Noah Carlson headed to Michigan for track/field

("down the backstretch" image)

Noah Carlson gave lots of thrills in his football career. But as he eyes the future, the gridiron sport is going to be set aside. Now it's track and field at the forefront. It's not the kind of high-profile sport that football is. But on the plus side, in a huge way, is the fact that this young man will not be facing the serious risk of injury that football would present.
Look for Truman Carlson of Morris to develop an affinity with the Michigan Wolverines. Noah is Truman's great grand nephew. Noah is now committed to Michigan in the sport of track and field. The news broke just recently.
Noah is a three-sport standout for Rushford-Peterson High School in southeastern Minnesota. He has now accepted a scholarship to compete at the home of the Wolverines. They are a rival of our U of M Gophers in the Big 10 Conference.
I am happy that Noah decided to put football aside. Football is increasingly drawing skepticism as a sport that presents an undue risk of injury. Noah did in fact get hurt at the end of last football season. He hopefully feels no more effects of that. His decision ends several months of suspense. He did indeed weigh football. He admits it was a tough decision.
"I just felt the name of Michigan going around in my head," he said to the media. "I'm excited about it. And it's a big weight off my shoulders. Now I can stop thinking about it and catch up on my sleep."
Noah is 6 feet 2 and weighs 180 pounds. He truly has a blend of athletic gifts. He has been a dominant performer in state track and field the past two years. He has been in the top tier of football, where his positions were runningback and defensive back. Noah was named the Minnesota AP Player of the Year. He led Rushford-Peterson to the Class A state championship game by rushing for 2,785 yards with 41 touchdowns.
In track he is the two-time defending Class A state champion in the long jump and triple jump. He also won the 200-meter dash last year in state. He publicly stated that staying injury-free was a priority of his. He also likes the idea of getting into a totally new environment away from home, he said. Although, he added, he did give serious consideration to the University of Minnesota for track and field.
He said: "Football was something I definitely had some thinking to do about, especially after the past season that I had. But I think back to the injuries and decided I was better off taking it easy on my body."
We're in March which means that Noah has one very exciting season left of prep track and field in Minnesota. He's eyeing the Class A state triple jump record of 48-8 1/2. He's aiming for 24 feet in the long jump. His track record already shows he's gone 48-4 in the triple jump and 23 1/4 in the long jump.
Here's more than a footnote: Noah is an honor student. You can be sure that our Truman, a retired biology teacher at MAHS, is paying attention to his great grand nephew's academic progress! I had Truman as a teacher. He was always temperate, consistent and capable. Today we both dine at the Morris Senior Center.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com