Cross country boys finish 4th in state

Como Park Senior High School

Robert Wasiluk

The Cougar boys produced the most successful season in program history, punctuated by a fourth-place finish in the state meet on Nov. 2, 2024.
The team qualified for state by winning the Section 4AA championship in late October. The Cougars were dominant in that meet, finishing with six of the top seven times in a field of 84 runners. Sophomore Charlie Loth was first across the line to become the individual section champion.
Prior to the section meet, Como won their second consecutive St. Paul City Conference title after a regular season filled with victories in several large events. Those successes gave a young team the confidence needed to be competitive on the big stage at state.
Loth was the first Cougar across the line again at state, finishing the 5K course (3.1 miles) in 15:54 which earned the seventh-place individual medal and all-state honors. Sophomore Arthur Anderson also earned all-state, finishing 19th with a time of 16:15.
Cougar scoring was rounded out by junior Ben Clark, junior Hazel Small, freshman Luna Small, senior Niko Turnure, and junior Colin Johnson. Coach Tim Kersey said it was a race that went pretty much according to plan. The posted result revealing Como as fourth in state was not surprising, but it provided confirmation that hard work pays off and that next year is going to be exciting.
The optimism carries over to the Cougar girls team. Sophomore Lily Coyle and Murray eighth-grader Lu Beckman both represented Como with excellent efforts in the state meet as individual qualifiers. They both finished in the top 10 individuals in the Section 4AA meet and combined with their teammates to place third out of 12 teams.

AVID Wilderness Inquiry
Ninth grade AVID students spent a warm October day outdoors at Como Lake for a memorable day of canoeing, water quality testing, and team building games.
The AVID classes partnered with Wilderness Inquiry, a local non-profit that connects people to the outdoors. Learning to paddle together in large, 10-person canoes was a highlight and wonderful example of an AVID emphasis on collaboration.

AP Night at Como Nov. 21
Prospective students and families who would like to learn more about Como’s college-level coursework are invited to the school library on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 6:30 p.m. Como faculty and students will share their experiences in Advanced Placement, concurrent college classes, and post-secondary enrollment options. Light refreshments will be served.

Theater productions in December
The cast and crew are rehearsing for not just one, but two plays which will be presented on Dec. 7 and 8 in the Como Auditorium. Showtimes on Saturday the 7th are noon and 7 p.m. The Sunday performance will start at 2 p.m.
The plays will be “Property Rites” by Alan Haehnel and “The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet” by Peter Bloedel. Visit comoparkhs.brownpapertickets.com for tickets.