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HomeSportHigh SchoolNorth Shore Storm Cross Country: Miles, Mentors, and Mindset

North Shore Storm Cross Country: Miles, Mentors, and Mindset

 I caught April Wahl­strom after she returned home from a field trip with the eighth-grade class to Grand Portage.

“You couldn’t ask for a better day,” said the Cook County social studies teacher.

Indeed, the last days of September have brought plenty of golden sun­shine. The bugs are gone (kind of), the air is crisp, and the North Shore Storm Cross Country team is already halfway through its season.

Wahlstrom, who coaches alongside Emma Spoon and Max Kelley, welcomed Evan and Laura Swartz of Sil­ver Bay to the staff this year. The Swartz fami­ly brings a special con­nection to the program. Their four children, Nick, Sam, Liz, and Grace, all run for the Storm. Nick advanced to the state competition last fall.

This year’s roster includes 68 run­ners from grades 7–12 across Cook County, Silver Bay, and Two Har­bors.

“The largest portion is from Cook County but the Two Harbors and Silver Bay teams have both grown over the last couple years again,” said Wahlstrom. “So it is definitely more equal than it has been in the past, especially in terms of contribu­tions to the varsity group. It’s pret­ty equal with a smattering of kids from each of the schools, which is pretty cool.”

On the boys’ side, depth has been a major strength.

“It’s pretty incredible,” Wahl­strom said. “We really have 10 plus runners who are just solid. So there’s been a lot of rotating positions. We do have one athlete who was con­sistently in the top five and a senior who is out right now with an injury. But the beauty of that depth is that he’s able to take care of himself and others have kind of moved into that position to cover for him.”

That depth hasn’t just kept the boys competitive. It’s also opened opportunities for leadership and mentorship.

“It’ll be exciting to see where they go,” said Wahlstrom. “We have some older folks kind of leading the way, but we also still have some young folks a part of the group. It makes for a really fun kind of men­torship dynamic.”

The girls’ team has faced more challenges, with injuries and ill­nesses sidelining several runners. Even so, their resilience has stood out.

“Time and time again, they keep pulling together and surprising us,” Wahlstrom said.

The Storm has already tested itself in meets at Grand Marais, Superior, Grand Rapids, and Hibbing, with the Swain Invitational next on the calendar. Earlier this month, they also competed at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational in Falcon Heights, hosted by the University of Minnesota. Heavy rain soaked the course the night before, leaving runners to contend with a muddy, waterlogged trail.

“We had them turn in their watch­es before the race,” explained Wahl­strom. “We talked about the plan and what they were going to do. And when they finished, they were all bumming and I was just excited, as were the other coaches.”

Though the athletes were discour­aged by their times, the results told a different story. The boys placed 17th out of 49 teams, and the girls finished 23rd out of 45 while com­peting against much larger schools.

“They had executed the plan per­fectly,” said Wahlstrom. “They had gone out in the middle of the pack. It’s a huge race. They’re not used to that. And then they consistently just kept moving up and they all worked with a teammate mostly to do that. It was really great to see that come back around where they could then see their results and process the race in a different way, rather than just a time on a clock, but a true race strat­egy. It was good but they’re defi­nitely recovering after that still.”

Now, the Storm is resting up for the Swain Invitational on Satur­day, October 4, at Enger Park Golf Course. Hosted by Lake Superior College and local high school pro­grams, the course is famous for both its challenging elevation and sweeping views of Duluth.

Wahlstrom, who has coached for many years, said each squad stands out for different reasons.

“For the boys, I feel like they re­ally believe that they have the tal­ent and they’ve been ready to put the work behind the talent,” she said. “It’s really cool to hear them process their races in a very con­structive way. And then also see them apply that to how they execute practice. They’ve really just ma­tured a lot, which has been really fun to kind of watch that process in terms of how that’s af­fected their training and their racing ability.”

While the boys lean on depth and experience, the girls are carving out their identity through adaptability.

“What’s been real­ly fun is there’s been a lot of shifting of who is stepping into that lead role,” Wahlstrom said. “I think it is really easy to just assume one runner is our lead runner.”

Instead, the top three girls share the role, step­ping up for one another when someone has an off day. That dynamic has also influenced the younger runners.

“That pack of three girls is pretty cohesive,” she said. “The young­er crew behind them has modeled that in the same kind of way, just in terms of allowing themselves to surprise themselves and the team. If they know they’re having a great race, they don’t hold themselves back. They allow it to themselves to move forward.”

For Wahlstrom, this flexible mind­set has become a defining strength.

“They’ve kind of allowed them­selves to go with the flow and if they feel like they’re going to push themselves harder, they allow them­selves to do that,” she said.

Cautious about making predic­tions, Wahlstrom still shared her hopes for the weeks ahead.

“It would be nice for these kids to be able to have a strong showing at our home meet, which is our confer­ence meet,” she said. “And hopeful­ly, once we get to the section time, we’re able to see some folks go on to the state meet, as well.”

From early tests to upcoming challenges, the Storm is proving that resilience and teamwork can carry them far. Best of luck to the North Shore Storm Cross Country teams in the weeks ahead!

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