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In March 2022, Marian Catholic’s Braydon Waller ran track for the first time.
By the end of May, as a junior, he won a third-place medal in the 100-meter dash during the Class 2A state meet at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
At that time, he didn’t fully appreciate the accomplishment.
“I was angry because I was so close to getting first,” he said. “I was very upset. I just don’t like losing. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
“Right now, looking back on it, it’s like, ‘Man, I was only doing track for three months. It was not something that I was dedicating years and years of my life to.’”
Waller’s appreciation since May 27 has been off the charts. He won the 2023 state championship with a 10.75 seconds in the 100 and joined Paul Frazier Jr., Michael VanHootegem and Tyler Lofton in taking third with a 42.28 in the 400 relay.
With the win, Waller became just the third individual in program history to earn a state title for the Spartans, following Mitchell Erickson (pole vault, 2007) and Erick Gavin (100 hurdles; 2009, 2010).
Waller’s quick success in the sport is stunning, but even more eyebrow raising is that before he tried out for track, he didn’t participate in any sport his freshman and sophomore years.
“My dad (Baron) challenged me,” Braydon said of trying out. “He ran track in high school. I didn’t do any sports at all my first two years of high school. I tried out for basketball and got cut because I’m not the best at basketball.
“But I wanted to prove him wrong, and I tried track and got third at state.”
As a state champion, Waller has drawn interest from a list of schools that includes Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Southern Illinois, Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Grand Valley State.
When first-year coach Curtis Crossley accepted the job as both the boys and girls track coach at Marian, he thought he could mold Waller into a state champion.
“I called his home and introduced myself,” Crossley said. “As soon as I had a chance to meet with him face to face, I said, ‘Hey, if you trust me, let me push you in every way possible. I’m going to help you become a state champion. You just do the work and accept my challenge to push it.’
“He accepted that challenge from day one.”
Crossley said the process started last fall.
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“In September and October, he put the work in preparing for this moment,” Crossley said of the state title. “It was a real blessing to see him put it all together and win it.”
While the Illinois track world didn’t know about Waller in 2022, he made a name for himself during the indoor season a year later. He won the Illinois Top Times Class 2A championships in the 60 and 200.
That success continued outdoors as he helped Marian take the first sectional title in program history by winning the 100 and 200 and running the anchor leg of the championship 400 relay.
Waller’s impact at Marian track could be huge. Crossley has been trying to drum up interest among students to join the track teams, and having a state champion won’t hurt the cause.
“When I met him, he said, ‘Nobody here cares about track,’” Crossley said of Waller. “And I said, ‘Yeah, but they will.’
“I was so funny because I had him come to an open house with me and he said nobody was going to come by our booth, and we ended up getting 60 sheets of interest from the students. He thought it was crazy.’’
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter with the Daily Southtown.
