Burlington C. tabs D-C grad Neil as its new coach

Burlington Central didn't have to look far for the new leader of its cross country program.

Central athletic director Dan Cliffe announced, pending board approval, that he will recommend current track and field assistant and Dundee-Crown alum Vince Neil to be the school's new boys and girls cross country coach.

Neil will replace Tom Miller, who retired from the post after 6 seasons. Miller, a longtime former Jacobs High School administrator and athletic coach, continues to assist with the track and field program.

Neil, who went on to run at Eastern Illinois after a decorated career at Dundee-Crown, had been Miller's assistant the last 4 years. Neil is in his fourth year as a Central track and field assistant.

"I love Central," said Neil. "It's a great school with great kids and great families."

Neil said the coaching experience and knowledge he's gained in four short years has been invaluable.

"Between Tom Miller and Mike Schmidt that's like 60 years of coaching," said Neil. "It was neat working with Tom. He's as good as they come. It will be different without Tom. He was a guy all the kids and other coaches went to. He was that calming figure."

Cliffe said many different positives led to him recommending Neil for the position.

"He came in here as a young coach with a lot of enthusiasm and great ideas," said Cliffe. "He's really grown. He's worked with Tom and he's knowledgeable about cross country. He's very committed to our program. He's come a long way and done a good job for us. He's ready."

Neil inherits a Central girls team that won the Class 2A Belvidere sectional and returns 6 of its top 7 runners. The Rockets finished sixth in the state with freshman Markella Turk finishing 11th in Class 2A.

Central's boys qualified for the sectional this past season and return Ryan Kohls (junior), Nic Laggett (sophomore), Sam Moose (sophomore) and Joe Russo (sophomore) off the regional top 7 roster.

"It's been a lot of fun working on getting the program back to where it once was," said Neil. "I'm going to try and take the program to the next step."

Neil, 28, said one thing he has learned over the years has been the importance of the family atmosphere.

"With Tom Smith at Dundee-Crown and here with Tom Miller and Mike Schmidt, everything is a family environment," said Neil, who along with his wife, Katie, are the proud parents of daughter, Kendall (born last May). "I want to model myself after something like that."

Cliffe lauded Miller for his efforts with the program.

"When Tom retired from Jacobs he told me he would give me two years," said Cliffe. "He ended up staying six and turned the program around. He did a nice job."

Neil, a 1997 D-C graduate, was a 2-time Class AA cross country state qualifier and also competed in 3 Class AA track and field state finals.