With the state football championship to his credit and
the gaudy won-loss record on the mound, one would guess Charlie Land would have
some room to pump his chest a little bit. If not that, he should at least the
penchant to give himself a bit of credit.
But when the soft-spoken Wheat Ridge (Colo.) senior was asked this
week who his family and friends would label the best athlete among he and his
siblings, Land offered a diplomatic response.
“They’d probably say we’re all equal,” he said with a
modest shrug.
It was typical Land, but despite his unassuming demeanor,
it’s clear that he is as intelligent and athletically gifted as he is humble.
The fire-balling right-hander will play at Colorado School of Mines next
season, eschewing football for a chance to concentrate on baseball and an
engineering degree.
That means he’ll say goodbye to playing a quarterback,
despite helping the Farmers to a Class 4A championship in 2008-09 and a trip to
the semifinals this season. It means he’ll say goodbye to a sport in which, in
two seasons as a starting signal-caller, he amassed a 25-2 record while
throwing 29 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.
“It’d be tough to play football at Mines,” Land said. “They
want a quarterback who only plays one sport.”
That should tell you what type of baseball player Land is,
if he’s passing up being a college quarterback with those glimmering
credentials and a 6-foot-3, 175-pound frame. Despite a loss to Golden on
Thursday, Land has an 8-2 pitching record for the Farmers (15-4), one of the
favorites in the 4A playoffs. He also is batting .494 out of the No. 3 spot in
the order.
“He’s a great athlete,” Golden shortstop Wyndam Williams
said. “He’s going to Mines and he’s a hell of a pitcher. “
The last name Land has been popular at Wheat Ridge in recent
years. Land’s older brother, Mac, is now a sophomore at Hastings College in
Nebraska and batting .315 with five homers and 28 RBI for the Broncos.
Younger
sister Antonia Land is a sophomore soccer and basketball player at Wheat Ridge and
Erika is an eight-grade budding soccer and volleyball athlete.
Land’s football achievements were partially overshadowed
by the “All Parker All The Time” euphoria that surrounded the Farmers’ crown
last season.
Running back Parker Orms, who scored the winning touchdown against
Greeley West on an improbable run from beyond midfield in the final minute,
received much of the accolades for the Wheat Ridge triumph.
With Orms now at
the University of Colorado, Land’s contributions on the gridiron were much more
recognized in the fall (he tossed 18 touchdowns and three interceptions).
Land, though, doesn’t appear to be one of those who cares
about who gets the credit. He’s there to help the Farmers keep their successful
programs intact, and that certainly has happened.
“I like the team and the players around here,” Land said.
“I grew up in Wheat Ridge and it’s fun to be successful with the people you
grew up with.”
