ELY - He has competed in state football tournaments, in the state track and field finals and against top basketball competition.

Still, this winter was perhaps the toughest season Josh Heiman has had to endure in his Ely career: he had to sit and wait.

Weeks after helping lead the Ely football team to its third trip to state in four years, the senior suffered a season-ending injury during the opening weeks of basketball practice.

Only he didn’t know it.

“I broke my ankle and actually pulled a small piece of bone away,” Heiman said. “I didn’t notice for a few weeks so I continued to try to play basketball and finally I found out about it. I was pretty disappointed because I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to play basketball.”

The focus then shifted from the disappointment of, if not basketball, what about track and field?

“It was definitely a goal to be back in time for track,” Heiman said. “I knew when the doctor told me that I would be out until at least March that it was going to be a long shot to be fully healthy for track.”

That forced Heiman to the sidelines as he waited to heal.

He sat all winter through the entire basketball season.

Then, when spring rolled around, he found himself ready to roll once again.

“The process took about three months until I was fully healthy again and now I have no problems at all with it,” Heiman said. “It was a tough process just because any injury is hard to deal with from the bench and it’s always disappointing to not be able to play.

“Basically the whole winter I was just waiting to be able to compete again. I was worried I wouldn’t be where I was at the year before and my injury was going to hold me back. It also pushed me harder when I got healthy again to get back to the standard I was at last year.”

Even though Heiman had already been to state multiple times prior to this year, there has been no complacency as he has worked his way back.

“I’ve managed to stay motivated by the people that surround me,” Heiman said. “Our team really works hard and the atmosphere itself in practice and at meets that our team brings is inspiring.”

His coach agrees.

“Josh’s success has a lot to do with his hard work and competitive nature,” Ely boys head coach Will Helms said. “He spends a lot of time in the weight room year-round, and works extremely hard in practice. At meets, Josh gives everything he has and fights to win. When you consider the challenging northern Minnesota weather and the fact that we lack a track facility, I’d say that Josh’s greatest strength is his ability to accomplish a lot with very little.”

Heiman started the season strong, garnering a trio of first-place finishes in mid-April at Chisholm and International Falls in the 100-meter dash, long jump and triple jump.

The comeback truly seemed complete, though, when Heiman took part in Friday’s Hamline Elite Meet, featuring the top athletes from the state in both classes.

“It’s great going down to Hamline to compete,” Heiman said. “It’s just a different level of competition than we are used to at local meets. It can be intimidating, but I always try to remember to just loosen up and have fun.

“The level of competition at the Hamline Meet is better than the A state meet because Hamline Elite has both AA and A schools competing. The meet itself, however, seems a little more relaxed than the state meet because it is early in the season and we aren’t competing for a state title.”

Heiman entered as the eighth seed and saved his best leap for last, earning sixth place in the triple jump with a distance of 43-feet, 7.75-inches.

“The first goal was to practice without pain and test the ankle in a meet,” Helms said. “To make it back to the Hamline Elite Meet is a big accomplishment coming off of the injury. I know that Josh’s goal is to return to the state meet and place in three events. This looks very attainable, and I even think we might be able to add a fourth event; we’re pretty close in the 4x100 relay.”

As Heiman eyes one last trip to state, it’s no secret to his coach where the success began.

“First off, I think having three older brothers in the sport got Josh off to a quick start,” Helms said. “Mike and Pat were standout hurdlers (Pat was a state meet performer in the 110 hurdles) and always placed in multiple events, but Mark was the one who really got Josh going.

“In 2013, Josh was only an eighth-grader, but would go inch to inch against Mark, a junior, in the jumps. Every meet was a battle between the two of them. Both brothers really fed off of the competition, and it resulted in both Mark and Josh making it to the state meet. To compete at the state meet in the triple jump as an eighth-grader is really unheard of.”

Although the Ely program has featured several other great jumpers, Helms said, Heiman is second to none.

“I’ve been with the team for 22 years and Josh is the top athlete I’ve seen in the Ely program,” he said. “Last year, Josh made it to the state meet in three events (long, triple and 100) and medaled in two (long and triple). That, along with his 45-foot, 5-inch jump in the triple last year really stand out.”

While Heiman has accumulated a multitude of individual accomplishments during his career, his final goal this spring is checking off one last team milestone.

“The main goal for this season is to win the section again as a team,” he said. “Last year was an unforgettable experience to come out on top as an underdog and now that our team is one of the favorites in the section it would be great to repeat. As far as individually, I am aiming to break the section record in long jump and triple jump, but winning as a team would be far better.”