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Jun. 6—ST. MICHAEL — Between Carson Heimer and Beau Nicklay, Byron track and field coach Dan Storlie has a couple of athletes who won't take no for an answer.
At least not without a fight.
Those competitive juices are what got them where they were Saturday, as two of the top performers in the Class 2A boys track and field meet at St. Michael-Albertville High School.
"They are almost the same guy," Storlie said. "It's great to have the competition we do between those two."
The specialty for both when it comes to running is the 100 meters. On Saturday, it was Heimer coming through with a second-place finish in the event, timed in a lusty 10.74. Nicklay wasn't far behind; his time of 10.80 was good for fifth.
Heimer has come a long way since injuring his foot at the tail end of the football season. The star running back had surgery on and didn't return to running until about three weeks ago.
After a rough start in which he failed to get below 11 seconds, Heimer took off. His best time this season is 10.66.
"I got a lot of help from my sprint coach, Ben Halder," said Heimer, dividing up the credit. "But I am very happy with where I am at right now."
Besides the 100, Heimer also took part in the high jump, where he cleared 6-foot-4 for fifth place overall. He's gone as high as 6-8, so he wasn't completely satisfied with that state showing.
Nicklay also has a field event, the long jump. He was good enough to finish second in that, the junior clearing 22-7 1/2.
Those two were also part of a 4x200 relay team that finished fourth overall (42.57).
The Pine Island 4x200 relay team of Cooper Rutten, Owen Harstad, Aspen Gorman and Peyton Loftus came into the state meet seeded seventh.
But they made that seed look silly in the preliminaries when they finished first. Then they proved just how for real they are in the finals when once again they were the first to finish. They were clocked in 1:27.55.
"We are to the moon happy with what these guys accomplished," Pine Island coach Matt Northrop said. "It's our first time competing in Class 2A, and I just thought we represented our school and our section really well."
Cooper Rutten, a junior who runs the lead leg in the 4x200, said they didn't know what to think entering the meet. But it quickly dawned on them how good they are. This is a group that broke its own school record three straight times, the state finals the latest occasion.
"After the prelims, we kind of surprised ourselves," Rutten said. "We had the fastest time. From there, we knew what to do. Today, this is the greatest thing that has ever happened to us. It's a credit to this team and the amazing coaches we have. They just let us know that working hard is important and that you have to give it your all."
Pine Island had two of those four relay runners finish in the top eight in the open 200. Harstad was seventh (22.43) and Loftus eighth (22.48).
—After finishing second on Friday in the 3,200, Kasson-Mantorville senior David Obst ran a personal best in snaring a third place in the 1,600. Obst was timed in 4:18.02.
—Austin's Triumph Ogbeide, one of the more versatile athletes in the state meet, finished third in the 110 hurdles. He was clocked at 14.64. Ogbeide also competed in the long jump, where he was 15th.
—Stewartville's Thomas Lofgren finished fifth in the discus. He let it fly 160-8.
*Class 2A meet record
(Winner, Rochester-area finishers)
4x800 —1. Perham 7:52.62. 5. Winona (P. Holey, K. Boucek. Q. Wangberg, P. Van Fossen); 15. Stewartville (A. Langseth, Z. Call, N. Schatz, J. Owen) 8:16.84.
110 hurdles — 1. Lorenzo Hampton III (Fridley) 14.13; 3. Triumph Ogbeide (Austin) 14.64.
100 — *1. Ty Malone (Minnehaha Academy) 10.60; 2. Carson Heimer (Byron) 10.74; 5. Beau Nicklay (Byron) 10.80; 9. Zakari Epps (Winona) 10.96.
100 wheelchair — 1. Devin Filzen (Winona) 20.97.
4x200 — 1. Pine Island (Cooper Rutten, Owen Harstad, Aspen Gorman, Peyton Loftus) 1:27.55.
1,600 — 1. Charlie Loth (St. Paul Como Park) 4:17.53; 3. David Obst (Kasson-Mantorville) 4:18.02.
4x100 — *1. Zimmerman 41.66; 4. Byron (E. Deters, B. Nicklay, B. Steele, C. Heimer) 42.57; 6. Pine Island (A. Gorman, P. Loftus, C. Rutten, O. Harstad) 42.66; 7. Winona (X. Lillard, D. Schossow, E. Pruka, Z. Epps) 42.74.
Discus wheelchair — 1. Devin Filzen (Winona) 67-10; 2. Aidan Falcon (Austin) 61-4.
400 — 1. George Nelson (Providence Academy) 48.41;
400 wheelchair — 1. Devin Filzen (Winona) 1:18.91.
300 hurdles — 1. Otis Friesen (Blake) 37.56.
800 — 1. Ben Schendel (Minneapolis Southwest) 1:53.92.
800 wheelchair — 1. Aidan Falcon (Austin) 1:44.15.
200 —1. Owen Halvorson (Jordan) 21.75; 7. Owen Harstad (Pine Island) 22.43; 8. Peyton Loftus (Pine Island) 22.48.
4x400 — 1. Rockford 3:23.15.
High jump — 1. Andrew Russell (Mahtomedi) 6-11 1/2; 5. Carson Heimer (Byron) 6-4.
Long jump — 1. Abraham Nebo Jr. (Big Lake) 23-2 1/4; 2. Beau Nicklay (Byron) 22-7 1/2; 15. Triumph Ogbeide (Austin) 20-9 1/4.
Discus — 1. Parker Maloney (St. Peter) 182-3; 5. Thomas Lofgren (Stewartville) 160-8; 12. Colton Henning (Pine Island) 143-00;
Discus wheelchair — 1. Devin Filzen (Winona) 67-10; 2. Aidan Falcon (Austin) 61-4
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At least not without a fight.
