High school boys track and field: Marengo's Finn Schirmer sprints into junior season

Finn Schirmer is making certain he enjoys every possible moment from his high school experience.

The Marengo junior rushed for 1,701 yards and 22 touchdowns to help the Indians to a 9-3 record and Class 4A playoffs quarterfinal appearance in football.

Schirmer provided high energy, defense and rebounding for the basketball team, while arriving at school most mornings for weight lifting and conditioning.

As if all that, along with studying, didn’t keep Schirmer busy enough, he played Lucas Beineke, an integral character in Marengo’s musical “The Addams Family” this month. It took away a little bit from his preseason sprint training, but Schirmer had a blast doing it.

The spring sports season brings with it the role Schirmer plays best, the one where he runs really fast so almost no one can catch him.

Schirmer finished his sophomore season with three medals from the IHSA Boys Track and Field State Meet, taking third in the Class 2A 200 meters and fourths in the 110 high hurdles and 100 meters.

NCAA Division I schools have taken note of Schirmer (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) for both football and track. The 2018 Northwest Herald Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year has lofty goals as he approaches his junior track season, a time during which his interest from colleges will intensify.

With the other three members of the Indians’ 4x400 relay team graduated – Blaine Borhart, Jadon Kozin and Alex Leonard – Schirmer will add the 300 intermediate hurdles as his fourth event.

“I’d like to go sub-37 (seconds) in the 300s, break 10.5 in the 100, sub-14 in the highs and get as close to 21 as I can in the 200,” Schirmer said. “I feel like I’m definitely capable of doing them. Last season and freshman year, I was always running four events. I’ll take a different approach this season and not run four events in every meet. I’ll have more rest.”

Indians coach Brad Wignes sees more big things coming from Schirmer.

“He’s pretty intrinsically motivated,” Wignes said. “He wants to succeed for himself because he loves the sport. He loves doing this; he loves his teammates. He loves winning for the team more than just himself. He’s a very good kid, a good person to know; very highly motivated.”

Schirmer has interest from D-I schools for football and track. He is considering options for doing one or both sports. He has visited Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin for track and plans on seeing North Carolina and North Carolina State over spring break. Kansas State is among the schools that has contacted him for football.

“The decision’s still 50/50,” Schirmer said. “I really love football, but I really love track. I can’t give a definite answer right now.”

Wignes expects the track emails to pick up significantly in the next two months.

“Division I recruiters wait until your junior season when you’re performing to make formal contact with the coaches,” Wignes said.

Ultimately, Wignes thinks Schirmer’s best races at the state level will be the 200 and 300 hurdles.

“He’s a little better at longer sprints,” he said. “He takes a little longer to get going, but once he gets going he can maintain that speed longer than most.”

Schirmer wants to enjoy the recruitment process with all its attention directed his way.

“It’s a dream come true,” he said. “It’s so hard to put into words because of how awesome it is. Being blessed and having an opportunity like this … I wouldn’t do anything to ruin it. It’s amazing.”