Saturday, November 01, 2003
Everything Kyle Walsh has worked for this cross country season has revolved around today. This one day in the calendar year, this one race - this one last race of five kilometers.
Walsh will be among 274 runners competing in this afternoon's 58th annual IHSAA Boys Cross Country State Meet on the rolling hills of the Indiana University course in Bloomington.
A year ago, the Western High School senior finished 22nd in the state meet.
"I think I'm a lot more prepared. I didn't know what to expect last year," Walsh said. "I know a lot about the competition. I ran the course Monday and Wednesday and Friday· I'll know everything there is to know about the course by [this] morning.
"The more I run it, the more I see different things in the course. It's hard, but it's nice. The first half isn't too bad, but at three kilometers, that's when the rolling terrain takes over. It's hard because that's where you start to feel the fatigue," he continued.
"You just have to push through it. That's when the race is won and lost. That's where I'll need to make my move, pass people and get into position."
Columbus North's Christian Wagner, the runner-up last year. is the favorite to win today's race, but Walsh likes his chances of a finish near the front.
"This year, more important than my time, is my place. My goal at the beginning of the season was top five, he said. "I still think I can achieve that. Unless something crazy happens, Wagner will win, but there are a lot of people capable of getting second. I think I'm in that pack. If I'm feeling great, I think I can run right up there."
"If I run with all my heart and as hard as I can, that's all I can control is my effort."
The only disappointing footnote to this meet is the fact that teammate Jim Jackson won't be running with him in the meet. Walsh's fellow senior is the one who talked him into trying cross country and the two have been running partners for three years.
Jackson, however, suffered a knee injury in early October and was unable to return at full strength.
"The only thing I would change is that I wish Jimmy would be with me and going to state. We've talked about it since last cross country season 'we're going to state.' That was our big goal," Walsh said. "If he were healthy, he'd be good enough to go and would have had a good shot at the top 25."
"Jimmy has worked as hard as anyone in the state. To see him go down was tough. It had an effect on me. I ran with him every workout for three years. Coming to the end of the season by myself, well it would have been nice to finish with him."
Walsh never ran cross country before his sophomore year.
"I was running track and Dana [Neer] looked at me and said, 'How about running cross country? '" he said. 'I thought, I am never going to run 3.1 miles, That's too far. I'll stick to the mile. Jimmy and Dana talked me into coming to the summer workouts. I came to practice and didn't like it too much but as I got better I learned to love it."
It has, Walsh admits, been one of the greatest things to ever happen to him. Cross country has affected the 6-1 senior, who also plays basketball.
"I’m thankful Jimmy and Dana talked me into running. It's been great and it's changed my life greatly," he said. "It affects how I make decisions. It affects my sleeping habits, my eating habits, the things I do on the weekend. I always think about running when I make decisions.
"I ran track in eighth grade for fun and wasn't competitive. My competitive spirit is something God has given me. He's given me the will to become the best I possibly can be."
While Walsh has lost just two races this season, the winning isn't the important part to him.
"More important than winning is having friendships through cross country with different runners in the state," he said. "That means a lot more. It's fun meeting new runners and coaches, from around the state."