BAYFIELD
Bayfield High School junior Carl Heide has reached the pinnacle of high school sports as a member of last year’s Wolverines football team. Though the football team fell short of another championship this season, Heide and his teammates are pushing toward a different state title as they are among the best of the best in track and field in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s 3A classification.
As a sophomore, Heide finished fifth and set a school record in last year’s 300-meter hurdles competition at the state meet. As a junior, his goal isn’t just to beat his previous finish – he wants to win the whole thing.
“The ultimate goal is to win a team and individual state title,” Heide said. “The only way to get there is by improving every week and working hard every day at practice.”
He’s been doing just that.
Heide, the son of BHS head football and track and field coach Gary Heide, started the season with back-to-back sweeps in the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles competitions at talent-rich meets in Farmington and Bloomfield, New Mexico.
Last weekend, the Wolverines went to Grand Junction and finished third out of 19 teams that were mostly one or two classifications larger. Heide torched the field in the 110-meter hurdles and won handily with a season-best time of 15.64 seconds.
He followed that up with a second-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles and broke his own school record for the second time this season with a new Wolverine-best mark of 40.65 seconds.
Both times currently have him in well within the top eight in the state.
Like most athletes, it isn’t the feeling of winning that drives Heide, it’s actually the other way around.
Of course he’d love to feel the glory of raising a state title trophy, but the pain of losing is what drives the hunger. The 28-20 win against Platte Valley that brought BHS the 2015 2A state football title will always be a special memory for the Heide family, but, when it’s time to train, the memory of this year’s loss to La Junta is what drives the workouts.
“Even when I was a lot younger and I just kept falling and falling when I’d try to jump the hurdles, I just wanted to get better one step at a time,” he said. “Every time I fell, the hunger to get it right just got stronger and stronger. I think that’s how this is for a lot of us on this team, and I think that’s why collectively we’ve got a good chance to win state as a team, too.”
Heide trains daily and jumps from season to season. He’s so busy as a three-sport athlete competing in football, basketball and track, he hasn’t thought much about which sport he’d like to pursue in college.
“I love football and track the same,” Heide said. “They’re a lot different but, either way, you have to train hard, focus and do your job when the opportunity presents itself. I’d be happy to compete in either one in college. But, that’s a long way off and there’s a lot for us to accomplish between now and then.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
Behind the scenes
What is your nickname?: Currl. The guys on the basketball team made it up because it’s a mix of Curry and Carl.
Who is your favorite athlete?: Adrian Peterson
What is your favorite sports memory?: Winning state football championship.
What is your Dream job?: I think I’d like to be an architect one day.
Who is your celebrity crush?: Selena Gomez
What do you listen to when you workout?: Some of my teammates pick, so, a lot of Drake.
What is your favorite sports movie?: Friday Night Lights
DO you have any Superstitions?: Same socks every week for track and I eat steak and potatoes the night before a big game.
What is your favorite local restaurant?: Brenda’s Old West Cafe
What is your favorite outdoors activity?: I like to go hiking with my family.
