Lion Sports Update (03/02)

WRESTLING
The varsity wrestling team competed in the 2022 Texas Prep State Wrestling Championship on February 19 at St. Thomas High School in Houston, Texas. A total of 18 teams from SPC and TAPPs competed in this year’s Texas Prep State wrestling tournament. St. Mark’s competed in 12 out of 14 weight classes, reflecting the growth of our Lion’s Den. The Lions finished in 6th place as a team, two places behind last year’s showing. The positive showing from the Lions bodes well for next year. Four Lions placed in the top three and secured berths to the Prep National Wrestling Tournament in Maryland. We had three State Champions and one bronze medalist. 
                3rd at 106lbs – Sophomore Quina Perkison
                1st at 138lbs – Junior Hayward Metcalf (2x State Champion)
                1st at 145lbs – Senior Jedidiah Kim (2x State Champion)
                1st at 195lbs – Senior Elijah Ellis (2x State Champion)
This past weekend, the four qualified Lion Wrestlers travelled to the Washington DC area to compete in the Prep Nationals Wrestling Tournament at Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Senior-captains Jedidiah Kim and Elijah Ellis made it to the second day of competition, only to be bested by worthy opponents. All four Marksmen wrestlers represented St. Mark’s incredibly well in this elite level of competition. This contest ends our season, and we look forward to your continued support. Go Lions!!!   

CREW 
The varsity Crew traveled to Austin for the Heart of Texas Regatta this weekend. Despite the bleak forecast, Marksmen rowers had a strong initial showing. The season leading up to the event has been marked by fewer than usual practice sessions with even less time on the water due to wintery conditions. This lingering winter followed us to Austin for the two-day competition. Saturday’s high temperatures did not break 39° with intermittent precipitation through the day. Sunday’s competition started around 37° and warmed to the mid 40’s by noon. Though the conditions created many a numb hand, along with miserable and challenging conditions on the water, the boys persevered, and the races went on. Twenty five boys traveled to Austin to compete in seven events over the two days. Out of sixteen entries, nine qualified in their heats to advance to finals giving two-thirds of the boys a chance to race again. In the Varsity 2x event, Drake Elliott/Evan McGowan finished 2nd with Brendan Kelly/Paul Valois finishing 5th. In the 2V 4x event, Zack Goforth/CJ Ness/Tomek Marczewski/Nate Wilson finished 4th with Spiros Hallax/Kevon Mostafavipour/Ian Lin/Soham Verma coming in one second behind them to take 5th place. The Novice 4x of Roome Becker/Miller Wendorf/Christian Neisler/Preston Ghafar came in 6th in their final. The Varsity 4x of Drake Elliott/Brendan Kelly/Paul Valois/Evan McGowan finished 2nd, 1.1 second behind the leader. Sunday’s competition started with the 1x event in which Paul Valois advanced to the finals and finished 4th. In the 2V 2x Spiros Hallax/Tomek Marczewski finished 3rd in the final. The last event of the day was the Novice 2x final with Skyler Green/Linyang Lee finishing 6th.  It was a strong start against clubs who have been practicing continuously since August and enduring the conditions only redoubled the boys resolve.  
 
