North Shore Storm boys claim conference title, girls finish second
The North Shore Storm boys’ cross-country team won the Polar League Conference championship Tuesday in a race so close it required two tiebreakers to determine the winner. The girls’ team finished second despite missing one of its top runners, with Sophia Schut taking second place overall.
The Storm boys tied Stella Maris Academy for first place with 49 points each. In cross-country scoring, each team’s top five runners earn points based on their finishing positions, with the lowest team score winning.
With both teams tied at 49 points, the championship came down to the fifth runners, who each finished with a time of 18:45. The tie was ultimately broken by the sixth runners, with North Shore’s Soren Swanson finishing in 19:11 to secure the conference championship for the Storm.
“I’m so impressed with them,” head coach April Wahlstrom told WTIP. “We do try to drive home that everybody matters, and this is evidence that it really does. So you get close, and then they go down to that next runner spot.”
The girls’ team also delivered a strong performance, finishing second. Schut led the Storm with a time of 20:25, while Elizabeth Swartz finished ninth in 21:16.
“Cross country is the best sport, obviously,” Sparrow Schmidt said before the meet. “The community is awesome. Like, you have to be a really quality, hardworking person to run cross country.”
Overcast skies and a high of 49 degrees provided what team members described as ideal racing conditions.
“I was really, really excited to see the weather and, like, actually having some colder races,” Swanson said before the meet.
The Storm’s junior varsity teams also had strong showings. In the girls’ race, Britta Myers, Amelia Saamenen, Hiver Moody and Grace Dean all finished among the top eight runners.
The North Shore boys swept the top four places in the JV race, with Wade Melander, Lucas Oberg, Kysen Jacobsen and Reid Miller leading the Storm to victory.
The Storm will compete in their final regular-season meet in Proctor next week before traveling to Pequot Lakes for the Section 7AA championships the following week.
Josh Hinke October 14, 2026
