If speculation that Walsh runs as a 1A track team this spring proves true, Laken Alley should be one of the classification's top sprinters. Photo by Alan Versaw.
Like a lot of other towns on Colorado's eastern plains, Walsh is a town in decline. Enrollment at the high school has been dropping steadily for years and now sits below 50 students. Such is the plight of the formerly vibrant farming communities east of the I-25 corridor.
In previous years, Walsh has battled this decline, athletically speaking, by combining forces with Campo, Vilas, and Pritchett and competing as Baca County (track and field) or South Baca (cross country).
As an aside, "Baca" is Spanish but is not pronounced in the traditional Spanish manner. If you're a local, you pronounce it BACK-uh. I know that because a local kindly straightened me out on the pronunciation several years ago. Baca County was more or less ground zero of the great dust storms of the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s. It sits in the very southeast corner of the state. Except for the wind, things are mostly quiet out there.
The emergence of a 1A track and field classification may have tweaked the possibilities out in this corner of the state just a little. Walsh athletes have been the backbone of the Baca County track and field teams for a few years running and the opportunity to pursue a state title at a school that is rich in athletic tradition may prove to be too much to pass up.
Of course, it's exactly this scenario that makes the writing of this article a little risky... what if Walsh decides not compete by themselves this spring? Well, in that case, I look kind of foolish. Not a big problem, it's happened before--including on this web site.
The last state title to fall to the purple-and-white Eagles was an 8-man football title in 2001. Ten years later, Walsh doesn't even play football as Walsh any longer. That, too, would fall under the "South Baca" umbrella. And South Baca is now a 6-man football program--everyone's an eligible receiver, scores of games end up looking like college basketball contests, and that sort of thing. Walsh last won a state track and field title in 1988. This year may be the last opportunity for a long time. Perhaps the last opportunity ever.
So, what does Walsh bring to the table?
Before we answer that question, let's take a moment or two to dissect the beast that is 1A track and field. 1A track and field takes in all schools up to 96 students enrollment--except that a handful of those schools have already indicated an interest in competing up to 2A track and field. Right now, that count of schools competing up to 2A is looking like about five schools. That leaves maybe as many as 60 schools in the 1A classification. Most people along the heavily populated Front Range couldn't locate half of these schools even with the help of their dashboard GPS devices.
1A track and field will take nine competitors to state in each laned event and relays. Suggestions are that something like 12 individuals might advance to state in field and distance events. Of the 50-some schools lined up to compete in 1A track and field, a small handful--schools like Haxtun, Merino, and Elbert--have well-established traditions in the sport. If Walsh decides to fly solo, this will be the type of competition they will be taking on.
The rankings system is pretty straight-forward for advancing individuals to state. Things could get unpleasant in a hurry, however, where relays are concerned unless the 1A schools actively self-police. On a track team that may have eight boys, a first-team 4x100 relay will undoubtedly turn a much different result than a second-team relay. Yet, if a school uses its top athletes to qualify a relay (thus assuring themselves of at least one point at state, barring a disqualification or DNF) and then proceeds to substitute for those top athletes at the state meet (perfectly allowable under the current rankings system), you can easily imagine how tense things might get. This problem already exists at the 4A and 5A level, but it is magnified significantly at the smaller school levels due to the scant depth available in track and field programs at tiny schools.
Needless to say, 1A coaches have a great deal of strategizing to do, and public relations fallout to consider, where relays are concerned.
It's difficult to say at this point exactly where Walsh fits into the relay picture. South Baca has fielded some strong relays, and especially 4x400s, the last couple of years, but flying solo may have removed the depth necessary to run highly competitive relays. Of course, they aren't running relays against 2A schools any longer, so perhaps they can get away with a little less depth this year.
I suspect what we're likely to see from Walsh is one very solid relay, assuming numbers permit, and a heavy emphasis on the individual talents of three young men. And two of these young men are no strangers to the state meet.
Landry Cogburn was the Colorado Track XC 2A athlete of the state meet last spring. He's back for one more crack at it this spring. There is little doubt he is the best hurdler in the 1A classification. In fact, until he breaks a leg--or maybe two--he is the best hurdler in 1A. Look for two hurdle events, likely a relay, and possibly one other event for Cogburn at the state meet this spring.
Laken Alley placed fifth in the 2A 100 last spring and, though he did not compete in the 200 at state, he also ran that race pretty well at points during the spring. In fact, both Cogburn and Alley can both turn a nice 200 time and that may end up being part of the strategy for Walsh but, to some extent, you compete against your own team when you stack your aces in the same event.
Weston Meardon adds another dimension for Walsh. Meardon's specialty is distance and his cross country season suggests that he is capable of scoring some serious points at 1600 and 3200 meters in the 1A classification. The 800? Well, that's a question that cross country doesn't answer as clearly, but there's not a lot of obvious depth in the 800 in the 1A classification to begin with. So, at least keep the possibility open in your mind's eye.
Beyond that, I don't know the names. Maybe even Tom Meardon, Walsh HS principal and the man who would likely end up coaching the track team, doesn't know the names yet. This much, however, seems apparent: If Walsh goes it alone this spring, it should be with the goal of capturing a state title in mind. Other schools will have some say in the matter, but a goal is still a goal. And, that goal just might be infectious enough to pull a good turnout on the oval this spring. If so, you have to pencil Walsh in as a top contender in 1A.
This much you can count on as well--the kids in Walsh have grown up around heat and hard agricultural labor. Whatever team they put on track, it won't be a team that wilts easily.