Lion Sports Update (08/31)
Cross Country
The varsity cross country team made its annual trek to the Greenhill 6-Mile Relay at Norbuck Park in Dallas this past Saturday. The team entered six teams of four runners, with each athlete covering 1.5 miles over challenging terrain, including hay bale jumps, before handing off a glove to the next runner. It is a fun way to start the season before the longer 5K (3.1-mile) races.
The Lions performed well. St. Mark’s top team of William Cho, Nicholas Cho, George Brown, and Jackson Bailey finished fourth out of 42 teams in the 6A-5A division. The B team of Garet Tydlaska, Ward Beasley, Tristan Kachmar, and Lawson Ruby placed 18th in the same race. St. Mark’s teams in the 4A & Under division finished 12th and 22nd out of 32 teams. It was a strong showing across the board.
This week, the team travels to Denton to compete in the Marcus I Invitational. The meet will provide the first major test of the season as the Lions take on a challenging 5K course.
Football
On Friday night, the Lions football team opened the 2026 season by hosting Fort Worth Country Day on Lion Pride Night. The Lions carried a 10-0 lead into halftime behind a field goal from Henry McGill and a touchdown pass from Blaize Schuhmacher to Wyatt Hanson.
Fort Worth Country Day opened the second half with a touchdown after recovering a Lions fumble deep in St. Mark’s territory. The Lions quickly responded with a momentum-changing special teams sequence. Brooks Main blocked the Falcons’ PAT attempt, and Ford Robinson returned it for two points. Charlie Aisner then returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, and Archer Wilburn added the two-point conversion to extend the lead to 20-6.
The Lions controlled the remainder of the game, pitching a second-half defensive shutout while adding touchdowns from Donnell Dickson and Archer Wilburn. McGill added a second field goal to complete a 37-6 victory. Defensively, Robinson led the way with nine tackles and two fumble recoveries, while Mac Saye recorded eight tackles, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup. The 1-0 Lions travel to Irving next Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against the Cistercian Hawks.
Water Polo
The varsity water polo team opened its season with three impressive victories.
The Lions began the weekend against Richland High School in Prosper, racing to a 10-0 first-quarter lead. A 4-0 second quarter extended the advantage to 14-0 at halftime. Senior captain Shiv Bhandari scored two of his game-high five goals during a dominant third quarter as the Lions built a 20-1 lead. St. Mark’s closed out a 23-3 season-opening victory.
The second game was against John Paul II, and the Lions again seized control early. St. Mark’s scored eight first-quarter goals, with senior co-captain Tyson Diep and juniors Eddie Stehel and James McGinnis all finding the back of the net. McGinnis scored back-to-back goals to spark the offense, while juniors Will Behnke, Luke Nguyen, Nathan Peng, and senior co-captain Shiv Bhandari also scored in the opening period as the Lions took an 8-4 lead.
The offense continued to roll in the second quarter. McGinnis added three more goals to complete a five-goal performance. Bhandari scored twice, while Nguyen and Stehel each added goals. Stehel’s two second-quarter scores put him on pace for a five-goal game of his own. Senior Emiliano Mayo scored his first goal of the contest, giving him three on the season, as the Lions entered halftime with a commanding 17-7 lead.
The Lions added eight more goals in the third quarter. Bhandari scored his fifth goal of the game, while Stehel netted three goals in the period to complete his own five-goal performance. Behnke added his second goal, Larry Fan scored the first two goals of his varsity career, and Berkin Oral notched his first goal of the game to push the lead to 24-9.
Bhandari scored for the sixth time in the fourth quarter, while sophomores Ty Nguyen and Nicholas Sun combined for the game’s final three goals, with Sun accounting for two of them. The Lions closed out a dominant 28-10 victory.
In a Friday night matchup against Walnut Grove High School, the Lions controlled play from start to finish and earned a 19-6 win. Junior Eddie Stehel led all scorers with eight goals. Juniors James McGinnis and Berkin Oral added three goals apiece, sophomore Ty Nguyen scored twice, and co-captains Wyatt Melvin and Tyson Diep each scored once, along with junior Luke Nguyen.
Volleyball
The varsity volleyball team begins competition this week with a home match against HSAA on Monday, Aug. 31, at 6 p.m. The Lions then travel to Oklahoma City to face Casady in their first SPC boys volleyball counter match.
ALUMNI ATHLETE NEWS
From July 27 through Aug. 1, Deven Pietrzak ’25, a pitcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, competed with the Polish National Team in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Baseball European Championship B-Pool.
Held in Wroclaw, Poland, the tournament featured six teams: Ireland, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine. Despite a loss to Slovakia on the second day of competition, Poland advanced to the championship game for a rematch with Slovakia. Poland ultimately fell in the bottom of the 10th inning, with Slovakia earning promotion to next year’s A-Pool tournament.
