By Eric Erickson,
Sports analysis
This month, we wrap up the last of Como Park High School’s athletic results for the 2024-2025 school year.
Track and Field – For the second consecutive season, seven Cougar runners qualified for the state meet by placing in the top two of their events at the Section 4AA Meet.
Sophomore Charlie Loth was the section champion in both the 800 and 1,600 meters. Sophomore Arthur Anderson was the section champion in the 3,200 meters and finished second right behind Loth in the 1,600. Junior Hazel Small was second in the 3,200, giving the Como boys a clean sweep of the distance events.
The longest relay race is the 4 x 800, and Como’s team of Hazel Small, fellow junior Ben Clark, plus freshmen Logan Small and Matthew Gant took second place in it and advanced to state.
Sophomore Tate Prinsen finished second in the 110-meter hurdles and qualified for state.
Aletha Keizer had an exceptional showing in the section meet with medals earned for the 100 and 200 meters. Keizer combined with sophomores Kenia Arnold and Naijiona Shaw, and freshman Molly Zbacnik in the 4 x 100 relay to earn a third-place podium position at the section meet.
The same four girls were conference champions in the 4 x 100 at the St. Paul City finals. Shaw was also the city champ in the 100 meters while Keizer was the city champ in the 100-meter hurdles.
For the fifth consecutive year, both the boys and girls teams finished third out of the seven teams in the city.
In Section 4AA, the boys repeated a third place overall finish out of 13 schools. Tim Kersey was selected the section’s coach of the year.
Badminton – The Cougars won the conference championship for the first time since 2002, finishing a phenomenal year with an overall record of 17-4.
Como had a strong run through the state tournament, advancing to the semifinals before suffering a close loss to perennial power Johnson. The Cougars rebounded to beat Harding, another city rival, to claim the state tournament’s third-place trophy.
In the state individual tournaments, Tsuki Solheid (a Murray 8th grader) upset the state’s No. 1 seed from Edina to reach the semifinals, eventually taking fourth place. The doubles team of senior Gaolee Yang and junior Asta Ket advanced to the state quarterfinal round.
Softball – The team finished second in the conference with a 4-1 record and 11-9 overall. A playoff victory in the section tournament included an unforgettable rally in the bottom of the last inning to defeat Minnehaha Academy.
All-conference players included Lilly Coyle, Malaya James, Ariana Silvero, Adriana Adams and Isabel Hernandez. James (a Murray 8th grader) led the conference in batting average and Coyle, a sophomore, was fourth.
Girls golf – Como placed third in the conference. Junior Robin Engman-Phiri earned all-conference, finished as the fourth-place individual at the 18-hole conference tournament, made the cut for the second day at sections and was an exceptional leader.
Junior Sofia Gonzalez placed eighth in the conference and earned honorable mention. Uliana Holiandina placed twelfth.
Boys tennis – The Cougars were third in the St. Paul City and finished strong with a dramatic 4-3 win over Spring Lake Park in the Section 4AA Tournament before falling 5-2 to Mahtomedi.
Sophomore Micah Treiber reached the semifinals of the section singles tournament, becoming the first Como boy to earn a section medal in 10 years. Treiber was all-conference along with senior captains Nolan Rognerud, Charlie Anderson and Vincent Anderson.
Baseball – Team captains were senior Royal Urman, and juniors Mitch Pelzer and Vance Ethan. The three captains also were Como’s all-conference selections. They guided the Cougars to a 5-5 conference record and third place in the standings.
The team is quite young and will graduate only two seniors, Urman and Jeremiah Williams, who will be missed as role models for the program. The young returning core group gained valuable experience and will continue to develop through the Como Ball summer program.
Boys volleyball – A young Como team competing in the inaugural season of MSHSL-sanctioned boys volleyball struggled to find its footing.
But improvement throughout the spring sparked a remarkable run to the Section 5 semifinals as the No. 10 seeded Cougars defeated the No. 7 and No. 2 seeds before a sensational five-set loss to Roseville.
Senior Soe Reh earned all-conference and junior Stephan Vang received honorable mention. Captains were Reh and junior Va Lee.
Boys golf – Junior captains Henry Simmons and Sparrow Lange helped guide Como to a top three conference finish for the first time in over a decade. Youth propelled the successful season, with Murray 7th grader Elliot Lueck taking 12th place in the St. Paul City and all-conference honorable mention. Dale Engman was the conference coach of the year.
Eric Erickson is a social studies teacher at Como Park High School and a longtime coach of school and youth sports in St. Paul.
Photo cutline: (L to R) Ben Clark, Hazel Small, Logan Small and Matthew Gant qualified for the state meet in the 4 x 800 relay. Photo by Paula Caballero.
