When I reached April Wahlstrom on Friday afternoon, she was busy preparing for the North Shore Storm Cross Country team’s banquet. After a season filled with challenges, accomplishments, and more than a few hurdles, she was looking forward to a night spent celebrating the athletes.
It would have been easy for this season to become a story about disappointment. Instead, it became one about resilience.
Months before the Section 7AA Championships at Whitefish Golf Club on Oct. 29, the North Shore’s boys team learned they would not be eligible to advance as a team because of an enrollment classification issue. Rather than allowing the situation to define their season, Wahlstrom said the runners chose to focus on what they could control.
“We knew back in August,” Wahlstrom said. “We had talked to the kids about this situation. So they knew that the boys couldn’t qualify as a team and just could go as individuals. So they knew that going in and so they all ran with lots of guts and heart and put their best foot forward.”
The results reflected that mindset. Ten of North Shore’s 14 runners recorded season personal records at sections. The four who did not were within seconds of their best times.
Among a field of 13 teams, North Shore’s boys would have finished third with 103 points, just eight points behind second-place Hibbing. Sam Swartz placed eighth overall in 16:37.0, while Atley Beckstrand crossed the finish line less than a quarter-second later in ninth place with a time of 16:37.2. Aiden Schlangen added a 16th-place finish for the Storm.
The girls faced their own challenge, competing without Sierra Geatz, who was sidelined by an injury. Even so, the Storm finished fifth among the 13 teams competing at sections.
“We didn’t have Sierra because she’s out with a stress fracture,” Wahlstrom said. “But every single one of those girls really stepped up. And it’s pretty impressive that even without Sierra, they were able to finish fifth overall. It’s pretty incredible missing your top runner.”
Leading the way was state qualifier Sophia Schut, whose fourth-place finish and time of 19:43.8 earned her a place among the section’s top runners. Fellow Storm runners Elizabeth Swartz, Ezme Mundell, Sparrow Schmidt and Grace Swartz rounded out North Shore’s scoring lineup.
North Shore will be represented at the state meet by individual qualifiers Schut, Beckstrand and Swartz.
When Wahlstrom reflects on the season, race times and placements are only part of what stands out.
“The kids were great,” she said. “They asked lots of really good questions about reasonings and things like that and tried to seek an understanding. And then they really just moved to put it behind them and continue to put their best foot forward and do everything they could just to develop as a team.”
According to Wahlstrom, that response did not go unnoticed.
“Coaches across the Northland really noticed the character of our North Shore kids and they couldn’t believe how they just continued to show up and do so well,” she said.
Perhaps the most meaningful result had nothing to do with a stopwatch. As the North Shore Storm team draws athletes from multiple schools, Wahlstrom said this year’s group developed a bond that was especially noticeable.
“I felt like the vast majority of them were a lot closer this year and really bonded across all three schools,” she said.
That bond led to teammates challenging each other and encouraging each other. Wahlstrom advised it led to a lot of growth on the team this year.
The 2026 Minnesota State High School League Cross Country State Meet will take place on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, at Majestic Oaks Golf Club in Ham Lake, Minnesota.
