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Among several verses she prays, one in particular, Isaiah 40:31, floats in the back of her mind as she propels her legs forward. The verse is the bedrock of a carved art project out of a lithium plaque – a runner with flapping wings – Schlenker once made that epitomizes her running gifts. "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength," the verse reads. "They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." The project image is now engraved onto a T-shirt that her father, Jon, wears. "[The verse] just shows that the Lord is always with you when you run. Whenever you go tired, you can just trust in the Lord," said Katrina Schlenker, a Batavia eighth-grader whose family are non-denominational Christians. "Really, all the accomplishments [I've had], I should give [to] the Lord, My God, because He really has helped me through everything." (Photo provided)
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Schlenker's youth running career encompasses two all-time Illinois Elementary School Association state track records for girls in the 1,600 (4:59.57) and 800 (2:16.24) meter races, both achieved in the Class 8AA race last month. To put those times in perspective, Schlenker's 1,600 would have been good for third at the Class 3A high school state meet, and the 800 time 10th. Schlenker also earned third in the 400 meters, with a 59:50 finish. And that's just the tip of the iceberg for the incoming Batavia freshman, who recently finished up at Rotolo Middle School. "I was worried the whole season that I wouldn't break five [minutes], and that was my goal. It was just an accomplishment for me that I really wanted," Schlenker said while recalling her nerves pre-race for the mile. "It all comes down to one race and how you do that race." Schlenker made her move on the fourth lap – turning on the jets and passing Ingleside Big Hollow's Aly Negovetich en route to her all-time state finish. (Photo provided)
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Her older sister, Sabrina,16, helped plant the seed for her ascending track stardom when Katrina was headed into sixth grade. Sabrina Schlenker most recently represented Batavia at the state track meet this year, as her 400-meter relay took seventh. A simple encouragement to join cross country expanded into the younger Schlenker blossoming into a two-time Class 3A IESA state champion in cross country in 2016 and 2017. She set a course record of 10:57.70 that year. "They're very intrinsically motivated....they're very competitive as themselves so they like to compete against each other sometimes," Sharon Schlenker, their mother, said of the two sisters. "It's been just fun to watch them [coming into] their own." "They sharpen each other," Jon Schlenker said. "Iron sharpens iron, right?...that's what they do. There's a lot of sparks between them." In addition to her school training programs, Katrina Schlenker trains with two travel track programs: Track My Speed and occasionally with the Aurora Flyers in the high school offseason. Schlenker has trained alongside Glenbard West sophomore Katelynne Hart, who recently made history by running the second-fastest 3,200 meter ever in United States history in April. "She's my role model. I look up to her," Schlenker said of Hart. "She's this amazing track runner that I always strive to be like." (Photo provided)