Lion Sports Update (12/14)
SWIMMING
The varsity swim team was back in the pool and the first meet of the season was a resounding success. Taking on the defending SPC 3A Champions Cistercian, the Lions won all 11 events…the first time since the pandemic that the Lions have accomplished the feat. Outside of the 200 IM and the 100 Butterfly, the Lions went 1,2,3 in every event. Great swims were had by many, and every class would bring home valuable points. In the 200 medley relay, freshman Armaan Newaskar, senior co-captain Adrian Lutgen, sophomore Ethan Wang and junior Sebastian Illum would dominate the field with a 1:40.26. In the 200 freestyle, sophomore Miller Martin, senior co-captain Ethan Gao, and junior Ben Chen would go 1,2,3. In the 200 IM, Wang and Lutgen were back at it going 1,3. In the 50 freestyle Illum, fellow junior George Hoverman, and sophomore Richard Wang would take the top three spots. Wang and Gao (who was out touched by 2 tenths of a second for 2nd) would go 1,3 in the 100 Butterfly. In the 100 Freestyle Martin, Illum, and Newaskar would go 1,2,3 - all posting great times for the Lions. In the 500 Freestyle, junior Reagan Brower, sophomore Kevin Hong and freshman Max Lee would go 1,2,3. The 200 freestyle relay was dominated by seniors Adam Kappelman and Lutgen along with sophomores Wang and Martin (whose time of 1:29 was only one second off the pool record). In the 100 backstroke, Newaskar was back at it again along with senior co-captain Anderson Selinger and sophomore Michael Yang who would go 1,2,3. In the final individual event of the evening, the 100 Breaststroke, Lutgen along with sophomores Oliver Geheb and Kevin Ho would take the top three spots. As is tradition, the 4x100 yard freestyle relay would be the last race of the meet and the Lions did not disappoint. Kappelman, Illum, Newaskar and Martin, representing all four Upper School classes, would all have solid swims posting a time of 3:25.46. In the end the Lions would score 301 points to Cistercian’s 106. Up next the Lions will host Austin St. Stephen’s on Thursday, Dec. 14.
WRESTLING
On Wednesday, Dec. 6, the varsity wrestling team competed in a tri-meet at Jesuit College Prep. Starting the Jesuit match down 24 points due to forfeits, Lion wrestlers were able to claw back to make it interesting, but were defeated by Jesuit by a score of 44-30. Out of the ten matches wrestled, our Lions won five out of ten. Then SM wrestled a scrappy JJ Pearce team, and the Lions were victorious by a score of JJ Pearce (30) – St. Mark’s (48), winning eight out of ten matches. On Saturday, Dec. 9, the Lion wrestlers competed at Loos Field House against North Dallas High School and South Oak Cliff High School. During the first match up against North Dallas, St. Mark’s went undefeated and won the dual by a score of N. Dallas (0) – St. Mark’s (58) with five pins. The next match against SOC was a lot tougher. During this match up, Lion wrestlers would win four out of ten matches, but fell to SOC (45) – St. Mark’s (21). This Friday and Saturday, St. Mark’s wrestling hosts the 55th Annual Lonestar Christmas Tournament in Spencer Gymnasium with wrestling starting at 2:15 p.m. on Friday. All alumni wrestlers are invited to Saturday’s vhampionship round, which should start at 2:30 p.m.
