Welsh takes over the discus
CONCORD — Concord Academy track coach Jon Waldron has been around long enough to know that athletes have a tendency to embellish a bit.
Waldron certainly figured that was the case two summers ago when he received a video from Sam Welsh in which he talked about how far he was throwing the discus. Considering Welsh wasn’t even a member of the track team then, Waldron naturally assumed something was amiss.
“As soon as Sam said he was throwing the disc 170 feet, I thought to myself, ‘sure, sure’,” he said. “Then when I saw the tape measure of it. That’s pretty special, just wait until he practices.”
Welsh’s rise to the top of the discus world can best be described as amazing. A baseball and basketball player until his sophomore year, Welsh decided at the prodding of Waldron, who thought the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder had the proper physical attributes for it, to give the discus a shot.
And Welsh is not someone who will take a laidback approach to anything.
“I just started watching YouTube videos to figure out how to do it, then I went out to the dirt fields and started throwing,” Welsh said. “I had no idea where it was going to take me, but I’ve loved every moment of it.”
Success came very quickly to Welsh. The Harvardbound standout dominated the event, capping off a stunning junior season by winning the New England Prep School Track Association Division 3 title with a throw of 178 feet, 9 inches, while also finishing third in the shot put. That was more than nine feet farther than the winners of both the Div. 1 and 2 meets and nearly 30 feet better than the MIAA All-State champion.
“Sam is a very gifted young man,” said Darcy Wilson, Harvard’s assistant track coach for throws. “He’s a well-developed athlete and we look forward to having him here both academically and athletically for the next four years.”
Welsh continued his stellar run into the summer where he earned AllAmerican honors by placing fifth at the New Balance Nationals (186-5), then set a state record with a winning throw of 195-11 at the Bay State Games.
That set the stage for an epic throw to open his senior season. In an April 7 tri-meet with Middlesex and Pingree, Welsh wowed the crowd by throwing the discus a personal-best 202 feet.
“It was a special feeling, something that is hard to describe,” Welsh said. “I hope to have more of them.”