Brett Baker has faced numerous obstacles throughout his career as a runner. Yet battling the fierce competition, mud, and steep inclines of Northfield Mountain at the Division II State Meet this past Saturday undoubtedly fell in the category of one of the more taxing of his racing experiences.

“The course was very, very challenging,” the junior and cross-country captain admits.

The lone orange runner among a sea of other school colors, Baker nevertheless overcame the difficulties of running up a mountain to place 49th out of 147 other runners. His time on the 5k course was 17 minutes and 56 seconds.

“I went into the meet with no expectation, and I think that really helped me settle my nerves and just go out and run,” Baker explained.

It’s a formula that appears to have worked for him in the past. At the Franklin Park Division III meet a week prior to this culminating race, Baker rose above an injury to sprint his way to 24th at 17:40 to qualify for the state meet. In the process, his competitive time helped the boy’s team place 11th out of 34 teams, a vast improvement over their 20th place finish last year.

For her part, Coach Suzanne Williams couldn’t be prouder of Baker’s success, saying, “Brett has all the qualities a coach hopes for in an athlete. Focused, hard working and enthusiastic about his sport. As captain he was a leader, making an impression on his teammates through his work ethic. He was committed to the team and, by example, doing what was needed to help the team as a whole raise their game to the next level.”

Despite his achievement, Baker is modest about his success at All-States. “The past few meets I was not dropping any time, nor was I feeling good, so I think that this meet was a very good meet to end the season,” he said.

And with one successful running season already under his belt this school year, what comes next for this athlete?

Said Baker, “I am excited to see what indoor track and outdoor track have to offer.”