SACRAMENTO, Calif. – St. Francis senior Nicole Spring is very aptly named because she can jump. Her talents on the track will take her to Ivy League school Brown next year to compete for the Bears after she recently committed to the program

“It is really exciting,” said Spring. “The coach is really good and I think I can really improve a lot there.”

Spring, who is from El Dorado Hills, will compete for jumps coach Ken Hunt, who has coached 12 All-Ivy athletes, 17 performers onto Brown University’s All-Time Top Ten list, 4 school records, and a 2012 NCAA Regional qualifier.

Spring, who plans to study international relations, is not afraid of moving cross country to attend such a prestigious school.

“I really liked the campus and the location,” said Spring, whose parents are from New York and Massachusetts. “When I went for my visit, I really like the girls on the team and all the jumpers. There is a good personality on the team.”

Spring originally thought soccer was going to be her path to collegiate athletics. She even went on some recruiting trips last year but was drawn to track and her jump events – the long and triple jump.

“I was originally planning on soccer and went on recruiting trips last year,” recalled Brown. “I got into the individual sport (aspect of track) where you can see your results and work at your own pace. It is all on me whether I do well or poorly.”

A long jumper as a sophomore, Spring added the triple jump to her event schedule last season. She earned River Cats All-City honors last season and placed fourth at the second meet in the long jump with a personal-best and school-record jump of 17-9.75. She was also 10th in the triple jump at sections. She also won the long jump (17-5) and finished second in the triple (36-11.75) at the Delta League Championships.

“I started the triple jump this year and it has been fun working on the form,” said Spring. “It is nice to focus on one sport and build up strength and getting the technical aspects down.”

Spring is excited about the upcoming season and setting new marks before heading to Providence, R.I.

 “I want to do the best I can do but hopefully that means jumping 38 feet in triple and 18 in the long jump,” said Spring. “I hope our team can get really close and enjoy it.”

Spring, who wanted a strong academic school, will be attending one of the best.  Brown University is the seventh-oldest college in the United States. Brown is an independent, coeducational Ivy League institution comprising undergraduate and graduate programs, plus the Alpert Medical School, School of Public Health, School of Engineering, and the School of Professional Studies.

 “It was a fantasy when I was younger,” said Spring of attending an Ivy league school. “But it is great to realize it could happen because I have worked so hard. It is actually a reality so it is so exciting. Hard work really does pay off.”

Spring will participate in the St. Francis Signing Day celebration on Nov. 11.