Lion Sports Update (10/24)

CROSS COUNTRY
The varsity cross country team won the SPC North Zone meet this past Friday! It is a fun and unique race, where all 20 teammates can be on the starting line at the same time. The Lions placed six runners (Trey Stager, Noah Roby, Raja Mehendale, Parker Steinbrueck, Clark Cooper and Asa McCaleb) in the top 15 and five runners in the top 10. The 5 scoring runners (Trey Stager, Noah Roby, Raja Mehendale, Parker Steinbrueck and Clark Cooper) all finished within 27 seconds of each other and earned All-North Zone honors. Next up, the team will compete in the SPC Championships on November 5th down in Tomball, TX as the defending champions. 

VOLLEYBALL 
The varsity volleyball team is in the heart of the SPC North Zone schedule. The Lions are currently 4-2 in SPC counter match play, having won 4 straight. Last week, the Lions went 2-0 defeating Trinity Valley at home in 4 sets on Tuesday’s Senior Night followed by a 3 set victory on the road against Greenhill on Friday night. The Lions travel to Ft. Worth Country Day on Tuesday and then close out the regular season with a home game against Greenhill on Homecoming night. This Lions need to run the table this week to secure the North Zone #1 seed for the upcoming SPC Championship tournament.

FOOTBALL 
On Friday night, the varsity football team defeated the Greenhill Hornets 42-0. The Lions’ defense recorded its first shutout of the season while providing a spark through several turnovers. Seniors John Charest and Silas Hosler forced fumbles recovered by Nolan Marcus and Noah Williams, while Charest, Sharang Vyas and Max Levy all picked off Hornet passes to set up great opportunities for the Lions’ offense. Offensively, Lucas Blumenthal hauled in 4 catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, while Keats Leffel and Asher Wilburn combined for 154 yards on the ground and 5 touchdowns. Lots of Lions got quality playing time in a strong, four-quarter performance. The 4-5 Lions prepare for their season finale and Homecoming game this Friday night against the 6-2 ESD Eagles. The team looks to end the season on a high note.
 
WATER POLO
The varsity water polo, coming off their TISCA State Championship, went out to California for the Steve Pal Memorial Tournament. They had 4 great games and though the results were not what we hoped, the team came together to play some of the season’s best water polo. First up was Coronado High School. The Lions got off to a slow start, down 2-6 at half. They bounced back with some great defense, but could not find a rhythm offensively, with a number of high percentage shooting opportunities left on the table. Final score was 8-5. The second game was versus University High School and it was a nail-biter. Both teams shared the lead for part of the game with the Lions having the lead going into the final minutes. University would get the tying goal and again the Lions would waste opportunities with a missed 5 meter penalty shot and a bar out on a 6v5…and the game went to overtime. In the 3:00 sudden death quarter, the Lions stand up defense got the first stop, and again the Lions would waste a scoring opportunity with a bar out. University would come down the next possession and squeak one in for the victory. Final Score: Lions 10 – University 11.

In day two of the tournament, the Lions took on Los Osos, and again the Lions would be plagued with leaving opportunities on the table. Down 6-2 at the half, the Lions had two missed “1 on nones” and a few empty power-plays early. The second half was much better for the Lions, but they were  unable to close the gap, losing 8-11. In the final game of the tournament and season, the Lions took on Clairemont and it was a great game. The teams went back and forth the entire game and were tied with :25 seconds left in the 2nd half. The Lions called a time out and drew up a play. With 6 seconds left on the clock, sophomore Ben Chen created the space he needed to get the shot off and he hit the game winner! Final: SM 8 – Clairemont 7. The team demonstrated great defense from start to finish and Chen capped off season with a spectacular shot! 
 

ALUMNI ATHLETE NEWS
Seth Weprin ’19, a member of the Dartmouth Men’s Cross Country team, won the New England Championship earlier this month. He was subsequently named Dartmouth’s Male Athlete of the Week. You can read more about it at the following links: Weprin named Male Athlete of the Week and Weprin wins New England Championship.
 
Harrison Ingram ’21, a member of the Stanford Men’s Basketball team, was featured on the Pac-12 Network’s “Day in the Life.”  You can watch the video HERE.