Although a hip injury may have hindered her progress, former Rochelle Township High School distance running standout Britney Baez pushed through the pain during her freshman cross country and track seasons with the NAIA’s St. Francis University Fighting Saints in Joliet.

Baez competed in two cross country meets this past year, setting a personal-best collegiate time with a 22:41.0 in the 5K at the Tiger Cross Country Invitational in September 2020. The former Lady Hub student-athlete saw more action during the track and field season, racing in six meets including the St. Francis Fighting Chance Invitational, where she clocked in at 5:57.36 to set a new personal record in the 1500-meter run, which served as her primary running event.

“My freshman year didn’t go as planned because I developed a hip injury,” Baez said. “However, there was no denying that the training was making me a stronger and faster runner overall. Even with my injury, I was seeing results. The team atmosphere definitely made me want to keep pushing because everybody wants to succeed. I was very disciplined with my runs. I want to improve my overall health for next season because I missed a few meets due to my injury.”

Baez clocked in under six minutes in the 1500-meter run twice during her freshman track season, with her personal-best 5:57.36 landing her in 14th place, her highest overall finish of the season. Baez completed one 800-meter run event at the ONU Spring Opener, finishing 15th with a time of 3:01.25. Baez took 48th with a time of 23:25.9 in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships to close out her freshman cross country season.

Baez is one of two former RTHS student-athletes (Katherine Bakken) who ran for the St. Francis University women’s cross country team, which brought home the NAIA National Championship this season. Baez, who’s currently studying nursing in hopes of pursuing a career of working in a children’s hospital, said her goals for her sophomore year are to work her way toward the front of the running crew. Specifically, Baez said she wants to improve both her 5K times during the cross country season as well as her 1500-meter times during track season.

“My expectations are to improve my time in the 5K and in workouts,” Baez said. “My goals for track are to improve my 1500 time and I also want to be able to do the 5K on the track.”