Once a state champ, Plains' VonHeeder now a Big Sky winner

Plains native Carley VonHeeder was a star javelin thrower for the Trotters before taking her talents to Montana State and she’s become a star for the Bobcats, too.

Last weekend at the Big Sky Championships at Weber State in Ogden, Utah, VonHeeder became the first woman to win a javelin title for State since 2012.

VonHeeder was named the Big Sky Women’s Outstanding Performer after making a throw of 173 feet, 10 inches.

VonHeeder’s throw was three feet farther than the previous school record of 170-10, held by Emily Tyrrell who claimed a title in 2012 for the Cats.

For VonHeeder, the daughter of Rebecca Von Heeder and Derek VonHeeder, it was worth the wait after COVID-19 ended the 2020 season before it ever began.

VonHeeder graduated with a degree in psychology in 2020, but with a chance to return, she took it.

“I could not leave the potential that I had entering this season with a blank slate with no ending,” VonHeeder said in a new release from the school. “I thought I’ll take this year and maybe this season will help me be even better. That’s ultimately what made me stay. I know how much potential I had and how much confidence I had.”

VonHeeder owned the school’s third-best throw of 156 feet, 3 inches. She achieved it in 2018 as a sophomore. In 2019, she was third in the javelin at the Big Sky Championships.

VonHeeder’s season will continue May 26-29 when qualifiers for the NCAA West Preliminary Round travel to College Station, Texas, to compete for a chance to advance to the NCAA Championships that will be held at Hayward Field.

VonHeeder was also awarded with the Ginny Hunt Bobcat Spirit Award, which is presented to the female student-athlete who displays perseverance, ambition & leadership as they strive to fulfill the demanding role of a Bobcat.

VonHeeder graduated from Plains in 2016. She qualified for the state championships four times and won two state titles, one in 2013 in her freshman season and the second in 2015 as a junior. She placed seventh in 2014.

The Trotters won four consecutive Montana High School state titles during VonHeeder’s time in high school in track and field, three of them in Class B and one in MHSA Class C, VonHeeder’s senior year.

VonHeeder’s parents, Rebecca, also participated in collegiate track and field and competed in the triple jump, and her father, Derek was a member of a state championship basketball team in high school.