Two Harbors runners Jake Paron, left and Noah Smith, above, led the North Shore Storm at the Minnesota state cross country meet last weekend in Northfield.
Two Harbors junior Jake Paron finished 33rd and his North Shore Storm teammate Noah Smith, a freshman who also hails from Two Harbors, placed 96th in Class A at the Minnesota state cross country meet held last Saturday at St. Olaf College in Northfield.
Moose Lake-Willow River’s Ethan Olson led area runners by placing fifth in Class A. Olson was timed in 16 minutes and 2.4 seconds, only 5.5 seconds behind winner Delcan Dahlberg of Mounds Park Academy.
Paron finished the 5K (3.1 miles) race in 16 minutes and 56.3 seconds while Smith recorded a time of 17 minutes and 40 seconds.
For Smith, this was his first trip to the state cross country meet. The hard working freshman has shown steady improvement all season long and this will no doubt be the first of many trips to state for Smith.
As for Paron, injuries almost kept him from qualifying this year. In 2015, Paron, then a sophomore, finished 10th at the state cross country meet. Knee injuries held Paron off of the track in the spring of his sophomore year, and he didn’t return to running until the middle of the summer. Still, with six weeks of mileage under his belt, Jake handily beat Ethan Olson in the first meet of the season. As the combined Cook County/ Two Harbors cross country season progressed Jake had some outstanding results, but he missed two events late in the season, losing fitness because he had to cut back on training. Still, his experience at state will help Paron for next year. If he stays injury free, he will be a threat—with Ethan Olson—to take the Class A crown in 2017.
Hats off to the parents and volunteers who stepped up to fill in for head coach April Wahlstrom who went through an unbearable period this fall, and to the teachers and administrators at I.S.D. 166 who helped at school when April had to be away.
April, an only child, lost her father, Steven Graves on October 3. Less than one month later, October 29, her mother Karen Graves passed away. In between, an uncle she was very close to, also died.
Taking over the head coaching duties from Chris Hegg a few years ago, April has continued to build up an already excellent program for the boys and girls who compete for the North Shore Storm. During her absence, volunteers stepped in to run practice and get kids to cross country meets. April set training schedules up and sent them to the team via email when she was away, and returned when she could to lead her team. All in all, what took place over the last month was a community coming together in the best way possible. By wrapping their arms around a much-loved coach and teacher, as well as her husband Tom and their baby, everyone exemplified the quintessential examples of a team, and community, being at its best.
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