Back
The varsity cross country team made its annual trek to the Greenhill 6-Mile Relay at Norbuck Park in Dallas this past Saturday. The team entered six teams of four runners, with each athlete covering 1.5 miles over challenging terrain, including hay bale jumps, before handing off a glove to the next runner. It is a fun way to start the season before the longer 5K (3.1-mile) races.
The Lions performed well. St. Mark’s top team of William Cho, Nicholas Cho, George Brown, and Jackson Bailey finished fourth out of 42 teams in the 6A-5A division. The B team of Garet Tydlaska, Ward Beasley, Tristan Kachmar, and Lawson Ruby placed 18th in the same race. St. Mark’s teams in the 4A & Under division finished 12th and 22nd out of 32 teams. It was a strong showing across the board.
This week, the team travels to Denton to compete in the Marcus I Invitational. The meet will provide the first major test of the season as the Lions take on a challenging 5K course.
Football
On Friday night, the Lions football team opened the 2026 season by hosting Fort Worth Country Day on Lion Pride Night. The Lions carried a 10-0 lead into halftime behind a field goal from Henry McGill and a touchdown pass from Blaize Schuhmacher to Wyatt Hanson.
Fort Worth Country Day opened the second half with a touchdown after recovering a Lions fumble deep in St. Mark’s territory. The Lions quickly responded with a momentum-changing special teams sequence. Brooks Main blocked the Falcons’ PAT attempt, and Ford Robinson returned it for two points. Charlie Aisner then returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, and Archer Wilburn added the two-point conversion to extend the lead to 20-6.
The Lions controlled the remainder of the game, pitching a second-half defensive shutout while adding touchdowns from Donnell Dickson and Archer Wilburn. McGill added a second field goal to complete a 37-6 victory. Defensively, Robinson led the way with nine tackles and two fumble recoveries, while Mac Saye recorded eight tackles, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup. The 1-0 Lions travel to Irving next Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against the Cistercian Hawks.
Water Polo
The varsity water polo team opened its season with three impressive victories.
The Lions began the weekend against Richland High School in Prosper, racing to a 10-0 first-quarter lead. A 4-0 second quarter extended the advantage to 14-0 at halftime. Senior captain Shiv Bhandari scored two of his game-high five goals during a dominant third quarter as the Lions built a 20-1 lead. St. Mark’s closed out a 23-3 season-opening victory.
The second game was against John Paul II, and the Lions again seized control early. St. Mark’s scored eight first-quarter goals, with senior co-captain Tyson Diep and juniors Eddie Stehel and James McGinnis all finding the back of the net. McGinnis scored back-to-back goals to spark the offense, while juniors Will Behnke, Luke Nguyen, Nathan Peng, and senior co-captain Shiv Bhandari also scored in the opening period as the Lions took an 8-4 lead.
The offense continued to roll in the second quarter. McGinnis added three more goals to complete a five-goal performance. Bhandari scored twice, while Nguyen and Stehel each added goals. Stehel’s two second-quarter scores put him on pace for a five-goal game of his own. Senior Emiliano Mayo scored his first goal of the contest, giving him three on the season, as the Lions entered halftime with a commanding 17-7 lead.
The Lions added eight more goals in the third quarter. Bhandari scored his fifth goal of the game, while Stehel netted three goals in the period to complete his own five-goal performance. Behnke added his second goal, Larry Fan scored the first two goals of his varsity career, and Berkin Oral notched his first goal of the game to push the lead to 24-9.
Bhandari scored for the sixth time in the fourth quarter, while sophomores Ty Nguyen and Nicholas Sun combined for the game’s final three goals, with Sun accounting for two of them. The Lions closed out a dominant 28-10 victory.
In a Friday night matchup against Walnut Grove High School, the Lions controlled play from start to finish and earned a 19-6 win. Junior Eddie Stehel led all scorers with eight goals. Juniors James McGinnis and Berkin Oral added three goals apiece, sophomore Ty Nguyen scored twice, and co-captains Wyatt Melvin and Tyson Diep each scored once, along with junior Luke Nguyen.
Volleyball
The varsity volleyball team begins competition this week with a home match against HSAA on Monday, Aug. 31, at 6 p.m. The Lions then travel to Oklahoma City to face Casady in their first SPC boys volleyball counter match.
ALUMNI ATHLETE NEWS
From July 27 through Aug. 1, Deven Pietrzak ’25, a pitcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, competed with the Polish National Team in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Baseball European Championship B-Pool.
Held in Wroclaw, Poland, the tournament featured six teams: Ireland, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine. Despite a loss to Slovakia on the second day of competition, Poland advanced to the championship game for a rematch with Slovakia. Poland ultimately fell in the bottom of the 10th inning, with Slovakia earning promotion to next year’s A-Pool tournament.
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.