Those competitive juices are what got them where they were Saturday, as two of the top performers in the Class 2A boys track and field meet at St. Michael-Albertville High School.
"They are almost the same guy," Storlie said. "It's great to have the competition we do between those two."
The specialty for both when it comes to running is the 100 meters. On Saturday, it was Heimer coming through with a second-place finish in the event, timed in a lusty 10.74. Nicklay wasn't far behind; his time of 10.80 was good for fifth.
Heimer has come a long way since injuring his foot at the tail end of the football season. The star running back had surgery on and didn't return to running until about three weeks ago.
After a rough start in which he failed to get below 11 seconds, Heimer took off. His best time this season is 10.66.
"I got a lot of help from my sprint coach, Ben Halder," said Heimer, dividing up the credit. "But I am very happy with where I am at right now."
Besides the 100, Heimer also took part in the high jump, where he cleared 6-foot-4 for fifth place overall. He's gone as high as 6-8, so he wasn't completely satisfied with that state showing.
Nicklay also has a field event, the long jump. He was good enough to finish second in that, the junior clearing 22-7 1/2.
Those two were also part of a 4x200 relay team that finished fourth overall (42.57).
The Pine Island 4x200 relay team of Cooper Rutten, Owen Harstad, Aspen Gorman and Peyton Loftus came into the state meet seeded seventh.
But they made that seed look silly in the preliminaries when they finished first. Then they proved just how for real they are in the finals when once again they were the first to finish. They were clocked in 1:27.55.
"We are to the moon happy with what these guys accomplished," Pine Island coach Matt Northrop said. "It's our first time competing in Class 2A, and I just thought we represented our school and our section really well."
Cooper Rutten, a junior who runs the lead leg in the 4x200, said they didn't know what to think entering the meet. But it quickly dawned on them how good they are. This is a group that broke its own school record three straight times, the state finals the latest occasion.
"After the prelims, we kind of surprised ourselves," Rutten said. "We had the fastest time. From there, we knew what to do. Today, this is the greatest thing that has ever happened to us. It's a credit to this team and the amazing coaches we have. They just let us know that working hard is important and that you have to give it your all."
Pine Island had two of those four relay runners finish in the top eight in the open 200. Harstad was seventh (22.43) and Loftus eighth (22.48).
—After finishing second on Friday in the 3,200, Kasson-Mantorville senior David Obst ran a personal best in snaring a third place in the 1,600. Obst was timed in 4:18.02.
—Austin's Triumph Ogbeide, one of the more versatile athletes in the state meet, finished third in the 110 hurdles. He was clocked at 14.64. Ogbeide also competed in the long jump, where he was 15th.
—Stewartville's Thomas Lofgren finished fifth in the discus. He let it fly 160-8.
*Class 2A meet record
(Winner, Rochester-area finishers)
4x800 —1. Perham 7:52.62. 5. Winona (P. Holey, K. Boucek. Q. Wangberg, P. Van Fossen); 15. Stewartville (A. Langseth, Z. Call, N. Schatz, J. Owen) 8:16.84.
110 hurdles — 1. Lorenzo Hampton III (Fridley) 14.13; 3. Triumph Ogbeide (Austin) 14.64.
100 — *1. Ty Malone (Minnehaha Academy) 10.60; 2. Carson Heimer (Byron) 10.74; 5. Beau Nicklay (Byron) 10.80; 9. Zakari Epps (Winona) 10.96.
100 wheelchair — 1. Devin Filzen (Winona) 20.97.
4x200 — 1. Pine Island (Cooper Rutten, Owen Harstad, Aspen Gorman, Peyton Loftus) 1:27.55.
1,600 — 1. Charlie Loth (St. Paul Como Park) 4:17.53; 3. David Obst (Kasson-Mantorville) 4:18.02.
4x100 — *1. Zimmerman 41.66; 4. Byron (E. Deters, B. Nicklay, B. Steele, C. Heimer) 42.57; 6. Pine Island (A. Gorman, P. Loftus, C. Rutten, O. Harstad) 42.66; 7. Winona (X. Lillard, D. Schossow, E. Pruka, Z. Epps) 42.74.
Discus wheelchair — 1. Devin Filzen (Winona) 67-10; 2. Aidan Falcon (Austin) 61-4.
400 — 1. George Nelson (Providence Academy) 48.41;
400 wheelchair — 1. Devin Filzen (Winona) 1:18.91.
300 hurdles — 1. Otis Friesen (Blake) 37.56.
800 — 1. Ben Schendel (Minneapolis Southwest) 1:53.92.
800 wheelchair — 1. Aidan Falcon (Austin) 1:44.15.
200 —1. Owen Halvorson (Jordan) 21.75; 7. Owen Harstad (Pine Island) 22.43; 8. Peyton Loftus (Pine Island) 22.48.
4x400 — 1. Rockford 3:23.15.
High jump — 1. Andrew Russell (Mahtomedi) 6-11 1/2; 5. Carson Heimer (Byron) 6-4.
Long jump — 1. Abraham Nebo Jr. (Big Lake) 23-2 1/4; 2. Beau Nicklay (Byron) 22-7 1/2; 15. Triumph Ogbeide (Austin) 20-9 1/4.
Discus — 1. Parker Maloney (St. Peter) 182-3; 5. Thomas Lofgren (Stewartville) 160-8; 12. Colton Henning (Pine Island) 143-00;
Discus wheelchair — 1. Devin Filzen (Winona) 67-10; 2. Aidan Falcon (Austin) 61-4
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