‘So special.’ Rocky Mountain runner wins elite Bob Firman race in record time

Southwest Idaho is filled with high school cross country talent, with many athletes holding school records and state championships.

But the Treasure Valley’s finest took on a tough challenge Saturday, competing against top runners from across the Western U.S. at the prestigious Bob Firman Invitational at Eagle Island State Park.

And no one was more impressive than Rocky Mountain’s Landon Heemeyer, a junior who won the Boys Elite 5K and set a course record of 14 minutes, 58.4 seconds to lead the Grizzlies to the team tittle. Heemeyer was better than over 175 high schoolers from across the West, including California, Utah and Washington.

“(Winning the event) is so special,” Heemeyer said. “The atmosphere was so cool.”

The 5K race featured many surfaces — mowed grass, sand, packed dirt and an open hay field. It also included a 50-meter climb and a 90-meter descent, according to the Bob Firman website.

Heemeyer stood in fifth place after the first mile but was first at four of the final five checkpoints. He beat Bozeman, Montana, runner Weston Brown by 13.6 seconds.

“(My team and I) practice at (Eagle Island) every day,” Heemeyer said. “It’s our fortress and we were just defending it against all these other schools.”

Heemeyer’s final time was 1.1 seconds better than the record time of Skyline, Utah’s Thomas Boyden for any 5K event at Eagle Island — including state championships and the NXR Northwest.

“We know the course top and bottom, and (coach Jeff Howard) drilled into (the team) that Bob Firman is a (personal record) course,” Heemeyer said. “And that’s what we were able to do.”

Teammates Tyler Sainsbury (eighth, 15:28.5), Hunter Hill (24th, 15:58.3) and Keith Uitdewilligen (30th, 16:05.3) helped the Grizzlies win the team title with 117 points. Skyridge, Utah, took second with 134 points.

GIRLS ELITE 5K: SMITH LEADS BRAVE TO TOP 3 FINISH

Boise High multi-sport star Sammy Smith took fourth in the Girls Elite 5K. The junior clocked a time of 18:00.1.

“It was definitely not my best race, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to run at Bob Firman,” Smith said.

Many know Smith as either a goal-scoring threat on for Boise’s girls soccer team or as a U.S. Ski and Snowboard development team member. She also leaves Sunday in preparation for the U-17 FIFA World Cup in India after being selected to the U-17 U.S. women’s national team.

Saturday morning, the 2020 5A state champ and all-class runner of the year got her first crack at the Bob Firman.

“I’ve been playing mostly soccer just to avoid injury, so not a ton of running going into (the race),” Smith said. “So I’ve mostly been running when I can and not doing too much mileage.

“Prerace, I make sure I’m with the (cross country) team and getting in my stride so I’m in the best form possible for the meet.”

Defending 5A individual state champion Allie Bruce finished 10th with a final time of 18:49.1. The duo helped Boise reach 113 points and claim a third-place finish.

“Boise has a great running program, and I think a lot of times people look at Idaho and don’t think that the best athletes come out of it,” Smith said. “But as a school, we’re trying to prove them wrong.”

Jane Hedengren of Timpview, Utah, won the individual title with a time of 17:25.8. Timpanogos, Utah, took first in the team rankings with 82 points.

Bob Firman Invitational

Saturday

At Eagle Island State Park

Girls team scores - Elite division

1, Timpanogos (UT) 82. 2, Corner Canyon (UT) 113. 3, Boise 113 4, Park City (UT) 113. 5, Rocky Mountain 169 6, Preston 179 7, Natrona County (WY) 219. 8, Maple Mountain (UT) 224. 9, Great Oak (CA) 239. 10, Springville (UT) 243.

11, Skyline (ID) 284 12, Twin Falls 342 13, Bozeman (MT) 358. 14, Hellgate (MT) 362. 15, Eagle 365. 16, Meridian 376. 17, Northridge (UT) 427. 18, Skyline (UT) 432. 19, Vista Murrieta (CA) 488.

Girls top individuals - Elite division

1, Jane Hedengren, Timpview, 17:25.8.

2, Nelah Roberts, Skyline (ID), 17:46.5.

3, Raygan Peterson, Timpanogos, 17:55.1.

4, Samantha Smith, Boise, 18:00.1.

5, Kelli Gaffney, Great Oak, 18:32.3.

6, Emily Sumsion, Springville, 18:39.5.

7, Paige Rhoads, Corner Canyon, 18:44.0.

