Lion Sports Update 01/31

Soccer
After several weather cancellations, the varsity soccer team finally began their SPC North Zone counter season by traveling to Trinity Valley last Tuesday of the MLK break. St. Mark’s took control of the match in the fifth minute when sophomore Henry McElhaney was fouled in the penalty area. He coolly converted the spot-kick and St. Mark’s never looked back. McElhaney would eventually score another goal from a free-kick and add three assists. Juniors Knobel Hunt, Cristian Pereira, and Eric Yoo would each add two goals as St. mark’s dominated play. Junior Robert Pou tallied his first goal of the season to close out the scoring midway through the second half. Seniors William Holtby, Romil Mathur, and Russell Wilner would all record assists, along with junior Christian Shadle. The 9-1 victory meant that the Lions had earned their first three points of the counter season. The next day, St. Mark’s was scheduled to play at Cistercian; however, the foul weather made the Hawks’ field unplayable and it was decided that the match would be played in Hunt Stadium. The match was played at a frenetic pace and the conditions made possession difficult; nevertheless, the Lions were able to create some clear chances. A bit more opportunism or timely finishing could well have put St. Mark’s ahead by a couple of goals at halftime, instead the match remained scoreless until midway through the second half. Cistercian took advantage of a parried shot from a free-kick to score a second-chance goal that would decide the match and give Cistercian a 1-0 victory. For their third match in five days, the Lions traveled to Oklahoma City to play a strong Casady team. The Lions played well, standing their ground under relentless pressure from the Cyclones. Sophomore goalkeeper Stefan Moreno was outstanding, coming up with several saves that kept the Lions in the match. A defensive miscue on an aerial ball saw the Cyclones find space behind the Lion backline and an ensuing break-away resulted in a one goal lead for Casady by halftime. Three minutes into the second half, St. Mark’s earned their equalizer. JuniorHenry McElhaney struck a free kick from 30 yards that was mistaken for a service rather than a shot when junior Eric Yoo made a “dummy” run in front of the Casady keeper. The distraction in front of the goal, coupled with the accuracy of the shot meant that the ball went untouched into the side netting. Inspired by the goal, St. Mark’s played with even more energy, which created an exciting and very competitive match. While it looked for a few minutes as if the Lions might take the lead, they were undone by a goal of the quality rarely seen at the high school level. St. Mark’s fought valiantly to bring the score to level terms; however, Casady converted a late penalty kick to secure a 3-1 victory. Currently in sixth place, the Lions will need strong performances against Greenhill (Friday at 7 p.m.) and Ft. Worth Country Day (Saturday at 2 p.m.) this week to maneuver towards qualifying for the SPC Tournament and a potential 1st round bye. The Lions will host Senior Night on Tuesday, January 28, with the festivities starting at 6:45 p.m. prior to the match.

Wrestling
The varsity wrestling team competed at the 4th Annual Bowie Invitational hosted by Arlington Bowie High School on Friday and Saturday, January 24-25. This tournament had some of the best DIV VI-A and Prep Schools in the area. Due to illnesses/injuries, Orchestra State, and Debate participation, the Lions only sent four varsity wrestlers and five JV wrestlers to compete. Senior Co-Captain Jackson Fair fell one match shy of the placing round on the Varsity side. On the JV side, freshmen Stice Neuhoff and Ross Cunningham both placed fourth. This weekend, the Lions head to St. Thomas in Houston for the Preparatory State Tournament on Saturday, February 1. The top three wrestlers in each weight class qualify for Prep Nationals in Lehigh, Pennsylvania in late February.

Basketball
The varsity basketball team was busy last week with three games. On Wednesday, the team played at Cistercian. The five sophomores on the team all scored in double digits. Colin Smith led the way with 24, Corvin Oprea and Noah Shelby each had 16, and Caleb Vanzant and Tate Laczkowski posted ten apiece. The Lions won the game by a final score of 95-60. On Friday, January 24, St. Mark’s hosted Bishop Lynch. The first Friday night home game of the season made for a boisterous atmosphere, and junior Harrison Ingram used the crowd’s momentum to get things started with some hot shooting that included a buzzer-beating NBA 3-pointer. At halftime, Ingram was honored for scoring the 1,000th point of his career during the team’s superb showing at the American Airlines Center back in November. Ingram finished Friday night’s game with a team-high 19 points, and the senior trio of Eddie Raj, Taylor Hopkin, and Camp Collins overcame exhausting all-state performances for their respective choir/band to help the team seal a 75-51 victory. The following day, the Marksmen club headed north to Oklahoma City for a bout with Casady. The Lions started slowly but overcame an early 10-point deficit thanks to explosive performances from Colin Smith and Harrison Ingram. Knowing full well that this game would likely determine the North Zone’s #1 seed, Smith exploded for 27 points and Ingram for 28 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists, and four blocks. Noah Shelby made multiple 3’s for the third consecutive game since returning from an injury, and St. Mark’s used a fabulous defensive 3rd quarter to ultimately win the game 73-63. This week, the Lions host a pair of conference games: Greenhill at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Ft. Worth Country Day at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.