By Kerri Bilben
The North Shore Boys Cross Country team finished their stellar season with one last race: State.
On Saturday, November 1st the boys competed in the MSHSL State Boys A Cross Country meet against the top 160 runners from across the state. The last time the Storm boys qualified for the State meet was in 2018, the year before Silver Bay joined the coop. Since then, Silver Bay has contributed to the success of the coop with state performances by Nate Bilben, Sierra Geatz, Sophia Schut, and Nick Swartz. Swartz is the first Silver Bay runner to compete twice in the state meet.
The Storm boys had a very successful season, which included winning the Polar League Conference title back on October 9, beating Carlton-Wren shall by 22 points. The Storm were led all season by 8th grader Sam Swartz, Freshmen Leif Lindstrom and Atley Beckstrand, and Senior Nick Swartz. These four runners pushed the team to their Conference title, as well as many other high finishes, sometimes only losing to Duluth East, a AAA team. Other notable Storm runners are Soren Swanson, Ethan Fish, and Dylan O’brien.
The North Shore Storm coop has been around since approximately 2010 when it only consisted of runners from Cook County and Two Harbors. The Storm has consistently sent individual runners to the State meet, with the first team appearance in 2017 when both the boys and girls team advanced. The first Storm team to contain Silver Bay runners came in 2019, when Bilben advanced as an individual.
Both the boys and girls teams look to remain strong over the next few sea sons with minimal loss to graduation. Sam Swartz, Leif Lindstrom and Atley Beckstrand will again continue to lead the boys next year, with Geatz, Schut, Liz Swartz, Ezme Mundell, and Lindy Dix leading the girls.
Expect more Conference titles and state trips from these amazing runners and program. The Storm are coached by April Wahlstrom, Emma Spoon, and Evan Swartz.
