Lions Sports Update (12/15)

SOCCER
The varsity soccer team traveled to San Antonio and Austin for the weekend to play three matches. Due to injuries and ACT testing, the Lions added several players from the junior varsity roster for the road trip. Their presence was invaluable as Tyler Tang, Alex Abel, Sharang Vyas, and Max Levy logged essential minutes. St. Mark’s started against former SPC foe, St. Mary’s Hall. Senior Lars Ochs wasted no time giving the Lions the lead in the sixth minute. Noah Soliz added a goal just before halftime as the Lions looked to take control of the match. Excellent goalkeeping from seniors Stefan Moreno and Axel Icazbalceta, along with steady defense from sophomores Reed Sussman and Zachary Bashour kept the Barons at bay for the entire second half. Additional goals from sophomore Alex Soliz and freshman Alden Reagins put the match out of reach. Moreno showed his versatility with a late goal just before the full-time whistle for a five-goal shutout. 

The following day, St. Mark’s faced their most challenging test of the season as they played the St. Stephen’s Academy Team, a group of select players who board at the school and play year-round for some of the best club teams in Austin. Despite missing several starters, the Lions rose to the challenge by playing with unbridled energy while relentlessly pressing their opponent. The SSS Academy broke the deadlock in the seventieth minute, then added a second within the last two minutes of the match to earn a two-goal shutout against the Lions. Numerous players raised their level of play to meet the challenge, including exceptional contributions from Alex Soliz, Ochs, and Alex Abel. A tired St. Mark’s team took the field that same afternoon against the St. Stephen’s school team. With a few players unable to play, and others exhausted, the Lions persevered with a 3-1 defeat of the Spartans. Senior goalkeeper Axel Icazbalceta kept a clean sheet in the first half and then scored as a striker in the second half. After a long recovery from injury, senior Zack Stone also scored his first goal of the season on a sweetly struck ball from a distance that gave the Spartan keeper no chance. Alex Soliz added yet another goal, and sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Tang saw his first varsity minutes by limiting the Spartans to a single goal. 
 
BASKETBALL
This past week, the varsity basketball team hosted Bishop Lynch. The atmosphere was electric, as fans from both sides cheered hard for their schools. St. Marks’s students turned out in style, donning their construction site neons and hardhats. The players did their best to emulate that grinder mentality, as they dominated the boards and limited the Friars to just 10 points in the first 7:50. Unfortunately, BL hit a buzzer-beater at the end of the first and second quarters and gained a 6-point halftime lead. The Lions cut the margin to three early in the fourth quarter but could not pull out the victory. This week, St. Mark’s hosts Yavneh at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday before flying to Memphis to face Elevation Prep (Indianapolis) and Tennessee powerhouse Christian Brothers. The Lions will also play over the holidays in the annual Whataburger Tournament on December 28-30, with the first game against the nation’s #1 ranked team, Duncanville, at 7:00 p.m. at Mansfield Legacy high school.

WRESTLING
The varsity wrestling team had a tough match against Jesuit College Prep on December 10th. Wrestling duals are a total of 14 matches; however, the Lions gave up two forfeits at 120lbs and 126lbs to give the Rangers 12 points. Out of the remaining 12 matches, St. Mark’s had two wins by forfeit and seven victories by pin. The final team score was Jesuit 38 and St. Mark’s 42. This brings the Lion’s dual match record to 6-2 for the season with the two losses to Highland Park High School. St. Mark’s wrestling hosts the 53rd Annual Lonestar Christmas Tournament this Friday and Saturday, Dec. 17 & 18, starting at 4:00 p.m. on Friday and 9:00 a.m. on Saturday in Spencer Gymnasium. There are 25 teams from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, including public and private schools competing in this tough individual wrestling tournament. Come out and support your Lion wrestlers!

SWIMMING
This week, the varsity swim team took on Fort Worth Country Day on Tuesday and Cistercian on Thursday. The Marksmen defeated FWCD 302 to 57 with some positive times posted by the boys, and with a short turn around defeated Cistercian 268 to 147. Versus FWCD, the Lions got off to a fast start going 1,2,3 in the 200 Medley Relay, which would be the theme of the meet. The Lions would go 1,2,3 in every event. Against Cistercian again, St. Mark’s got off to a great start going 1,2,3 in the 200 Medley, and 200 Freestyle. Cistercian would take the top spot in the 200 IM, however good swims by sophomores Adrian Lutgen and Ethan Gao cleaning up 2,3. In the 50 Free Cistercian would go 1,2 out touching freshman George Hoverman and Ben Chen coming in 3,4. The 100 Fly again saw Cistercian go 1,2 with Daniel Deng and Miki Ghosh coming in 3,4 for the Lions. Then it was 1,2,3 again for the Lions, with sophomores Anderson Selinger, Ethan Gao, and junior Michael Gao going 1,2,3 in the 100 Free. Up next was the most contested race of the day. Senior Brett Honaker would go head-to-head vs Cistercian’s Tom Gambow, who swam a great race dropping 2 seconds from his posted time, but Honaker was up to the task going a personal best of 5:07.93 in a swim that neither swimmer wanted to lose. Junior Sammy Larkin and sophomore Adam Kappleman would come in 3,4 for the Lions. For the Medley Relay that 50 speed from Cistercian came through taking the top spot, but St. Mark’s was there to go 2,3,4 grabbing valuable points. In the 100 Backstroke, freshman Reagan Brower claimed the 2 spot, and senior Pranay Sinkre showing his versatility swimming the 100 Back for the first time since freshman year grabbed the valuable points coming in 4th. The 100 Breast was next and sophomore Lutgen came in 1st, Cistercian took 2nd, and Hoverman out touched sophomore Anderson Selinger for the 3rd place spot. The final event of the day, the 4 by 100 Freestyle Relay, was won by Kappleman, freshman Leo Scheiner, Larkin, and Honaker out touching Cistercian by 5 seconds to claim victory. The Lions will continue to train over the break, taking the pool again for a race on January 11th at home against Bishop Lynch. 

CROSS COUNTRY
This past weekend, Sahil Dodda competed in the prestigious Eastbay (formerly Footlocker) Cross-Country National Championships. The meet consists of the top 10 qualifiers from each of the North, East, West and South Regions of the country. This meet is steep in history since its first running in 1979. Since that initial year, the best cross-country runners in the nation have gathered at this prestigious meet. This year marked the first year EVER that an SPC male runner has qualified for the race, and we had two this year, Sahil and Emmanuel Sgouros from St. John’s! Sahil culminated a historic season with an excellent finish of 16th place with a time of 15:34. His placing earned him an Honorable Mention ALL-AMERICAN. He is the greatest runner in St. Mark’s history, setting the school record multiple times throughout his Junior and Senior years. His time of 15:01, set at the Eastbay South Region Meet last month, is the new standard. He will take his talents to the University of Pennsylvania next year.

ALUMNI ATHLETE NEWS
Harrison Ingram ’21 was named PAC-12 Freshman of the Week for the second time for his efforts in helping the Stanford Cardinal beat Oregon on Sunday. Harrison scored 16 points, collected 8 rebounds, and dished out 5 assists in the win. Check out some highlights HERE.

Paxton Scott ’20, a wide receiver on the Dartmouth College football team, led the Big Green in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns in his first year of college football. Dartmouth was co-champion of the Ivy League this year with a 9-1 overall record (6-1 Ivy). Paxton finished 7th in the Ivy League in receptions, 12th in receiving yards, and 7th in TDs. For his efforts, Paxton was named Honorable Mention All-Ivy.