State Experience Fuels Bright Future for North Shore Storm Cross Country Team
The future of North Shore Storm cross country was on display at the Class AA State Cross Country Championships.
Competing against a field of 160 of Minnesota’s fastest runners, freshman Sophia Schut and sophomores Sam Swartz and Atley Beckstrand represented the Storm at the state meet and gained valuable experience against the best competition in Minnesota.
“State went well,” North Shore Storm Assistant Coach Evan Swartz said. “Sophia, Sam and Atley went up against the best in the state and showed that they can compete even though they are a freshman and two sophomores.”
Schut led the Storm girls with a 69th-place finish in the Class AA race. In the boys race, Swartz placed 74th while Beckstrand finished 97th.
The state championships were held Nov. 7 at Majestic Oaks Golf Course, a new venue for the Minnesota State High School League’s cross country championships.
“The Majestic Oaks golf course in Ham Lake was a welcome new venue,” Swartz said. “Like most courses, the course is flatter than our North Shore training grounds.”
For the Storm coaches, the state meet served as the culmination of a season marked by consistency and steady improvement.
“All three of these runners have had a fantastic season,” Swartz said. “They ran consistently and each gained the experience of another trip to state.”
The accomplishments extended beyond a single race. Throughout the season, Schut, Swartz and Beckstrand continued climbing the program’s all-time performance lists.
According to Swartz, Sam and Atley moved into fourth and fifth place, respectively, on the North Shore Storm boys’ all-time list this season. Schut recorded the third-fastest girls’ time in program history.
Senior Sierra Geatz set the fastest girls’ time in program history before suffering a season-ending injury.
The success of the three state qualifiers has coaches optimistic about both the runners’ futures and the future of the program as a whole.
“As coaches, we are very proud of them and how they have led our team,” Swartz said.
With Schut just a freshman and Swartz and Beckstrand only sophomores, the Storm expects to return much of its talent next season. The runners’ goals have already expanded beyond individual state appearances.
“Next year they will be looking to help their whole team qualify for the state meet,” Swartz said.
Swartz believes all-state honors, awarded to the top 25 finishers at the state meet, are well within reach in the coming years.
“A shot at being in the top 25, qualifying as All-State, is a good possibility in their futures,” he said. “We are all excited for what is to come.”
For a North Shore Storm program already seeing its young runners rewrite portions of the record book, the state meet may have been less of a conclusion than the beginning of what could be an even brighter future.
