By Eric Erickson,
Sports analysis
Track and Field – Como junior Charlie Loth won two state titles in high school track’s two longest races (see accompanying feature story on page 12). Senior teammate Ben Clark qualified for state in the 3200 meters with Loth, finishing 10th while setting a personal best.
Junior Tate Prinsen was the Section 4AA champion in the 110-meter hurdles and qualified for state in both hurdling events, placing 10th at state in the 300-meter hurdles.
The Cougar boys team placed second overall in the St. Paul City Conference behind only Highland Park. The girls team placed third overall. Collectively, the Cougars won eight city titles out of 34 total events.
The Cougar 4×100 relay teams combined speed with perfect exchanges to earn conference titles for both the boys and the girls. The boys team included Rocket Her, Tate Prinsen, James Johnson and Jermani Maise-Sparkman. The girls team featured Sofia Mortensen, Kenia Arnold, Molly Zbacnik and Aletha Keizer.
Badminton – For the second consecutive season, the Cougars earned the third-place trophy in the state tournament. Como advanced to the semifinals before falling to Edina, the eventual state champion. In the third-place match, the Cougars beat Harding, the tourney’s No. 2 seed, to finish on a high note.
In the state singles tournament, senior captain Niko Solheid and her younger sister, freshman Tsuki Solheid, both reached the state semifinals before losing. That meant the Solheid sisters had to play each other for the third-place medal. In a match the Solheid family will never forget, the senior was victorious over the freshman.
The Solheids were obvious all-conference selections. Honorable mention all-conference was awarded to seniors Lana Yang and Sada Gobena.
Flag Football – In Como’s inaugural season of flag football, the Cougar girls posted a solid 6-3 record in a league consisting of 104 school clubs, supported by the Minnesota Vikings.
Como all-conference players were Alayla Salas, Re’niyah Boston and Sofia Mortensen. Notably, all three were freshmen. Honorable mention selections were seniors Sofia Gonzalez and Diamonique Whitt and sophomore Addie Power-Theisen.
Softball – The Como-Johnson co-op team fought through a slew of unforeseen injuries and a challenging schedule to finish with a record of 7-13.
All-conference players included Lilly Coyle, Ariana Silvero, Adriana Adams, Zoey Bestmann and Marcela Deloye Romero. Honorable mention players were Brigid Corniea and Ela Cantellano.
Girls Golf – Como had an excellent season, finishing tied for second place in the conference. Senior captain Robin Engman-Phiri concluded her career with another all-conference selection. Senior Uliana Holiandina earned honorable mention.
Beyond camaraderie within the team, one of the season’s highlights was community support from the Como Golf Course Women’s Club. In each of the past two seasons, the Como Women’s Club has played a round of golf with the Cougar team. A strong partnership is emerging, with plans to further develop the intergenerational friendship.
Boys Tennis – As previously reported in the Bugle, the Cougars went undefeated in the conference to win the championship for the first time since 2006. After a first-round playoff victory, the Cougars lost to White Bear Lake in Section 4AA.
Junior Micah Treiber reached the semifinals of the section singles tournament for the second straight year, earning the third-place medal. Juniors Zaid Saha and John Murray reached the semifinals as a doubles team, finishing fourth out of 28 teams.
Treiber, Saha and Murray were all-conference along with Morgan Anderson and Tristan Yang. Charlie Simmons, Emmett Loth and Johnny Reinhardt earned honorable mention.
Baseball – The Cougars posted a winning record in the St. Paul City Conference and tied for second place. Senior Mitch Pelzer finished top five in the state for stolen bases while also leading Como in batting average and runs batted in.
Pelzer was all-conference along with fellow senior Hector Caballero and junior Simon Gulbranson. Senior Vance Ethan and sophomore Eli Savolainen earned honorable mention.
Boys Volleyball – A young and improving Cougars team finished .500 in the conference before reaching the semifinals of the Section 4A tournament, falling to Prairie Seeds Academy in a dramatic five-setter. Prairie Seeds went on to win the section and qualify for state.
Seniors Stephen Den and Oo Reh earned all-conference along with junior Somnang Kalyan. Junior setter Su Reh received honorable mention.
Boys Golf – Como took third place in the St. Paul City for a second straight season, led by senior golfers Henry Simmons and Sparrow Lange who both made top 10 in the conference in individual play.
Elliot Lueck, a Murray eighth grader, also placed in the top 10. At the Section 4AA Meet, Lueck shot an 85 at Brookview Golf Course to qualify for the second round of individual finals.
Eric Erickson is a social studies teacher at Como Park Senior High School and a regular contributor to the Bugle.
