Lion Sports Update (02/27)

WRESTLING
For the final event of the season, St. Mark’s wrestling competed in the National Prep Wrestling Tournament at Lehigh University on Feb. 23 & 24 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The six qualifiers (co-captains Beau Bacon ‘27, Quina Perkison ‘24, and Wyatt Loehr ‘25, as well as Zach Golle ‘28, Oliver Loehr ‘28, and Jackson Barnes ’27) wrestled some extremely tough competition from across the country. Our three co-captains made it to the fourth round but needed to win the sixth round to attain the All-American status. Overall, the Lion Wrestlers finished 41st out of 106 teams and were 3rd out of all the Texas Prep Schools with only one senior (Q. Perkison) on the trip. Out of the six SPC schools in attendance, our Marksmen wrestlers led the charge with a total of 18 points, St. John’s - 14 points, Kinkaid - 13 points, Episcopal Houston - 6 points, FWCD - 2 points, and ESD - 0 points for the tournament. Exemplary of our Lion Pride, the wrestlers exuded strength and courage competing at the highest levels of National Prep School wrestling and are postured for future successes. Prior to the wrestling tournament and trudging through snow, the team practiced at and toured some of the grounds at the United States Military Academy at West Point, watched the Indoor Obstacle Course, Brigade Boxing matches via Ringside, and some of the Army West Point Wrestling team’s practice. After the National Prep tournament, the Lion wrestler ate some of New York’s finest pizza at Sal’s Pizza and visited Time Square before returning to sunny Texas.

TENNIS
SM varsity tennis started their match season Saturday morning at Hockaday, scrimmaging against St. John’s from Houston. Although St. Mark’s fell 1-4 in match play, the Lions had great competition and played particularly well considering only having a week together before this match. Senior Patrick Flanagan was the one team victory at the #1 singles spot, but seniors Amogh Naganand and Arnav Lahoti teamed up at #1 doubles and played a fierce 3-set match and should be capable of big things for the team this season. The team came away motivated to get better and hopeful to face St. John’s again at SPC.

LACROSSE
Varsity lacrosse opens up this coming week with Lovejoy HS coming to St. Mark’s on Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm.  The Lions are a young team, but have some solid upper class leadership which will help the team reach their potential.  The team heads to Houston for a couple SPC games this weekend – EHS on Friday evening at 6 p.m. and St. John’s on Saturday at noon.

BASEBALL
On Tuesday, the varsity baseball team hosted the Texas Association of Christian Athletes (TACA). The Lions opened the scoring in the bottom of the first after a TACA throwing error on the IF with two outs plated senior Grayson Redmond. In the second inning, senior Aaron Augustine singled in junior Jack Frary with a two-out single to LF. Senior Alex Barrett scored in the bottom of the fourth after smashing a double to CF, giving St. Mark's an additional insurance run. Frary, who was 2-3 with a double and triple on the game, led the Lions offense as junior starting pitcher Deven Pietrzak surrendered one run in five quality innings of work. Although TACA scratched three runs in the top of the 7th to take the lead, Junior John Stephen Hohmann's RBI fielder's choice allowed Frary to score, knotting the game at 4 a piece with a Lion runner at third base with one out before play was suspended in the bottom of the 7th due to darkness. However, since St. Mark’s was cut short in its at-bats, the score reverted back to the last complete inning, giving St. Mark’s a 3-1 victory. The Lions have a busy week coming up with a night game at Bishop Lynch on Tuesday and three games at the Hillcrest Tournament Thursday-Saturday. 

TRACK & FIELD
The varsity track & field team began the season on a high note at the Greenhill Relays this past Saturday.  Under sunny skies and warm temperatures, the Lions secured first place as a team and no less than 30+ PR (personal records) across the board.  The Lions got points from every event group throughout the day.  The team was led by Parker Steinbrueck and Mateu Parker.  Parker S. made his mark by finishing second in the 800m and 3200m and third in the 1600m.  Mateu was all over the place, running second leg on the winning 4x100 Relay, finishing second in the Long Jump, fourth in the 110 hurdles, and finishing the day on the third place 4x400 Relay team.  Ethan Singleton won the 400m in a lifetime best of 51.58.  Noah Roby won the 3200 in 10:22,01.  AJ Thomas finished second in the 300H.  All in all, a good day for the Lions!  Next stop, FWCD Invitational this Saturday, March 2.

GOLF
The varsity golf team began its season with a tournament at Pinnacle Golf Club in Mabank on Monday, Feb. 26. The weather was spectacular, and the scenery along Cedar Creek Lake was stunning. The early morning start mixed with early-season nerves made for some shaky play initially, but the squad settled in and posted an impressive series of scores. Three freshmen made a splash with sub-80 rounds (Sam Merryman, Brooks Main, and Luke Rogers). Junior Mateo Ubinas picked up where he left off at the end of last year, firing a 76; and senior Hudson Brown, consistent all day long, hit 15 greens in regulation enroute to a personal record in a Lions uniform 74. That score landed Hudson first-place honors in the entire tournament field and spear-headed a terrific team performance, as the Marksmen fivesome of Brown, Ubinas, senior Charlie Hill, junior Luke Lemons and freshman James Hoak placed number one overall with a final score of 311! Incredibly, the Lions also garnered second-place team honors, as the combination of Merryman, Main, junior Duncan Ardis, sophomore Jonathan Lobel, and freshman Nolan Wartman finished just a handful of strokes behind. Having two teams both score under 320 in the same event is an anomaly for St. Mark’s golf and a terrific indication of more success on the horizon!