CHARLESTON – Marquette Catholic had a pair of representatives at the recent IHSA Class 1A Boys Track and Field Championship state meet at Eastern Illinois’ O’Brien Field.
Senior Aaron Gregory ran in the 100 meters for the Explorers, while junior Kaleb Ware ran in the 400 meters; neither reached the finals of their events, Gregory turning in a time of 11.17 seconds in his heat of the 100, missing out on reaching the final by a hundredth of a second to Spring Valley Hall’s Marshall Walk, who had an 11.16 to get to the final. Ware had a time of 54.69 seconds in his heat of the 400.
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“I felt like I ran good,” Gregory said immediately after his heat, “but that was the same as my qualifying time; I wish I would have done a little better. It was fine (on the track), but it was a little hot (temperatures were in the upper 80s during the heats); I have to deal with it.”
Gregory enjoyed his senior year with the Explorers. “It’s been nice and great running my senior year,” Gregory said. “I’ve been working on this since November, so whatever happens, I’m happy with – it’s been great, it’s been fun.”
Gregory will be attending Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., in the fall, a Mid-American Conference school whose best-known alumni is talk-show host David Letterman. “I love Ball State,” Gregory said about the school. 
“I’ll be majoring in chemistry on a pre-med track; I plan on becoming a pediatrician.”
“It was good, a little disappointing, but I got out there and tried to represent my school,” Ware said following his heat. “It’s a big achievement.”
Ware was on the Explorer track team for the first time in the 2018 season. “My friends (got Ware, who also played baseball for MCHS during the season) got me running,” Ware said. “It was really fun; it’s sad to see our seniors go.
“I did all right at sectionals (at Litchfield), but I’ve got to keep doing better.”
“It was great” just reaching the state meet, Gregory said. “I just got to soak it all in and enjoy it, especially since it was my senior year; I just wanted to go out there and have fun. It’s beautiful (the O’Brien facility); Eastern is amazing.”
