Como’s spectacular fall sports season

The fall of 2025 has been a magical time in the Como Park Athletic Department punctuated by the activities of Halloween weekend.
On Friday, Oct. 31 the Como Park boys’ soccer team played for the state championship at U.S. Bank Stadium. The unseeded Cougars rattled off six straight wins through October to reach the state final, attracting a larger student section each game that culminated with five fan buses.
While the top-seeded Blake Bears defeated the Cougars 3-0 in the championship, the pain was short lived. The team and the community had come together for a fantastic ride, unexpected to some, but possible because of brilliant and fearless play.
The weekend wasn’t done as Saturday, Nov. 1 rolled in with the promise of another state championship event. For the fifth straight year, the Como cross country running boys were in the state meet. Finishing the year at state has become the standard. But the team believed they could get on the podium this year with a place in the top three.
Turned out that a sweep of the top podium positions was the destiny of the 2025 squad. Charlie Loth was the first of 150 runners to cross the line, winning the individual state championship. His teammates weren’t far behind.
When the fifth and final Cougar scorer came across, the large electronic scoreboard revealed that Como had finished first – they had just won the state championship – setting off a celebration of pure joy as the endorphins kicked in to combat the exhaustion.
Never have there been two back-to-back days of such elite competitions for Como sports. And if that were all, it would be impressive enough. But the fall of 2025 also had historic achievements on the girl’s side of Cougar athletics.
Ela Cantellano became the first girl’s tennis player from Como to ever reach the state tournament when she won the Section 4AAA singles title in early October. She would go on to win her first-round match at state and advance to the quarterfinals.
For the cross-country girls, Lu Beckman and Lilly Coyle qualified for their third and second consecutive state meet respectively, while the entire girls’ team had their highest finish ever in the section meet, placing third and missing state by a mere three points.
Lastly, all-state swimmer Aleia Lueck won the Section 4A Championship in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100 free, qualifying for her fourth straight state meet. When she swims in the state finals on Nov. 15, it will total five different state tournaments in which Como Park student athletes were represented in the fall of 2025.
Here’s a closer look at these historic achievements.

State champions – cross country
Como Park junior Charlie Loth completed the 5K (3.1 mile) trail at the University of Minnesota Golf Course in 15:31 to become the Class AA champion. Senior Ben Clark finished 9th at 15:49 and junior Arthur Anderson was 11th at 15:56, both earning all-state honors. All three times were personal records.
Senior Hazel Small and sophomore Logan Small came through with a season best 16:25 and personal record of 16:42 respectively to claim the 23rd and 37th spots in team competition.
Loth was corralled by a couple media members immediately after finishing who asked questions about his individual title. Happy but wondering about the team, Loth’s smile erupted when teammate Arthur stepped in to hug Charlie and tell him, “We did it!”
Senior leaders Clark and Hazel Small tried to process their feelings, realizing they had obtained their ultimate goal.
“We’ve been working so hard for four years,” Small said. “This was our time to prove how hard we’ve worked.”
“I’m so proud to be part of this team. I’m so happy with what we did today. It was a beautiful race,” Clark said.
Coach Tim Kersey has guided the Cougars to the mountaintop with consistent training regiments for the past 13 years. Combine that with highly motivated runners who push each other in a supportive environment, and years of gains ultimately produced this crowning achievement.
Como has become comfortable in the big meets, placing fourth in state last year. This year, they were ranked in the state’s top five all year and as high as No. 2. But to win it all, the boys knew they would need their best race ever. And that’s what they produced.
“Their performances were exceptional,” Kersey said. “To execute under pressure is the challenge at the state meet and everyone found a way to help the team.
“After the race, it was all hugs and some tears. Incredible feeling for the team. Athletes and their families, not only from this year’s team, were there to see them at their best and celebrate a championship for Como.”

State second place – soccer
The Como boys soccer team finished September as the fourth-place team in the St. Paul City Conference.
October commenced with a thrilling victory over city rival Humboldt at Allianz Field for this year’s St. Paul Cup, and the Cougars got on a roll. They would go on to play six playoff games. And were the underdog in five of them.
The Section 4AA Championship Game at Mahtomedi on a cold, rainy night came down to the wire. Patrick Tennison’s header off Pah Chi’s long-range free kick secured a 1-0 victory that sent the Cougars to state for the first time since 2016.
The state tournament seeds the top five of eight teams in the bracket. Como accepted being an unseeded team with a smile and went to play the No. 3 seed from New Ulm. The Cougars played confidently and earned a 3-1 victory in that state quarterfinal – and made it to “The Bank!”
The semifinals and finals are held in U.S. Bank Stadium, the home of the Minnesota Vikings. The big stage wasn’t intimidating for the Cougars. But playing Simley, the No. 2 seed, was a tall task.
In a state tournament game for the ages, the Cougar fans endured a roller coaster of emotion. Simley scored first and looked strong. Como countered and took control building a 3-1 lead. Then Simley tallied two goals in the last 12 minutes to force overtime.
In the second overtime, Como’s Stefan N’da placed a perfect pass to Blessed Htoo who dribbled past the goalie and placed the ball in the back of the net to give the Cougars a 4-3 “golden goal” victory in the state semifinals.
A postgame press conference found co-coach Brendan Doyle answering questions about Como’s Cinderella story. “We weren’t just happy to be here. We felt like we could give anybody a game.”
They gave their opponents fits and they gave their community great pride.
“One game at a time, rising to the challenge to keep our season alive and team together,” said co-coach Jonah Fields. “We’ll say for many years to come, the fall of ’25 – when game after game we found a way to win.”

State quarterfinalist - tennis
Como junior Ela Cantellano entered the Section 4AAA individual singles tournament as the top seed, which was unfamiliar territory for any previous Cougar player. But Cantellano looked the part, winning all four of her matches in straight sets to make school history and reach the girls’ state tennis tournament.
She dispatched her first-round state opponent from Maple Grove in straight sets too before falling in the state quarterfinals to the No. 1 seed.
“Making it to state has been my ultimate goal since I joined the team,” Cantellano said. “I feel like all my hard work is finally paying off and I’m so proud of myself!”
Cantellano also noted that the Como tennis community is tight knit with overlap of coaches, alumni, and boys and girls training and playing together.
“When I made it to state it meant so much to me but also to everyone who has helped me on my journey. I’m so grateful to have found such a genuine, caring, and talented group of people in Como tennis.”

The foundation
Collectively, there’s positive energy around Como Park sports, and success helps fuel that. Athletic Director Koua Yang is rightfully proud of this fall’s achievements but knows they were built over time.
“Success can be measured in many ways. Our coaches and players have a system that they believe in, which brings improvement. Over the course of the season and perhaps multiple seasons, these small improvements compound to produce tremendous results that often are out of our control. What is in our control, is hiring the right coaches who have a vision for their team. When the student-athletes, coaches, and community believe in the same vision and have the necessary resources, success can be had.”