Vikings Weekly: Vikings football opens with win; Storm runners shine in Superior

Josh Hinke | September 13, 2026

Welcome to Vikings Weekly, a weekly round-up of high school sports featuring teams based in Cook County.

North Shore Storm Cross Country

The boys’ and girls’ cross country teams traveled to Superior, Wisconsin, to compete in the Dan Conway Classic at Pattison Golf Course last Thursday.

Atley Beckstrand and Sam Swartz both finished in the top 10, with times of 17:38 and 17:43, respectively. The boys’ team placed third overall, behind Duluth East and Northwestern High School of Maple, Wisconsin.

For the girls, Sierra Geatz, Sophia Schut and Elizabeth Swartz all finished in the top 10. Geatz placed sixth overall with a time of 20:59. Schut finished with a time of 21:17 and Swartz finished at 21:44.

The girls’ team finished second overall behind Duluth East.

The meet featured teams from Minnesota and Wisconsin, including schools from Duluth, Superior, Ashland and Cloquet.

The Storm will travel to the Twin Cities for the 2026 Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 19.

Volleyball

It was another busy week for the Cook County volleyball team, with two road matches followed by a weekend tournament in Duluth.

The Vikings traveled to Carlton on Tuesday to face the Carlton-Wrenshall Raptors, coming away with a five-set victory, 3-2.

Cook County then traveled to face Cromwell-Wright, where the Vikings lost to the Cardinals in three sets.

On Saturday, the Vikings competed in the Hilltopper Invitational at Marshall High School in Duluth.

The tournament featured host Marshall, Fond du Lac, Silver Bay, Two Harbors and Cook County. Results were not available before publication.

The Vikings travel to Littlefork-Big Falls on Monday before hosting Floodwood on Thursday. The match against Littlefork-Big Falls begins at 6 p.m., while the home match against Floodwood begins at 6:30 p.m. at Pam Taylor Gymnasium.

WTIP spoke to the team captains and head coach Colette Mueller about their start to the season. Audio of that conversation can be found below.

Football

The Cook County football team opened its season with a 28-0 win Friday night after the visiting Silver Bay Mariners conceded the game following a lightning delay.

The Vikings played stifling defense and connected on several big offensive plays to build a 28-0 lead with more than three minutes remaining in the first half.

The game was suspended after lightning was spotted in the area. The teams waited over an hour before the game was called.

The Vikings will travel to Culver, Minnesota, to face the South Ridge Panthers next Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WTIP.