year I was an All-American. Dana was a catalyst for a lot of my development after leaving North Carolina and going to Concordia. I didn’t know what to expect. Dana set the tone.”
Vote will forever rank among the most influential people in Ceron’s life. When asked about that first meeting with Ceron, Vote had said in 2015, “First thing I thought was that’s the biggest high school kid I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s a great kid – one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. He’ll do anything for you.”
As part of his Hall of Fame speech, Ceron thanked the many people who have impacted him throughout his life, including one of his early mentors, Devin Riles, whom Ceron calls his “God brother.” Riles helped get Ceron hooked on the sport of wrestling, even as those around him wondered why he didn’t simply focus on football. According to Ceron, he stood just 5-foot-4 as a sophomore in high school before growing to 6-foot-2 as a junior. No doubt he was a late bloomer.
Concordia was the beneficiary of that growth spurt – and not just for his wrestling. He endeared himself not only to coaches and teammates but to administrators (Devin Smith and Angela Muller), former President Brian Friedrich, classmates and the Seward community at large. Ceron become legendary for his prowess on the mat in addition to his size and strength, his unwavering faith in Christ, his ability to eat incredible amounts of food and for his caring and compelling personality. Community members like Brady and Jill Johnson have always been quick to welcome Ceron into their home to help appease that appetite. So captivating was Ceron’s All-America run as a sophomore that it caught the attention of well-known wrestling personality Jason Bryant, who sought an interview with someone who was quickly becoming a not-so-hidden gem.
Immediately after the sun set on Ceron’s Concordia wrestling career, he remarked, “I’m just appreciative of everybody. Concordia is a place of God’s people. The results show it. I’m just thankful for the whole experience.”
Though he was out of collegiate eligibility, Ceron continued to pursue a career in wrestling. He went on to become a resident athlete at the University of Virginia. He also trained within the wrestling clubs of the University of Minnesota and Penn State University as he chased down his dream of becoming an Olympic athlete. Ultimately, Ceron placed his shoes in the center of the ring at the Olympic Last Chance Qualifier in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2021, officially retiring from his athletic career. As Ceron told the New Bern Sun Journal in New Bern, N.C., “I felt that I had put my time in, made great accomplishments and exceeded my own expectations.”
Along the journey, Ceron has never forgotten his roots in North Carolina or Seward, Neb., nor has he failed to remember what allowed him such opportunities. Said his grandmother Wanda Francisco, “His faith in God helped him make it as far as he did.” So too did the influence of the people of Concordia, including Pastor Ryan Matthias and coaches such as Vote, Levi Calhoun, Aaron Swayze, Ryan Pankoke, Tyler Kacmarynski, Mark Fiala and Andrew Nicola. There were plenty of others Ceron also made mention of in his induction speech.
So instrumental was his time at Concordia that it influenced Ceron to obtain a permanent reminder. As a show of that love for Concordia, and for the brotherhood of his teammates, Ceron, Ken Burkhardt Jr., Kodie Cole and Dmitri Smith all got matching Concordia ‘cross logo’ tattoos. As Ceron later said, “That was a special group that went in together and graduated together.”
Wherever Ceron has gone, he’s made a positive impact. It’s part of the legacy he’s left at Concordia, a place he’s always welcome. After Ceron finished as the 2017 NAIA heavyweight runner up, then Head Coach Andrew Nicola said, “He is just a warrior. He is just a relentless wrestler with a heart of gold. He’s the epitome of what Concordia Wrestling is all about. He is humble in victory and humble in defeat. He is a great leader on and off the mats. He is irreplaceable in terms of what he has done and the way that he represents us.”
It’s no wonder that Ceron has now positioned himself to mentor young wrestlers as an assistant coach at North Dakota State University. NDSU Head Coach Obenson Blanc said of Ceron, “He is an amazing individual and I am fired up to have him around our student-athletes. His energy, hunger for growth and competitive mindset will fit in well with our program’s mentality. Ceron has been around some very strong programs in the past and will add to a great mix of coaches in developing the situation for our students to succeed.”
As Ceron wrapped up a speech that lasted just over eight minutes, he left some words of advice for the next wave of Concordia athletes. Take it from Ceron, someone who has talked the talk and walked the walk, through the good and the bad.
Said Ceron, “The first thing would be to center your identity in Christ and eliminate outside motivations. Whether you win or lose, Jesus never changes. The second thing would be – you only need one reason to win and that’s because you want to. If you want to win, you have to live like a winner. Having success is a byproduct of your lifestyle. I wasn’t a national champion – I was very close – but I can say that I lived every day like I was a national champion. I tried to eat like one, I tried to train like one and I tried to treat everyone around me with love, kindness and respect. Winning is a byproduct of your lifestyle. Put Jesus first. Thank you to Seward, Nebraska. Thank you to Concordia. I’m really happy I was able to etch my name into the history of the school. Go Bulldogs!”