2 weeks Ago By Pat Ruff
BYRON, Minn. — It took all of one track and field meet this season for Carson Heimer to create a newsflash: “Byron sprinter has the goods to be a 100 meters state champion.” That’s what came from the 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior's accomplishment April 11 at Triton, when in Byron’s first outdoor meet of the season he ran an eyebrows-raising 10.
84-second 100. ADVERTISEMENT It was a 10.76 one year ago that won the Class 2A state title.
That was done by then-Red Wing senior Thomas Lamkin. The second-place time was also provided by a senior, Orono’s Victor Ruhland in 10.91.
So yes, Heimer has immediately put himself into the 100-meters state title conversation. Not bad for a kid who ran an open 100 meters just once last season. Instead he was devoted to the 200 and the 400, where he combined on Byron relay teams that reached the state meet, finishing fifth in the 4x400.
Did Heimer have a notion that he was going to run in the 10.84 range this season? His best prior time had been about 11.3, so no.
Then again, Heimer — also one of the state’s top football running backs and safeties — is a worker, so. . .
“That time did kind of surprise me, but I had put in a lot of preparation during the winter,” Heimer said. “(Sprints) coach (Ben) Halder had us varsity football players doing team speed sessions two days per week all winter. Along with that I was going to ETS Performance three to four times per week.
” The result is that Heimer is now not only Byron’s top sprinter — and the Bears’ Jaxon Boynton, Ben Zimmerman and Brayden Olson join him as excellent ones — but among the state’s best. It’s given Heimer a new outlook for this season and beyond. Doors have opened, including him being invited to arguably the state’s top meet of the year, Friday's Hamline Elite Meet, which features a collection of Minnesota’s top talents, all classes combined.
ADVERTISEMENT And that 10.84 has done something else. It’s made Heimer hungrier than he’s ever been in track and field.
His appetite for this sport hasn’t just been whet, it’s now dripping. His aim is to take that 10.84 time and shrink it some more.
A handful of high school athletes in the state are running faster 100s than him, mostly in Class 3A. He’d like to put an end to that. “I’m not satisfied,” said Heimer, who also immediately tied his personal best from a year ago in the long jump, sailing 21-feet-6 on his first outdoors crack at it this season.
“I want to post a better time. By the end of the season, I want to run 10.6.
The (open) 100 is going to be one of my events at state. And then I want to compete in two relays. We’ll see which ones.
It depends on what times we can compete best with at state.” Count Halder — who is also Byron’s head football coach — as another person who is surprised though not stunned by Heimer’s early production. He has seen his junior work and is also well aware of his natural talents.
He thought a 10.84-ish time was in him eventually. But maybe not quite so soon.
“I was pleasantly surprised by it,” said Halder, who watched Heimer put on a show at running back this past football season, rushing for 1,561 yards and 21 touchdowns. “I thought he could be sub-11 seconds eventually this season, but I just didn’t know that he’d do it right away. But he is a kid who works super hard and also likes to stay out of the spotlight, which is good.
He is a humble, hard-working kid who is likable. When he did the 10.84, he was excited, but it wasn’t like he was jumping around.
I think there was a deep-seated thought in him that he could do it. When he ran it, it was just confirmation. That’s how it is with the best athletes.
” It was also confirmation to the many college football recruiters that they are going after the right guy. Heimer is being highly recruited by Division II schools and is also drawing the attention of a few Division I programs. ADVERTISEMENT When they got wind of that 10.
84, the attention picked up some more. Now just imagine he whittles that down to 10.6?.
