West Aurora’s Marcus Waller seeks one more chance

Updated: May 18, 2011 11:11PM

Marcus Waller knows the cliché all too well.

Track and field isn’t horseshoes and it isn’t hand grenades, so coming close doesn’t count. In fact, it can be downright painful, not to mention frustrating.

“He’s a two-time state qualifier in the 300 (low hurdles),” West Aurora assistant track coach Chuck Hilby said of the senior. “He hit the second-to-last hurdle and fell in the preliminaries that first year. Last year, he was 10th in the preliminaries and missed qualifying for the finals by .06 of a second.

“He’s had his share of bumps along the way.”

The West Aurora senior takes the first step in trying to erase those memories tonight when he and his teammates travel to the Plainfield North Class 3A Sectional, where they can qualify for next week’s state meet in Charleston by finishing first or second in their event or by beating the state qualifying time.

“I was upset,” Waller said, remembering his two previous trips to the Eastern Illinois University O’Brien Stadium track. “My sophomore year I was ranked ninth and in the prelims I started passing people and was about to pass the guy who beat me at sectional when I hit that hurdle. My junior year I was ready to come back and avenge that (performance), but I pulled a hamstring during spring break and battled that injury all season.”

Even so, he came oh-so-close in the grueling race that requires strength, stamina and technique, as well as speed.

“I thought if I could do that well when I wasn’t 100 percent, I should be able to come back and do a little better this year if I continued to work hard,” Waller said.

He’s on his way.

Waller, who will play football and run track next year at Olivet Nazarene University, has been getting better and better in both the 300s and the 110 high hurdles. He won both events (in 39.51 seconds and 14.97, respectively) at last week’s DuPage Valley Conference meet.

“He’s been under the state qualifying mark the last three meets (in the 300s),” Hilby said. “And in the 110s, his p.r. (personal record) is .16 off the qualifying time so he’ll be a contender there, too.”

Waller gets pushed in practice by senior teammate Patrick Schultz and they will team up Friday to comprise half of the Blackhawks’ four-man 1,600 relay at sectional. Schultz was second to Waller in the 300s at conference, trailing by a mere .35 of a second (39.86 seconds). That’s just .25 of a second off the state qualifying time.

“He’s right there,” Hilby said. “(Schultz) hasn’t made it to state yet, but this is a kid who came in as a gangly, goofy freshman who probably had no business running the hurdles, but he worked hard and he’s come a long way.”

This meet could be it for Schultz, who will attend the University of Illinois next fall but won’t be running track.

“It took me awhile to get up to Marcus, but I’m getting close in the 300s,” he said. “It’s my favorite race, even if it’s a tougher one.”

Waller agrees, because “there’s more of a chance to make a move” in the longer event.

Meanwhile, the Blackhawks will be shooting for the program’s first sectional title since 1997 after taking third at conference.

“That was our first loss of the season, so we need to come back and win this title,” said Schultz, who knows it will be important for everyone to contribute.

West head coach Cortney Lamb said he’d like to match the West girls, who won their second straight sectional crown last Friday.

“If we have a good day, we’ll be right there,” Lamb said. “Plainfield South is very tough and should be considered the favorite. Minooka is tough and Neuqua Valley always comes up with something, but if we have a good day, we’ll be in the mix.”

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