SOCCER
The varsity soccer team traveled to Austin to play in the St. Andrew’s Winter Classic on Dec. 8 and 9. The Lions faced a familiar foe in Trinity Valley in their first match. St. Mark’s dominated possession while Trinity Valley was content to absorb pressure and wait for a counterattack. Senior captain John Ma opened the scoring when he converted a penalty kick in the 26th minute. The Trojans equalized just before half when the Lions’ defense turned porous, allowing a long, hopeful ball from a free kick to be easily redirected into the goal. Regrouping at halftime, the Lions again set out to dominate possession, albeit with a more productive level of penetration that created numerous scoring opportunities. Junior Aydin Sumer scored two goals in quick succession in the 53rd and 59th minute, assisted by juniors Alden Reagins and Vikram Singh. With the Lions in control of the match, senior Sharang Vyas was fouled in the penalty area in the final minute of the match. He converted his penalty kick to conclude the match at 4-1. That evening, the Lions faced a formidable St. Michael’s team who had drawn with their Austin counterparts, St. Andrew’s, earlier in the day. St. Mark’s struggled to establish a productive tempo, seemingly always second to every 50-50 ball. Down a goal at half, the Lions exerted a valiant but disjointed effort that saw very little consistent technical and tactical execution. In their push to equalize, the Lions conceded a late insurance goal that sealed victory for St. Michael’s. St. Mark’s returned on Saturday morning to play their most dominant match of the season. Hyde Park had few answers for the Lions trademark tactics of extensive possession and senior goalkeeper Tyler Tang would go on to record his second shutout of the season. Highlights of the match included a hat trick by freshman David Dickson and a brace from junior Chris Han. Senior captain Alex Soliz also scored to go along with an assist on Han’s second goal. A 3-0 halftime led to a 6-0 full time result, that included strong defensive play from Ma, seniors Max Levy and Temi Balogun, as well as juniors Alex Abel and Dylan Taylor, and freshman Matthew Weir. In midfield, senior Ben Adams, junior Oliver Peck, and sophomore Kazim Hussain provided a steady stream of services that created numerous opportunities for the Lions. Senior Zachary Bashour, who was recently back from injury, proved to be the target up front the Lions needed to create opportunities for others in the final third. The Lions needed help to reach the final; however, the desired result was thwarted by a late goal that kept St. Mark’s from competing in the championship. Next up, St. Mark’s will face to Greenhill on Thursday at Hockaday’s Spirit Night at 6:30 p.m. before taking a few days to rest and recover and resuming their training regimen on Dec. 26.
BASKETBALL
Last week, the varsity basketball team competed in three contests. First, on Tuesday, Dec. 5, the squad traveled to Addison, where a boisterous crowd awaited at Trinity Christian Academy. Cold shooting put the Lions in a hole after one quarter, but sophomore Pranav Danda knocked down a pair of threes in the second to help forge a 7-point halftime lead. The action seesawed back-and-forth from there with freshman Dawson Battie spearheading the attack. His 23 points led all scorers, as St. Mark’s claimed a 12-point victory. On Friday, the Spencer Gym faithful showed up en masse, donning their kitchen attire in an effort to help the home team “get cooking” as quickly as possible. The tremendous energy helped build a double digit lead, but costly turnovers gave control of the game to a visiting Seagoville squad that seemed to have a win locked up late in the fourth quarter. However, the never-quit navy and gold battled back to force overtime, and stingy defense toward the end enabled the Lions to pull out a hard-fought 2-point victory. The next day, St. Mark’s persevered through tired legs and an injury-shortened roster to build a double-digit halftime lead on the road against Southwest Christian from Fort Worth. Unfortunately, fatigue and turnovers once again made it difficult for St. Mark’s to seal the deal. And, unlike the night before, good fortune was not on the Marksmen’s side, as they fell in dramatic fashion with a buzzer-beating 3 sinking St. Mark’s 67-68. This week, the team plays Dallas Christian at 5:30 p.m. at Hockaday’s Spirit Night and then flies to Memphis for a talent-rich showcase this weekend. On Dec. 27-29, the Lions will finish their 2023 schedule at the Dallas Independent School District’s 83rd annual holiday tournament — come check out the action!
ALUMNI ATHLETE NEWS
Harrison Ingram ’21, a member of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team, is having a solid junior season in helping the #9 ranked Tar Heels to a 7-2 record. Harrison is averaging 15.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting well from the floor. You can see most of the UNC games on TV, with big matchups against #14 Kentucky (Saturday on CBS at 4:30 p.m.) and #11 Oklahoma (Wednesday, Dec. 20 on ESPN at 8 p.m.) upcoming over the Christmas break.
Andrew Laczkowski ’20 and the UPenn Quakers are off to a 7-5 start to their season including an upset win over then #21 ranked Villanova earlier this season where Andrew contributed 3 points and 5 rebounds. For the season, Andrew is averaging 5.3 points and 3.2 rebounds on 77% FG% shooting. Over break they play at #4 ranked Houston on Dec. 30 at 6 p.m., a game that can be watched on the Big XII Network.