8, Sienna Barton, Bonneville (Ogden), 18:44.9.

9, Courtney Madsen, Corner Canyon, 18:48.1.

10, Allie Bruce, Boise, 18:49.1.

11, Lia Bell Selander, Brighton, 18:51.0.

12, Marina Renna, Skyline (ID), 18:55.7.

13, Ryann Smith, Rawlins, 18:56.7.

14, Molly Walton, Timpanogos, 18:58.3.

15, Katie Hansen, Woods Cross, 19:00.6.

16, Savannah Galbraith, Springville, 19:03.5.

17, Ava Coccaro, Park City, 19:06.1.

18, Gracie Buhrley, Rocky Mountain, 19:07.9.

19, Olivia Larsen, Maple Mountain, 19:10.6.

20, Lana Hansen, Timpanogos, 19:13.8.

21, Anna Dixon, Greenleaf Friends, 19:17.6.

22, Kaylee Hale, Park City, 19:18.5.

23, Ashlynn Lainhart, Maple Mountain, 19:18.8.

24, Ally Wheeler, Natrona County, 19:21.0.

25, Madeline McHenry, Park City, 19:22.5.

26, Zoe Sims, Boise, 19:22.9.

27, Brighton Heywood, Rocky Mountain, 19:25.3.

28, Aldana Navarrete-Lamas, Timpanogos, 19:26.3.

29, Aubrey Kohler, Meridian, 19:28.2.

30, Tenley Kirkbride, Preston, 19:28.5.

Boys team scores - Elite division

1, Rocky Mountain 117. 2, Skyridge (UT) 134. 3, Farmington (UT) 135. 4, Corner Canyon (UT) 184. 5, Great Oak (CA) 203. 6, Park City (UT) 206. 7, Seattle Prep (WA) 224. 8, Boise 269. 9, Coeur d’Alene 278. 10, Woods Cross (UT) 285.

11, Idaho Falls 291. 12, Bozeman 328. 13, Ogden 354. 14, Maple Mountain (UT) 355. 15, Bishop Kelly 381. 16, Timpanogos (UT) 386. 17, Northridge (UT) 401. 18, Natrona County (WY) 413. 19, Twin Falls 424. 20, Victory Charter 452.

21, Eagle 504. 22, Skyline (UT) 505. 23, Vista Murrieta (CA) 605. 24, North Central (WA) 644.

Boys top individuals - Elite division

1, Landon Heemeyer, Rocky Mountain, 14:58.4.

2, Weston Brown, Bozeman, 15:12.0.

3, Sam Hansen, Woods Cross, 15:13.1.

4, Spencer Bradshaw, Farmington, 15:15.4.

5, Nathan Neil, Bozeman, 15:17.6.

6, Jeffrey Lewis, Corner Canyon, 15:24.5.

7, Stockton Stevens, Twin Falls, 15:25.9.

8, Tyler Sainsbury, Rocky Mountain, 15:28.5.

9, Grayson Milne, Corner Canyon, 15:29.2.

10, Samuel Fish, Vallivue, 15:31.4.

11, Devan Green, Skyridge, 15:34.0.

12, Caleb Woolford, Maple Mountain, 15:41.5.

13, Jonah Denison, Skyridge, 15:45.8.

14, Chris Henry, Park City, 15:47.8.

15, Andrew Ringert, Eagle, 15:48.7.

16, Will Luoma, Northridge, 15:48.7.

17, Jack Henzke, Seattle Prep, 15:49.3.

18, Aaron Miller, Farmington, 15:51.0.

19, Jack Blodgett, Ogden, 15:51.1.

20, Austin Clough, Bishop Kelly, 15:51.3.

21, Will Shuflit, Park City, 15:52.0.

22, Jackson Dutcher, Natrona County, 15:55.0.

23, Maximus Cervi-Skinner, Coeur d’Alene, 15:55.7.

24, Hunter Hill, Rocky Mountain, 15:58.3.

25, Liam Riley, Seattle Prep, 15:58.5.

26, Brady Christensen, Woods Cross, 15:58.9.

27, Ian Stockett, Victory Charter, 16:01.9.

28, Nathan Lennox, Great Oak, 16:02.0.

29, Paul Scown, Stansbury, 16:02.6.

30, Keith Uitdewilligen, Rocky Mountain, 16:05.3.

This story was originally published September 24, 2022 at 4:34 PM.