The North Shore Storm cross country runners performed well at the Minnesota state meet last weekend in Northfield. Team members include, front row from left, Louise Ramberg, Claire LaVigne and Cedar Gordon. Middle row from left, Brooklyn Smith, Autumn Smith, Lamar Gordon, Isabell Schottenbauer, Malin Anderson and Kate Walsberg. Back left to right, Tate Crawford, Kevin Viren, JC Holman, Tanner Deboer, Will Surbaugh, Noah Smith, Henry DeArruda Weaver, Isaac Swanson and Brendan Seipke. Photo courtesy of April Wahlstrom
North Shore Storm boys and girls cross country coach April Wahlstrom was very happy with the way her two teams performed at the Minnesota State cross country meet that was held at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota on Saturday, November 3.
Running in chilly conditions on the demanding state cross country course, the boys finished ninth, and the girls placed 15th as a team.
Winning the Class A boys’ and girls’ team titles was Perham. The Perham girls’ first five runners tallied 94 points. Grace Ping of Cotter won the individual title with a time of 17:19. Her eighth-grade sister Lauren placed second in 17:41.
Both the boys and girls ran on the same course.
The North Shore Storm girls’ team placed 15th out of 16 teams. Autumn Smith, a ninthgrader, placed 40th overall with a time of 20:28 over 5K (3.1 miles). The Storm’s next six runners were Cedar Gordon, a sophomore, who finished 44th in 20:38. Lamar Gordon, an eighth-grader, placed 67th in 21:23. Claire LaVigne, a senior, placed 69th in 21:24.
Three sophomores were next: Louise Ramberg finished 71st in 21:26, Kate Walsberg placed 77th in 21:36 and Malin Anderson placed 90th in 22:07.
Sophomore Isaac Swanson has made great strides this season, improving weekly. At state, Swanson carved more seconds off of his best time, recording 16:35 and placing 15th.
Noah Smith, a junior, finished 23rd place and crossed the finish line in 16:53.
Brenden Seipke, a junior, placed 28th in 16:57. Will Surbaugh, a junior, placed 48th in 17:21. JC Holman, a junior, crossed the line in 18:47 to place 101. Tate Crawford, a sophomore placed 104th in 19:02 and Kevin Viren, a sophomore, placed 106th in 19:05.
When the top five North Shore Storm boys’ finishing places were added up, they ended with 215 points. Perham won the boys’ title with 64 points, placing four runners in the top 10.
As expected Greenway/Nashwauk Keewatin sophomore Geno Uhrbom ran away with the individual title. Uhrbom ran 15:38; ten seconds slower than the Class A record.
While this season has ended both teams have a deep returning field of runners, Wahlstrom said it will be tough to say goodbye to her seniors Claire LaVigne, Brooklyn Smith and junior Will Surbaugh, who may choose to graduate early. She also loses Leif Anderson, who left to attend the University of Minnesota his senior year but returned and ran with the team in meets this fall.
“Claire LaVigne was a great leader and hard worker,” said Wahlstrom. “Claire was one of our captains this last year and she has a positive leadership style. She has really created an environment where every member pitches in to help haul equipment and cheers one another on.
“It has been so fun to watch her run over the last two years, I wish she would have come out sooner. Her hard work paid off and she is mentally tough. You tell her to go after a pack of runners and she worked hard until that job is done. She really helped to lead our team to a great season.”
Brooklyn Smith is a senior from Two Harbors.
“Brooklyn was another captain and senior with a great work ethic. She wanted nothing more than to be on our varsity team and at the last meet she earned a spot as an alternate for the section and state team. I have never seen someone so proud and happy. She has always worked hard and it was fun to see all of that work pay off so she could get her goal,” Wahlstrom said.
For much of the year Will Surbaugh was the top runner on the boys’ team, but he is undecided about returning next year.
“I keep hoping he won’t graduate early and we will get him for one more season,” said Wahlstrom. “Things have really come together for him and he has really been a main figure on the team this year pulling our top four guys to be a strong pack of four.
“We don’t have a front runner but we sure have a solid set of four up at the front that is an intimidating mass. He is a calm competitor that approaches competition with confidence and strength. It has been a joy to watch him grow and develop over the last few years he has come so far and that has been because of a lot of hard work.”
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