Pincushion Mountain was a busy place last Wednesday, July 19, as 38 high school cross country runners took to the trails for an evening workout. Nine of the runners participate for the Cook County/Two Harbors North Shore Storm high school cross country team while 29 runners were from Kearney, Missouri.
“We came up here four years ago with a team,” said Kearney cross country coach Jeff Roberts. “This year’s squad is young,” added Roberts. “We are in a rebuilding year. Our top male runner is about 16:24 for the 5k (3.1 miles).”
Not a bad time, but Kearney is a 4A school with just under 1,200 students, so they are going to be blessed with some talent.
Before the kids took off to jog a five-mile loop, North Shore Storm coach April Wahlstrom had them gather in a circle and tell their names and what grade they were going into. Once the salutations were over, the kids walked up the trail to the open grass field and started to jog. This was going to be an easy run. The kids from Missouri were going to go rock climbing the next day, so they didn’t want to be too sore from a strenuous run. Most of the kids from Cook County have only lightly trained this summer, so they weren’t in any hurry to dash around the rugged, hilly Pincushion loop.
Roberts has been coaching cross country runners for 39 years, 36 years as head coach. About 11 years ago he said his now retired assistant coach Lyndall Dodson came up with a plan to motivate the boys and girls who run for Kearney. Why not take training trips in the summer? Parents would need to help, but it might be a fun week of bonding for the kids and coaches. Since that time Kearney has traveled to Cook County, South Dakota Black Hills, and Colorado. Next summer the team will return to the Black Hills and Duluth East might join them, said Roberts. “I talked to their head coach Dave Wicker, and he said he is interested. “‘Who knows, maybe we could get your team to come?’” he suggested.
Every year one of the former runners on the high school team comes along on the trip. This year Roberts brought Sam Oxandale, an unassuming young man. Sam turned out to be pretty good in high school track, running a 1:53 for 800 meters, said Roberts. Today Sam runs for Kansas State University and has clocked a 4:09 indoor mile. He will be a senior this fall, and he hopes to lower his mile time considerably.
The Kearney team is staying at Lamb’s Campground in Schroeder. “We sleep in tents. Eat over a campfire. It’s good for the kids to rough it a little,” Roberts said.
Depending on their ages, Kearney kids run from 20 to 55 miles per week in the summer. During the week of their trip, they often run twice a day.
One of the goals was to trade T-shirts between the teams. Roberts said he had forgotten to bring T-shirts that could be used in trades. “I sold my house a few months ago, and I still haven’t unpacked everything in my new place,” Roberts said as he shook his head.
Captains Maya McHugh and Leif Anderson led the kids from Cook County. Both looked fit, and both have done some running. Not wanting to miss a beat, Maya had earlier gone to basketball practice, but she was ready for another workout.
If you want to be a good high school cross country runner, you pay your dues in the summer. That was true in the early 1970s, and it’s still true today.
This summer North Shore Storm participants are taking part in captain’s practice, which is led by Maya McHugh, Leif Anderson or Lucy Callender in Grand Marais. Because the Storm is a collaborative team between CCHS I.S.D. 166 and Two Harbors, Jake Paron leads captain’s practice in Two Harbors.
Runners tend to put in 4-5 miles per outing. Some athletes like to train a certain amount of time, preferring to stay away from counting miles.
Because 85 miles split the team, separate practices are held most of the time during the fall school season. In Two Harbors Dan Hebl and Sara Schield coach the kids while April Wahlstrom runs practices in Cook County. Wahlstrom has several valuable assistant coaches including husband and wife Chris and Anne Hegg.
Once a week, usually on Saturday, Two Harbors busses up to Grand Marais for a full team practice or Cook County busses down to Two Harbors. Last year, the Cook County participation was thin compared to the Two Harbors turn out. “These are not optional practices, they are key workouts that make us better,” Wahlstrom said in an email to her team.
As for Roberts, he knows that if Duluth East comes to South Dakota to join his squad, East could bring as many as 100 runners. If the North Shore Storm team came, that would be even better yet, he added with a smile.
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