Back
The varsity swim team was back in the pool and the first meet of the season was a resounding success. Taking on the defending SPC 3A Champions Cistercian, the Lions won all 11 events…the first time since the pandemic that the Lions have accomplished the feat. Outside of the 200 IM and the 100 Butterfly, the Lions went 1,2,3 in every event. Great swims were had by many, and every class would bring home valuable points. In the 200 medley relay, freshman Armaan Newaskar, senior co-captain Adrian Lutgen, sophomore Ethan Wang and junior Sebastian Illum would dominate the field with a 1:40.26. In the 200 freestyle, sophomore Miller Martin, senior co-captain Ethan Gao, and junior Ben Chen would go 1,2,3. In the 200 IM, Wang and Lutgen were back at it going 1,3. In the 50 freestyle Illum, fellow junior George Hoverman, and sophomore Richard Wang would take the top three spots. Wang and Gao (who was out touched by 2 tenths of a second for 2nd) would go 1,3 in the 100 Butterfly. In the 100 Freestyle Martin, Illum, and Newaskar would go 1,2,3 - all posting great times for the Lions. In the 500 Freestyle, junior Reagan Brower, sophomore Kevin Hong and freshman Max Lee would go 1,2,3. The 200 freestyle relay was dominated by seniors Adam Kappelman and Lutgen along with sophomores Wang and Martin (whose time of 1:29 was only one second off the pool record). In the 100 backstroke, Newaskar was back at it again along with senior co-captain Anderson Selinger and sophomore Michael Yang who would go 1,2,3. In the final individual event of the evening, the 100 Breaststroke, Lutgen along with sophomores Oliver Geheb and Kevin Ho would take the top three spots. As is tradition, the 4x100 yard freestyle relay would be the last race of the meet and the Lions did not disappoint. Kappelman, Illum, Newaskar and Martin, representing all four Upper School classes, would all have solid swims posting a time of 3:25.46. In the end the Lions would score 301 points to Cistercian’s 106. Up next the Lions will host Austin St. Stephen’s on Thursday, Dec. 14.
WRESTLING
On Wednesday, Dec. 6, the varsity wrestling team competed in a tri-meet at Jesuit College Prep. Starting the Jesuit match down 24 points due to forfeits, Lion wrestlers were able to claw back to make it interesting, but were defeated by Jesuit by a score of 44-30. Out of the ten matches wrestled, our Lions won five out of ten. Then SM wrestled a scrappy JJ Pearce team, and the Lions were victorious by a score of JJ Pearce (30) – St. Mark’s (48), winning eight out of ten matches. On Saturday, Dec. 9, the Lion wrestlers competed at Loos Field House against North Dallas High School and South Oak Cliff High School. During the first match up against North Dallas, St. Mark’s went undefeated and won the dual by a score of N. Dallas (0) – St. Mark’s (58) with five pins. The next match against SOC was a lot tougher. During this match up, Lion wrestlers would win four out of ten matches, but fell to SOC (45) – St. Mark’s (21). This Friday and Saturday, St. Mark’s wrestling hosts the 55th Annual Lonestar Christmas Tournament in Spencer Gymnasium with wrestling starting at 2:15 p.m. on Friday. All alumni wrestlers are invited to Saturday’s vhampionship round, which should start at 2:30 p.m.
