Cook County cross country coach says students “really fill my heart,” reflects on start to season

Kalli Hawkins | September 23, 2024

Most weekdays, around 3 or 4 p.m., Cook County residents and visitors witness an endless line of students running the side streets of Grand Marais with one or two coaches in tow.

The endless line of students are the North Shore Cross-Country runners.

As the season gets underway, cross-country running coach April Wahlstrom said, “It’s pretty rewarding to watch these kids grow up over the years.”

“One of the benefits of working in a small school is getting to know these kids and these families over the years, and you watch them being little people all the way to blossoming into adults and seeing them gain the skills and the confidence and the abilities,” said Wahlstrom. “They really fill my heart.”

Trevor Morris of the Cook County High School Communications-News class recently visited with cross country head coach April Wahlstrom and senior captains Claire Lindstrom and Rylan Brown to talk about team dynamics and to learn what motivates the coach and students to participate in the sport. The audio from the interview is below.