LACROSSE
The varsity lacrosse program kicked off their 2022 season hosting IMG Academy from Bradenton, Florida. Midfielder, Ian Mize, struck first to open the scoring frenzy for the Lions. Within the next minute of play Midfielder Henry Boykin scored the next goal. IMG answered with a goal of their own at the 5:46 mark in the first quarter and went on a three-goal run due to a non-releasable penalty which put the lines down by one. Midfielder Luke Stallings evened the tally with a goal from 13 yards out at the 2:57 mark. Faceoff specialist, Alex Geng was dominate on the face-off X giving multiple possessions to the Lions to capitalize on scoring opportunities leading into halftime up by two, 6-4. The third quarter is where things shifted for the Lions. IMG dominated possession and scored four unanswered goals to end the third quarter up 8-6. it was a back-and-forth battle in the fourth quarter which saw St. Mark’s take a two-goal lead, with the help of Jake Park, Murphy Paul, and Jack Gordy. Up by two with 2:40 remaining in the quarter, the Lions let down their guard and allowed IMG back into the game which forced overtime with the score tied 11-11. IMG scored in the overtime frame winning the game 12-11 in sudden death. Scoring goals for the Lions were: I. Mize (4), H. Boykin (2), L. Stallings (2), J. Park (1), M. Paul (1), and J. Gordy (1). Overall, the performance from the Lions showed that they could hang with one of the top teams in the nation and there were bright spots throughout game. The Lions host SPC foes Kinkaid and Houston Christian this Friday and Saturday respectively. The SMLAXers would truly appreciate your support this season. 

GOLF 
The varsity golf team launched its season with a pair of highly competitive tournaments. First, on February 21stand 22nd, the Lions traveled to Flower Mound to compete in Marcus High School’s Play to the Maxx invitational. The 36 hole event honored a deceased former member of Marcus‘s team, and the players seemed as inspired as ever to give their all in Maxx’s honor. Senior Anashay Monga finished in the top 10 with a pair of rounds in the 70s, and junior Logan Johnson shot the best score (73) of anyone in the tournament. He and freshman Rhett O’Rear combined for first-place individual honors, and the team tied with Southlake Carroll for third behind Rockwall-Heath and Highland Park. The team’s resilience and overcoming second day wind chills below 20° was impressive and preparatory for another rigorous test this past Monday at the Jesuit Invitational held at Brookhaven. A frost delay meant that the teams did not get the fullest of warm-ups, but the Marksmen looked unfazed. O’Rear picked up where he left off the previous week, birdieing his first hole, and junior James Thompson overcame an unfortunate start with back-to-back birdies on the back nine that earned him a 76, one of his lowest competitive scores in a navy/gold uniform. Seniors Will Shoup and Jackson Lutz also posted personal bests after missing the better part of the last two seasons, and George Warren’s 79, despite several unfortunate breaks, was remarkable. Logan Johnson took home third-place individual honors with a 73, and the 4-man total of 305 forged by Johnson, O’Rear, Thomson, and senior Mac McKenzie WON the tournament for one of the very few times in program history! What an achievement by the entire squad! The team travels to Bastrop on Sunday for two full days of action at Wolfdancer Golf Club in the Lost Pines Resort.

WATER POLO 
The varsity water polo team had their first tournament of the season at the 1709 Invite at Keller Natatorium.  The first game of the season was a rematch from the Regional Championships from the year prior against Flower Mound High School. The Lions won 17-2 with senior Brett Honaker leading the way with 5 goals and freshman Jaden Ouyang with 4. Other scorers were: Ethan Gao (2 goals), James Scheiner (1 goal), Sammy Larkin (1 goal), Miki Ghosh (1 goal), Benjamin Chen (1 goal), Reagan Brower (1 goal), Howard Zhang (1 goal).  The second game was more of the same with the Lions outscoring Hebron High School 12-6.  Honaker again led scoring with 7 goals while J. Ouyang netted 2 goals, and E. Gao, S. Larkin, and H. Zhang each scored 1 goal.
 
TENNIS
The varsity tennis team has been hard at work in practice when the weather permits.  They play their first match of the season at Cistercian this Thursday, March 3rd. 
 
TRACK & FIELD
The varsity track & field team had its first meet of the year canceled due to the cold and wet weather.  They will kick off their competitions this Friday and Saturday at the Prince of Peace Relays. 

BASEBALL 
Both varsity baseball games were canceled last week due to icy/cold conditions. However, the team battled through the inclement weather with some solid practices and look forward to hosting TACA Monday afternoon at 4:00 before competing in the Hillcrest Tournament Thursday-Saturday.