Head Coach April Wahlstrom has been leading Cook County’s Track and Field team for many years, taking over from Chris Hegg. But it wasn’t until 2020 that the program became officially funded by the school.
“It was kind of a volunteer gig with a small stipend from North Superior Ski and Run Club,” said Wahlstrom. “We would travel to meets in our personal vehicles. It was super small, and it’s just picked up momentum — it’s been growing ever since.”
Her first year coaching, there were just 20 athletes that made up the team. This season, that number has grown to 79 students from seventh through twelfth grade participating in track and field.
Wahlstrom credits the growth in participation to the positive culture the program has built over the years. She explained, “The culture of the group is really positive. I think there’s just a great positive energy. They tend to be really good friends. They encourage the best out of each other and they celebrate each other’s successes. If somebody screws up on a handoff, they are able to talk about it constructively without making the other person feel bad. It’s a really healthy culture where they can learn from each other in a positive way.”
Wahlstrom also feels the variety of events in track and field draws athletes of all skill levels. “We have a whole gamut of abilities,” she explained. “Kids who come out and they’re not sure if they could even run a mile or they know what they want to do and then they learn that it is a safe space to just have some personal growth. Then we have kids who are striving to be at the state meet.”
She added, “There’s a niche for everybody. Not everybody is a long-distance runner. And just having the ability to like shift where they’re at and what event they’re doing, I think it really allows a lot of kids to find something that they can be successful at and have personal growth in.”
Having the right leaders involved, especially Cook County’s strong coaching staff, has made a big difference for the athletes. “As the program’s evolved, we’ve gotten more and more adults involved to help coach different events and specialty events,” Wahlstrom said. “I think all of those positive adult role models have really led itself to the success of the program, as well.”
Neil Sherman has been the throwing coach for about five or six years. According to Wahlstrom, “we had other volunteers who did a great job bring the throws along but he’s been the longest standing coach in that position and he just does a great job with those athletes.”
Anton and Brienne Moody have been helping for around three years with the distance runners, which allows Wahlstrom time to work with the sprinters. Two volunteer coaches, Chris Levine and Martin Pepper, assist with sprints and jumps.
Pepper is a retired collegiate and international-level coach who has worked at schools like Macalester and Concordia.
“He has been an incredible asset,” said Wahlstrom. “He started helping in 2019 when I had Jack Hausner who made it to state in the hurdles, jump, and 200. So he came prior to the section meet and helped fine tune Jack a little bit and after that he said if you have somebody of this caliber let me know, I’d be happy to help.”
Last season, Pepper reached out to say he’d like to help on a more consistent basis.
“It’s been so awesome. He helped last year and kind of helped to start doing more of the planning and workouts. This year he really wanted to take that on in its entirety, which has been a huge help and just amazing to have all his depth and breadth of knowledge.”
The team this season was young, with only a handful of seniors. But those seniors have been strong leaders for their younger teammates.
“They all had this amazing leadership skill that they brought with them in such a positive way. They were all kind of newer to track, so most of them had only been out for about two seasons. They’re going to be missed because they did just have this positive way of working with their teammates and they had great work ethic. All of those skills helped to set the tone of the team. They were wonderful leaders to have around,” said Wahlstrom.
This season, the head coach noticed that the players were beginning to “trust the training and really see the potential.”
Training remains a challenge for the team due to limited practice facilities and a field full of, in Wahlstrom’s words, “pits and holes and uneven grass and slippery clay.” The track is simply painted on the football field to mark where the hurdles should be set.
“The kids have to be cautious practicing certain skills,” Wahlstrom explained. “But with consistent training and adapting to what we have — including traveling down to Two Harbors for practice a few times — they’ve started to reach a point where success is possible.”
The team’s hard work, flexibility, and adaptability paid off in faster running times, longer throws, farther jumps, and smoother relay handoffs.
At sections, the 4×100 meter relay team came agonizingly close to making it to state but, after a rerun, missed second place by just 0.08 seconds.
“Our team was in second place and going to state until that rerun happened,” Wahlstrom reported. “It was pretty crushing.”
The coaches had advised the kids that they believed they were capable of success in the 4×100, but the runners weren’t so sure.
“Then they went and were able to do that!” Wahlstrom said. “Even though it was a really hard event and tragic for them not to make it, I think it also allowed them to see this is actually possible, which is the positive.”
The coaching staff for the Vikings sees great things on the horizon for the team. Wahlstrom plans to continue coaching for the foreseeable future.
“It’s the kids that keep me excited about it and keep me engaged and thinking about my own personal growth and how I can do things better, as well, because they’re excited and they put forth a great amount of energy and passion. It’s really fun to watch these kids grow up over the years. A lot of them come in as little seventh graders. In a small school, you get the gift of watching them grow up over the years, which is really awesome.”
With the upcoming referendum on the ballot this November, Cook County residents have a chance to directly support the growth of the track and field program by approving funding for new facilities. A dedicated track and field venue would not only provide a safe and reliable space for practices but also allow the school to host meets, giving athletes more opportunities to compete and grow.
As Wahlstrom said, “We travel for every meet we have… We would be able to host meets, which would give our kids an opportunity to compete.”
Supporting this initiative means investing in the future of Cook County’s young athletes and the positive culture they continue to build.
Help Shape History: Cook County Historical Society Seeks Photos for Centennial “Community Time Capsule Calendar”
Have you ever looked at an old photo and wondered about the person who took it? What inspired them to capture that moment, and did they know we’d be observing it decades later, piecing together stories of a different time?
We’re incredibly grateful for those who preserved a glimpse of the past, and for the photos shared with the Historical Society, allowing us to continue sharing the stories of Cook County and Grand Portage. Now, we’re asking you to do the same for future generations.
To celebrate its centennial in 2025, the Cook County Historical Society is creating a special community-focused, time-capsule calendar. We’re collecting images from you, our community, that capture what Cook County and Grand Portage mean to you today, or what best represents the area and community in 2025. Imagine someone 100 years from now looking back at life here today through these images.
We’ll compile submitted photos with some from our archives to create this “community time capsule.”
The deadline for submissions is June 30. Learn more about the Community Time Capsule Calendar, submission guidelines, and more at: cookcountyhistory.org/2026-community-time-capsule-calendar
