Summer vacation comes to an early end this week for high school athletes not only in Ely but across the state.
Monday marks the official start of fall sports practice for Minnesota’s high school teams.
The workouts begin in preparation for contests at the end of the month as high school volleyball, football, boys and girls cross country and girls swimming begin.
The seasons are starting in Ely with plenty of anticipation and high hopes.
That’s particularly so for the Timberwolves’ volleyball team, which made consecutive trips to the state tournament from 2022-2024 but was upset by eventual state participant North Woods in last season’s Section 7A quarterfinal round.
Ely won the Arrowhead Conference title a year ago while finishing 19-10 and a loaded senior nucleus returns.
Seniors Lydia Shultz and Charlotte Hegman gained all-conference recognition last year, while classmate Gretta Lowe got honorable mention.
The Wolves also figure to get a big boost from the return of senior Audrey Kallberg, who missed her entire junior year with a knee injury.
Megan Wognum returns for her sixth season as head coach and she expects more than 40 players in grades 7-12 as workouts begin in preparation for an Aug. 31 home debut against Deer River.
Ely’s football team also starts practice Monday and the Wolves begin the sixth year of a cooperative agreement with Northeast Range. Vermilion Country School of Tower is also part of the co-op.
As a result, the Wolves are not only classified as an 11-man team but will be in Class AA for the playoffs.
The bulk of Ely’s regular season schedule, however, is against Class A teams.
Ely opens with a Sept. 3 game at Barnum but hosts Chisholm in a scrimmage on A ug. 2 9. T he r egular season home opener is set for Sept. 11 against International Falls.
Led by fifth-year head coach Louie Gerzin, went 2-7 a year ago with a loss to Aitkin in the Section 7AA playoffs.
Numbers will again be an issue for the Wolves, as roughly 30 players are out for the team in grades 9-12.
Ely fields both boys and girls cross country teams, and the Timberwolves begin preparations for the 2026 campaign this week under the tutelage of Jayne Dusich, the Bemidji State University Athletic Hall of Famer who has led the program since its inception in the mid-1990s.
Both Ely teams should be in the running in Section 7A and both teams return state meet participants.
Molly Brophy is a multitime state qualifier and she’ll lead an Ely girls team that has about a dozen participants.
Nearly two dozen boys are also out for cross country and Blake Houde is the top returning section placer from 2025.
Ely’s cross country season begins with an Sept. 3 meet at Virginia.
Those who participate in girls swimming require additional dedication - and time - given a cooperative agreement hosted by Northeast Range.
Cheri DeBeltz coaches the Northeast Range/Ely program, which has been dominated largely by Ely swimmers the last few seasons.
Senior captain Moon Vetos- Keen and junior captain Jorden Borchert form part of the returning nucleus for the Nighthawks, who go to work Monday in the pool at Babbitt.
The swimming season debut is Thursday, Aug. 27, at the Rock Ridge Relays.
