Water Polo Wins State
Water Polo
The varsity water polo team was out in force this past weekend in the TISCA Water Polo State Championships at the Cy-Fair Natatorium in North Houston. Opening up against Bridgeland, the Lions nabbed a 32-5 victory. Up next was Brazoswood in the quarterfinals, and again the Lions would jump out to an early lead and cruise to a 27-8 victory. The next morning’s semifinal game saw St. Mark’s take on what was likely the second-best team in the state in Memorial. Memorial scored the first goal of the game, but their lead wouldn’t last long with St. Mark’s scoring the next 4 goals in a row. At the end of the 1st quarter, it was 5-2 and then 9-3 at the half. The Lions would outscore Memorial 9-2 in the 2nd half for an 18-5 victory. In the other semifinal, Strake Jesuit and Dawson played a close match until Strake lost two of their best players to foul trouble in the 4th quarter which allowed Dawson to pull off a 5 goal victory. Memorial would go on to take 3rd place overall with a decisive victory over Strake Jesuit 11-5. Early in the State Championship game, the Lions found themselves behind 0-4. The early game butterflies went away when junior Brett Honaker scored the first goal of the game for the Lions late in the 1st quarter. Despite shooting just 1 for 9 in the 1st quarter, the Lions controlled the pace of play and turned the momentum around in the 2nd quarter. The Lions would go on to score the next 9 goals in a row before Dawson could break their scoring drought, finishing the 3rd quarter up 10-5. St. Mark’s would tack on 2 more goals in the 4th and allowed just one with 13 seconds. Final score: St. Mark’s 12 – Dawson 6. The Lions would outscore their opponents 89-23 on the 4 game weekend. Leo Ohannessian was named the State Tournament MVP, and Brett Honaker (1st team) and Jack Palmer (2nd team) would also take home honors. Ohannessian and Mason Westkaemper led the Lions in scoring for the weekend with 19 goals each, and James Carr allowed the fewest goals of any goalie in the tournament. The Lions finished the season undefeated and won their 2nd State Championship in a row (2019 & 2021 with no tournament in 2020 due to the pandemic).
Track & Field
A few varsity track & field athletes were invited to compete in the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association “Meet of Champions” at Antonian High School in San Antonio this past weekend. Invited were Champions from the UIL State Meet, TAPPS State Meet, SPC Meet, and anyone meeting the high qualifying standard for the meet. On Friday, Sahil Dodda met one of his goals and won the 3200m in a new school record time of 9:10.67. This time eclipsed the old school record of 9:12.40 set by Eric Hawkins way back in 1992. That time also earned him a 1st place finish. Dodda also finished 13th in the 1600m, with his 2nd best time of 4:21.50. Michael Vanesko had a good day, finishing 2nd in the Pole Vault and tying his personal best of 13’ 0. Enoch won his heat of the 300 Hurdles and finished 2nd overall with a time of 38.39. This time was a new PR by over 0.6 tenths of a second. Enoch also placed 9th in the 110 Hurdles, tying his personal best of 14.78 with legal wind. Fisayo Omonije won his heat in the 800m and placed 11th overall with a new PR of 1:57.90. Mike Mendoza had a decent day in the shot put despite the rain, throwing the shot put 43’ 2” to finish in 10th place. A good day for the Lions and a fitting end to the season.
Back
The varsity water polo team was out in force this past weekend in the TISCA Water Polo State Championships at the Cy-Fair Natatorium in North Houston. Opening up against Bridgeland, the Lions nabbed a 32-5 victory. Up next was Brazoswood in the quarterfinals, and again the Lions would jump out to an early lead and cruise to a 27-8 victory. The next morning’s semifinal game saw St. Mark’s take on what was likely the second-best team in the state in Memorial. Memorial scored the first goal of the game, but their lead wouldn’t last long with St. Mark’s scoring the next 4 goals in a row. At the end of the 1st quarter, it was 5-2 and then 9-3 at the half. The Lions would outscore Memorial 9-2 in the 2nd half for an 18-5 victory. In the other semifinal, Strake Jesuit and Dawson played a close match until Strake lost two of their best players to foul trouble in the 4th quarter which allowed Dawson to pull off a 5 goal victory. Memorial would go on to take 3rd place overall with a decisive victory over Strake Jesuit 11-5. Early in the State Championship game, the Lions found themselves behind 0-4. The early game butterflies went away when junior Brett Honaker scored the first goal of the game for the Lions late in the 1st quarter. Despite shooting just 1 for 9 in the 1st quarter, the Lions controlled the pace of play and turned the momentum around in the 2nd quarter. The Lions would go on to score the next 9 goals in a row before Dawson could break their scoring drought, finishing the 3rd quarter up 10-5. St. Mark’s would tack on 2 more goals in the 4th and allowed just one with 13 seconds. Final score: St. Mark’s 12 – Dawson 6. The Lions would outscore their opponents 89-23 on the 4 game weekend. Leo Ohannessian was named the State Tournament MVP, and Brett Honaker (1st team) and Jack Palmer (2nd team) would also take home honors. Ohannessian and Mason Westkaemper led the Lions in scoring for the weekend with 19 goals each, and James Carr allowed the fewest goals of any goalie in the tournament. The Lions finished the season undefeated and won their 2nd State Championship in a row (2019 & 2021 with no tournament in 2020 due to the pandemic).
Track & Field
A few varsity track & field athletes were invited to compete in the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association “Meet of Champions” at Antonian High School in San Antonio this past weekend. Invited were Champions from the UIL State Meet, TAPPS State Meet, SPC Meet, and anyone meeting the high qualifying standard for the meet. On Friday, Sahil Dodda met one of his goals and won the 3200m in a new school record time of 9:10.67. This time eclipsed the old school record of 9:12.40 set by Eric Hawkins way back in 1992. That time also earned him a 1st place finish. Dodda also finished 13th in the 1600m, with his 2nd best time of 4:21.50. Michael Vanesko had a good day, finishing 2nd in the Pole Vault and tying his personal best of 13’ 0. Enoch won his heat of the 300 Hurdles and finished 2nd overall with a time of 38.39. This time was a new PR by over 0.6 tenths of a second. Enoch also placed 9th in the 110 Hurdles, tying his personal best of 14.78 with legal wind. Fisayo Omonije won his heat in the 800m and placed 11th overall with a new PR of 1:57.90. Mike Mendoza had a decent day in the shot put despite the rain, throwing the shot put 43’ 2” to finish in 10th place. A good day for the Lions and a fitting end to the season.
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.
