Lion Sports Update 04/03

Track & Field
The track and field team enjoyed a very successful Friday last week. Three boys, sophomores Colin Bajec and Kit Colson, and freshman Enoch Ellis all qualified for the prestigious Texas Relays held at the University of Texas in Austin. Colin and Enoch qualified in the 110h and Kit in the 100m. Kit came away with a new PR of 10.82. Enoch also came away with a new PR of 15.58. The rest of the team traveled to The Oakridge School and turned in an impressive showing across the board. The team won the varsity meet with a score of 178 points. Leading the way was senior John Harbison who scored 36 points in 4 events. 1st in the Shot Put (huge throw of 45’ 8”), 1st in the 110 hurdles (season-best), 2nd in the Discus (season-best throw), and 2nd in the Pole Vault (seasonal best). In the distance races, senior George Lamb won the 800m with a PR of 2:04.94, freshman Sahil Dodda won the 1600 in a PR of 4:42.45, and senior Seth Weprin won the 3200m in a big PR of 9:42.53 with junior brothers Pablo and Andres Arroyo following right behind to sweep the event with big PRs of their own in 9:43.90 and 9:50.00, respectively. All in all, the team had a very successful day. The Lions had 24 PRs and 4 season bests in the meet! This week the Lions travel to Prestonwood Christian Academy on Friday for the Lions Relays.

Baseball
The varsity baseball team played two away counter games last week. On Tuesday, the Lions traveled to Ft. Worth and faced Trinity Valley. Although junior Mason Rareshide was able to hold Trinity Valley scoreless in the first two innings, multiple errors by St. Mark’s defenders and timely hitting by the Trojans led to the Lions’ demise. Sophomore Alex Zuch pitched admirably later in the game, but St. Mark’s bats were a complete no-show as the team suffered a 0-10 loss. Friday’s contest pitted the Lions against Greenhill. Having put in two quality practices the days before, St. Mark’s played with confidence as the bats came alive in the 4th inning. Sophomore catcher Abe Echt crushed a ball into the wind over the Greenhill center fielder, which tied the game at 3-3. Senior Jack Rocchio (3 hits, 3 runs scored) and junior Aaron Thorne (2 hits, 2 RBIs) highlighted the offense as senior pitchers Cole Arnett and Daniel Mirochna were able to keep Greenhill at bay as the Lions won, 13-5. Now sitting at 2-1 in conference play, St. Mark’s is in a 3-way tie with Greenhill and Oakridge while trailing North Zone leaders Fort Worth Country Day (2-0) and Trinity Valley (1-0). This week, the varsity baseball team plays Bishop Lynch on the road at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday and the host ESD in a crucial SPC counter game on Friday at 5:00 p.m.

Golf
The varsity golf team earned a pair of victories last week and had a strong showing on Monday, April 1! On Wednesday, March 27, 6 golfers played an 18-hole match at Trinity Forest, the home of the PGA’s Byron Nelson, against ESD and Greenhill and posted the following scores: Romil Mathur – 77, Mac McKenzie – 85, Camp Collins – 86, Tony D’Apice – 87, Rex Corey – 88, and Anashay Monga – 89. The Lions’ team total of 423 (best five scores combined) bested ESD’s 429 and Greenhill’s 462. The following day, eight Marksmen competed against Parish in match play at Canyon Creek Country Club. Seniors James Rogers and Alex Tate joined junior Will Rocchio, sophomore William Aniol, and freshmen Jackson Lutz, Jodie Thompson, Matthew Fan, and Will Shoup competed in the event. The matchup appeared pretty even early on, but a rough finish by the Tate/Shoup combo (Alex’s final chip to within inches of the hole pressured his opponent into a 3-putt, and Will battled to halve the 9th) secured victory for St. Mark’s. On Monday, April 1, six Marksmen golfers traveled to The Woodlands for an SPC preview of sorts at Woodforest Golf Club, site of the 2019 SPC tournament on April 29 and 30. Juniors Romil Mathur (78) and Camp Collins (79) led the way for the navy and gold, and classmate, Will Rocchio, notched a pair of impressive birdies in his first 18-hole competitive outing of the season. On the horizon for SM is a match Thursday with Greenhill at Brookhaven and then a tournament Monday morning at Shady Valley Country Club near Fort Worth.

Tennis
On Tuesday, March 26th, the varsity tennis team made the trip to Ft Worth to take on Trinity Valley. The Lions dominated on all five lines, not dropping a single set. SophomoreMark Motlow quickly defeated his opponent 6-2, 6-0 getting the first point for the team. Freshman Jeremy Yu at line 2 played a consistent baseline game to get a lead on his opponent and pulled off a 6-3, 6-1 win. Sophomore Max Palys at line 3 served remarkably well and took down his opponent 6-2,6-3. The line 1 doubles team of seniors Adnan Khan and Matthew Pollock took advantage of their opponents' errors to achieve a solid 6-2,6-2 win. Line 2 doubles of seniors Samir Rattakonda and Sid Vattamreddy did not hold back and played an aggressive game to take down their opponents 6-1, 6-2. On Friday, March 29, the Lions went to Greenhill to take on the Hornets in what turned out to be an epic battle. Line 1 doubles (Khan and Pollock) used communication and cooperation to pull it all together and earn the first point of the match for their team 6-3, 6-1. Line 1 singles became the defining match of the evening, lasting 3 hours. Motlow exhibited relentless fight and determination taking on Greenhill’s Max Motlagh, the #1 player in Texas in U18s, through an arduous and exciting 3-set battle. Mark played some incredible tennis and represented true Marksman spirit eventually falling just short of winning the match 6-3, 3-6, 4-6. At line 2, Jeremy Yu played a very consistent and solid baseline game, making very few errors to defeat his opponent 6-3,6-3. At line 3 singles, Max Palys, playing against his former school, showed complete focus and calmness to close out his match 6-4, 6-3. Line 2 and first time partnership for this season of seniors Samir Rattakonda and Creston Brooks displayed amazing teamwork and used their complementary game styles to achieve a 6-4, 6-2 win. Overall, it was an unforgettable evening of great tennis an all five courts which resulted in a final victory of 4-1 for the Lions. St. Mark’s now sits atop the SPC North Zone standings with a 3-0 conference record. This week, the Lions host Trinity Christian Academy on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. and then face the only other undefeated team in the SPC North Zone, the ESD Eagles, on Friday at 4:30 pm at home in the Hill Tennis Complex.

Lacrosse
The varsity lacrosse team hosted McKinney in a THSLL North District game on Friday night. The Lions won the game 10-0. Senior Connor Cheetham (2 g, 2 asts), senior Lyle Ochs (4 g), junior Colin Campbell (1 g, 1 ast), and junior Charlie Rose (1 g, 1 ast) led the Lions in scoring. Senior John Burton was perfect on the faceoff X for the night while senior Ryan McCord came up with 7 ground balls on the midfield wing and freshman Conor Duffy also scooped 5 ground balls. This week, the Lions travel to play Frisco (at Reedy HS) on Tuesday at 8 pm and host Rockwall on Friday for Senior Night at 7:30 p.m. Both games are important THSLL North District games.

ALUMNI ATHLETE NEWS
Reece Rabin ’18, a freshman pitcher for the Princeton University Tigers Baseball team, recorded his 1st save of his college career in a win over Harvard University on March 30. Reece recorded 4 strikeouts in the multi-inning appearance.

Another Princeton University athlete, Parker Dixon ’16, who is a member of their Men’s Volleyball team, was one of 12 college volleyball players who were picked to represent Team USA in the World University Games on July 3-14 in Napoli, Italy. You can read more HERE.