Ty Olson (‘24) and Christian Hiner (’25) locked in over the summer and, as a result, have created a lot of excitement. Ty went to a handful of College Camps and showed out. He got rewarded with his performance by gaining two offers by Graceland University and Lyon College.
Hiner, on the other hand, only went to a couple of camps, but he went to the Manning Passing Academy camp and worked with new offensive coordinator, Mike Sanford, to fix the challenges he had at the quarterback position.
Ty Olson (‘24) said that in order to accomplish what he has done (receiving 2 scholarship offers and becoming a very well known wide receiver around the state), he has had to stay disciplined and consistent.
“Becoming a senior [this year has] changed a lot because I had to be consistent with my offseason work and my diet,” he said.
While the diet piece has been a challenge for Olson, he hopes the sacrifices will pay off for him and the team in the long run.
With all these changes, what has he done to show his hard work on the field?
Through the first three games, Olson has put up some impressive numbers. Averaging 29 receiving yards a game and already having scored a touchdown this year, Ty is up 5.9 receiving yards a game as compared to last year. With this interesting start, Mead fans have everything to be excited about.
Another significant change for all members of Mead Football was the addition of Mike Sanford, former CU Interim Head Coach. Sanford has helped many players in his short time here, especially Olson.
“He’s helped us a lot with the technique and bringing that fire… [and knowledge] that he gave to his [D1] players,” said Olson.
Christian Hiner shared that he knows his position is important and he needs to work hard to maintain it.
“In order for the team to be great, I need to be great,” he said.
He knows that there’s a lot of pressure on him as the team stands at 1-2 heading into their Friday matchup against Durango. He faces these pressures as only a first year varsity player.
Even though Hiner wasn’t able to play in Varsity games last year, he’s stepped up to the task of being a leader and knowing what he needs to do on the field. The hiring of Mike Sanford has been important to this as Hiner feels the same way.
“He’s like a dad,” he said.
Hiner told us that Sanford and him have created a special relationship through summer workouts. Hiner said that Sanford has been a big reason for the fast improvement from game 1 to game 3.
Hiner has exhibited his extraordinary ability in his first three games including the most recent game vs. Severance. The Junior had 288 yards in total — 235 yards throwing and 53 yards rushing. He also added 3 touchdowns — 2 passing and 1 rushing.
This was also the first game where Christian Hiner didn’t have a turnover. With the fast improvement of the Junior quarterback, the Maverick community should be ecstatic about the rest of the season.
To keep up with the rest of this season’s games, click here.