SOCCER
The varsity soccer team traveled to Austin to play in the St. Andrew’s Winter Classic on Dec. 8 and 9. The Lions faced a familiar foe in Trinity Valley in their first match. St. Mark’s dominated possession while Trinity Valley was content to absorb pressure and wait for a counterattack. Senior captain John Ma opened the scoring when he converted a penalty kick in the 26th minute. The Trojans equalized just before half when the Lions’ defense turned porous, allowing a long, hopeful ball from a free kick to be easily redirected into the goal. Regrouping at halftime, the Lions again set out to dominate possession, albeit with a more productive level of penetration that created numerous scoring opportunities. Junior Aydin Sumer scored two goals in quick succession in the 53rd and 59th minute, assisted by juniors Alden Reagins and Vikram Singh. With the Lions in control of the match, senior Sharang Vyas was fouled in the penalty area in the final minute of the match. He converted his penalty kick to conclude the match at 4-1. That evening, the Lions faced a formidable St. Michael’s team who had drawn with their Austin counterparts, St. Andrew’s, earlier in the day. St. Mark’s struggled to establish a productive tempo, seemingly always second to every 50-50 ball. Down a goal at half, the Lions exerted a valiant but disjointed effort that saw very little consistent technical and tactical execution. In their push to equalize, the Lions conceded a late insurance goal that sealed victory for St. Michael’s. St. Mark’s returned on Saturday morning to play their most dominant match of the season. Hyde Park had few answers for the Lions trademark tactics of extensive possession and senior goalkeeper Tyler Tang would go on to record his second shutout of the season. Highlights of the match included a hat trick by freshman David Dickson and a brace from junior Chris Han. Senior captain Alex Soliz also scored to go along with an assist on Han’s second goal. A 3-0 halftime led to a 6-0 full time result, that included strong defensive play from Ma, seniors Max Levy and Temi Balogun, as well as juniors Alex Abel and Dylan Taylor, and freshman Matthew Weir. In midfield, senior Ben Adams, junior Oliver Peck, and sophomore Kazim Hussain provided a steady stream of services that created numerous opportunities for the Lions. Senior Zachary Bashour, who was recently back from injury, proved to be the target up front the Lions needed to create opportunities for others in the final third. The Lions needed help to reach the final; however, the desired result was thwarted by a late goal that kept St. Mark’s from competing in the championship. Next up, St. Mark’s will face to Greenhill on Thursday at Hockaday’s Spirit Night at 6:30 p.m. before taking a few days to rest and recover and resuming their training regimen on Dec. 26.
BASKETBALL
Last week, the varsity basketball team competed in three contests. First, on Tuesday, Dec. 5, the squad traveled to Addison, where a boisterous crowd awaited at Trinity Christian Academy. Cold shooting put the Lions in a hole after one quarter, but sophomore Pranav Danda knocked down a pair of threes in the second to help forge a 7-point halftime lead. The action seesawed back-and-forth from there with freshman Dawson Battie spearheading the attack. His 23 points led all scorers, as St. Mark’s claimed a 12-point victory. On Friday, the Spencer Gym faithful showed up en masse, donning their kitchen attire in an effort to help the home team “get cooking” as quickly as possible. The tremendous energy helped build a double digit lead, but costly turnovers gave control of the game to a visiting Seagoville squad that seemed to have a win locked up late in the fourth quarter. However, the never-quit navy and gold battled back to force overtime, and stingy defense toward the end enabled the Lions to pull out a hard-fought 2-point victory. The next day, St. Mark’s persevered through tired legs and an injury-shortened roster to build a double-digit halftime lead on the road against Southwest Christian from Fort Worth. Unfortunately, fatigue and turnovers once again made it difficult for St. Mark’s to seal the deal. And, unlike the night before, good fortune was not on the Marksmen’s side, as they fell in dramatic fashion with a buzzer-beating 3 sinking St. Mark’s 67-68. This week, the team plays Dallas Christian at 5:30 p.m. at Hockaday’s Spirit Night and then flies to Memphis for a talent-rich showcase this weekend. On Dec. 27-29, the Lions will finish their 2023 schedule at the Dallas Independent School District’s 83rd annual holiday tournament — come check out the action!
ALUMNI ATHLETE NEWS
Harrison Ingram ’21, a member of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team, is having a solid junior season in helping the #9 ranked Tar Heels to a 7-2 record. Harrison is averaging 15.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting well from the floor. You can see most of the UNC games on TV, with big matchups against #14 Kentucky (Saturday on CBS at 4:30 p.m.) and #11 Oklahoma (Wednesday, Dec. 20 on ESPN at 8 p.m.) upcoming over the Christmas break.
Andrew Laczkowski ’20 and the UPenn Quakers are off to a 7-5 start to their season including an upset win over then #21 ranked Villanova earlier this season where Andrew contributed 3 points and 5 rebounds. For the season, Andrew is averaging 5.3 points and 3.2 rebounds on 77% FG% shooting. Over break they play at #4 ranked Houston on Dec. 30 at 6 p.m., a game that can be watched on the Big XII Network.
St. Mark’s School of Texas
10600 Preston Road
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
About Us
St. Mark’s School of Texas is a private, nonsectarian college-preparatory boys’ day school for students in grades 1 through 12, located in Dallas, Texas. St. Mark’s aims to prepare young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
