VonHeeder reaches new heights in freshman season with Bobcats

Former Plains track star Carley VonHeeder has a fundamental approach to success that earned her two high school state championships. She has taken that approach with her as she is now throwing javelin at Montana State University.

In order to tame her nerves, VonHeeder plays a psychological tactic on herself and reminds herself she has “nothing to lose.”

“I don’t want to set my goals too low because I know what I am capable of,” VonHeeder said. “I want to keep building and increasing my distance in college. I do better in a setting where I feel I have nothing to lose and no pressure on me, and I just know what to do. I really perform better without any pressure. I like to approach it like I have no pressure on me and once I tell myself that, I start throwing well. If I put too much pressure on myself, I tend to tense up.”

In VonHeeder’s first-ever NCAA Division-I competition as a member of the Montana State University’s javelin team, the freshman didn’t disappoint and she finished first.

“I was really nervous and I was just freaking out,” VonHeeder admitted. “The older jav girls told me ‘don’t worry, it’s just your freshman year, you don’t have anything to lose. and don’t even think about it.’ It was nice to know I could just compete at that level.”

VonHeeder now has the seventh longest javelin throw in MSU history, qualified for the NCAA Division-I regionals, and the freshman is only getting started. VonHeeder’s PR of 150 feet was enough to etch herself into the Bobcats’ record books.

“I am just really super excited to be seventh all-time and I hope that I will be able to work my way up the ranking,” VonHeeder said. “It was kind of shocking and pretty cool. I am very proud of myself and that really helped with my confidence and made me hungry for upcoming years.”

Despite having unprecedented success in her first year with the Lady Bobcats, VonHeeder admitted the transition from Class-C to NCAA Division-I was daunting.

“It was definitely a big change,” VonHeeder said. “In Plains, we knew we were really good and knew we were going to win. Getting to the Division-I level, it was competitive and different to go to meets where girls are throwing crazy far like 160s, 170s, and seeing all of those crazy competitors around.”

VonHeeder said she felt the approach in coaching at MSU is also “different.”

“The coaching is a lot more intense and there are a lot more things that you have to learn,” VonHeeder said. “They know what you are doing and they changed my technique a lot. The feedback is different because they know you know what you are doing because you made it to the Division-I level.”

VonHeeder said she felt the collegiate schedule was also “more demanding.”

“They schedule a lot of schools and there is a lot more time spent in the off-season where we are still training for javelin,” VonHeeder said. “In high school, we would go from doing track to basketball. Here it is just track. I am training and lifting for like an hour and I am ready to compete. However, I wouldn’t’ say it’s been that hard of a transition because there are a lot of javelin throwers that have helped me a lot and guided me to throw.”

VonHeeder say she recalled she had an “eye-opening” experience at a competition in Long Beach, Calif.

“In the earlier season meets, we competed a lot with the University of Montana and they had some pretty good javelin throwers there,” VonHeeder said. “Then I went to Long Beach and I had some really good throws in that competition. I PRed with 150 and I almost made it to the finals but it was crazy. There were just these big huge girls throwing super far and I thought to myself ‘that could be me in just a few short years.’”

VonHeeder, who finished 40th in the NCAA regional track meet, said she felt she is off to a good start in her collegiate career as she was the only freshman that qualified for the regional meet in Austin, Texas.

“It was a really good experience to qualify for regional and I want to go back and make it to the nationals as soon as possible,” VonHeeder said. “I was not disappointed (in how I performed at regionals). Just having the experience of being there, I get a little jump ahead of everyone else. I know what it’s like and I will gain more confidence in the next couple of years.”

VonHeeder said she felt the experience at regionals was “crazy.”

“We had three flights and it was just a crazy experience because the competition was such a different level,” VonHeeder said. “I was on the lower end of the spectrum and the stadium was huge. It was just so different. There were so many different schools I was competing against. There were some crazy good athletes and it was awesome to watch.”

The regional experience helped her with goal assessment, VonHeeder said.

“I want to be in the last flight in the western regional and that has helped me set my goals and pictures higher for the next couple of years,” VonHeeder said. “It makes me want to train as hard as I can so that I can gain ten feet in college. I’ll do whatever it takes to reach my goals, pick up the pace, and hopefully get a little bigger so I can throw those longer distances.”

VonHeeder, a two-time state champion in Class-C, excelled in a sport she had no desire to even participate in when she was a freshman at Plains High School.

“I didn’t even want to go out for track but my mom made me do it,” VonHeeder said. “I didn’t know what events to do. I don’t remember who told me but I threw the javelin and did pretty well. I didn’t really have a coach. That is when Brian Taylor approached me and said ‘I could use his help.’ I ended up winning the state championship in javelin my freshman year. And that was coming from someone who didn’t want to do track ever and really worked in track.”

VonHeeder won the state title in javelin her freshman year, with a throw of 126 feet. She then won it her junior season with a throw of 142 feet.

VonHeeder, who already had a successful career with the Trotters with two individual state championships to her credit and four team titles, said she is now eyeing a shot at the national title.

And she has nothing to lose.