Track and Field notes: Burlington Central’s Yusuf Baig a ‘one out of a thousand’ study in perseverance

Yusuf Baig has been a study in perseverance.

“Like a scene out of ‘Rudy,’” said Vince Neil, Burlington Central head cross country coach for both genders as well as the Rockets’ girls track and field coach.

“Every year we get a group of freshmen who are nice kids who maybe aren’t showing that type of talent yet,” Central boys track coach Mike Schmidt said. “Maybe one out of five of them will develop into something. But Yusuf has become that one out of a thousand who turned it into something special.”

The Illinois State-bound Baig, a Burlington Central senior, was one of several local athletes who competed at the Distance Night in Palatine extravaganza Saturday night.

Baig, a leading contender to medal at the Class 2A state finals next month in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs, was seventh in a Class 3A-dominant field over the weekend in the longer distance in a time of 9 minutes, 17.56 seconds.

St. Charles East reigning Class 3A metric 2-mile state champion Micah Wilson was fourth in the 1,600 in 4:18.09.

“I have been putting in a lot of miles,” the Wisconsin-bound Wilson said.

On paper, as well as the coaches’ stopwatches, Baig was seemingly not destined for all-state honors as an underclassman.

“It’s a true story,” Baig said of being the second-slowest athlete in the cross country program as a newcomer.

There are, however, few examples in the area of an unyielding work ethic and sense of determination paying greater dividends.

“With Yusuf, it didn’t come until much later,” Schmidt said of Baig not entering the program with a sculpted middle school pedigree.

Three-plus years later, though, Baig has become a centerpiece for the Rockets, who narrowly missed a state trophy last spring and continue to hover around a similar status in the state rankings this spring.

“It has taken effort, hard work and determination to get where he is,” Neil said of Baig.

Schlenker and Surtz offer county preview

Batavia residents Katrina Schlenker and Lianna Surtz have been synonymously linked since entering high school in the fall of 2018.

Schlenker, all-state in the Class 3A 1,600 for Batavia last June, and Surtz, instrumental to Rosary claiming third in 2A with three medal-winning performances, were seventh and fourth at Palatine in the 1,600 and 3,200, respectively.

“It’s always good to break five (minutes),” said Schlenker, who will run collegiately at Liberty. “I was really excited. You have four laps to see what you can do. Physically I am really strong but mentally sometimes get in my head. I really go out to go for it.”

Schlenker was timed in 4:56.32.

Surtz, headed for Toledo, personally obliterated her previous finest time with her 10:47.02 clocking in the 3,200.

County meet dominates girls schedule this week

Thursday evening at St. Charles East, all of the local programs — with the exception of St. Francis — will convene for the girls Kane County Invitational.

“It’s a great meet, a historical meet for several reasons,” Batavia coach Justin Allison said. “It is a meet to fine-tune things. We compete against a lot of teams we don’t normally see.”

“It is a huge meet for us on our radar,” Neil said. “We are going to see some great teams and performances. We use it as an opportunity to prep for the conference and sectional.”