By Eric Erickson
Sports analysis
For the Bugle community, we offer a snapshot of the spring sports season at Como Park Senior High.
Track & Field: Como junior Charlie Power-Theisen concluded an exceptional season in the state meet where he earned the fifth place medal in the 3200M and the seventh place medal in the 1600M.
Power-Theisen qualified for state in style by racing to victory in his two distance events at the section 4AA meet. In becoming a two-time section champion, he duplicated city conference titles from the previous week’s competition.
Remarkably, Power-Theisen set personal records in each successive meet. His 3200M (2-mile) time at state was 9:30, and he clocked in at 4:27 for the 1600M (1-mile) at state.
Overall, the Como boys team placed third in the conference. With dozens of individuals registering top-five finishes, competitive teams in every relay and senior Rais Jaffer taking second place in both hurdling events, it was a balanced and collective effort.
The girls team also placed third overall in the conference. The 4 x 400M relay team was a reliable point producer for the Cougars. Seniors Ronnie Porter and Saylor Landrum combined with sophomores Greta Seppanen and Alice Wagner-Hemstad to take third in the city meet and a fifth place medal in the section 4AA meet.
Sophomore Ellery Tennison was selected the girls MVP with top-five finishes in three events at the city meet, plus medals for both hurdling races at the section meet.
Other top-tier performances from the city meet included Landrum placing third in the discus throw and sophomore Sahara Hinton tying for second place in the high jump.
Softball: The Cougars came together with a combination of senior leadership and youthful energy to produce a 4-2 conference record with 10 wins and 7 losses.
All Conference players included senior captains Jada James and
Tenia Childs along with sophomore Desiree Vang and Murray seventh grader Lilly Coyle. Senior captain Annaya Bonds earned honorable mention as did junior Kayla James and Murray eighth grader Izzie Hernandez.
Jada James hit eight home runs this season, bringing her career total to 15 and setting the program record. The most memorable game was a 21-20 playoff victory over Harding, in which the Cougars trailed by a dozen runs before winning in walk-off fashion.
Badminton: The Cougar badminton team finished fourth in the St. Paul City Conference, behind Johnson, Washington and Highland Park.
Como senior PaNra Lee elevated her game in the individual state tournament, upsetting Johnson’s top player in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinal round. After losing in the semifinals to the eventual state champion, Lee bounced back to win the third place match in straight sets to bring home the bronze medal.
In doubles competition, senior Gay Nee Thaw and junior LahSher Wah concluded their long partnership by advancing to the state quarterfinals.
Boys golf: A young and developing group was led by Como freshman Sonom Vang. The Cougars defeated Harding in a dual meet with Vang taking medalist honors. In the conference meet, Vang earned All-Conference recognition with his fourth place individual score.
Girls Golf: The Como golfers connected and improved through the spring and took third place in the conference standings, which was their best finish in the St. Paul City during the past five years.
Sophomore Michelle Vang was the medalist in many dual meets and repeated as an All-Conference selection. Murray eighth grader Robin Engman Phiri earned honorable mention.
Boys Tennis: With 15 first year players in the program, the Cougars posted a conference record of 2-4 at the varsity level and 3-12 overall. Seniors Quang Bui and Isaiah Cooper were All-Conference players. Seniors John Oo and Hsar Lay Moo were honorable mention as was Swedish foreign exchange student Hugo Borg.
Baseball: Como’s record was 3-6 in the city conference and 5-10 overall. The two non-conference victories over St. Anthony Village and St. Paul Academy stood out as peak performances.
Senior Peter Wenger had a .475 batting average and was selected All-Conference. Senior Damian Perryman hit .432 and was also chosen All-Conference. Four Cougars earned honorable mention including seniors Otto Ganser and Aiden Bittner-Eddy and juniors Gabe Napierala and Levi Nichols.
Boys’ Volleyball: With a 10-1 regular season record in Minnesota’s club volleyball association, the Cougars qualified for the state tournament (scheduled for June 15-16 as the Bugle went to press.)
Senior captains Moua Tia Xiong, Pa Reh and Mark Reh consistently guided Como to victories over taller teams.
Eric Erickson is a social studies teacher at Como Park Senior High School and a regular contributor to the Bugle.
