Lion Sports Update (11/30)

Wrestling
The varsity wrestling team opened the season at the Hillcrest High School Panther Invitational the weekend of Nov. 10-11. Nineteen teams from the following school districts were in attendance, with this year’s pool of teams improving the caliber of this tournament. As a team, St. Mark’s finished seventh place and had four medalists: Quina Perkison (1st), Wyatt Loehr (1st), Beau Bacon (2nd), and Oliver Loehr (4th). The wrestling team then travelled to Marcus HS in Lewisville on Friday, Nov. 17, for a dual tournament which included: Marksmen wrestlers, Marcus HS, Wylie HS, and Lewisville HS. This was the first year the Lions were invited to take on these powerhouse wrestling schools. As such, the team won one and lost one match on the day, but were unable to wrestle Lewisville HS because of time constraints. Also, due to missing four weight classes in the line-up, opponents were gifted up to 24 points to start each dual. The three Lioin co-captains and returning state champions (Quina Perkison, Beau Bacon, and Wyatt Loehr) were undefeated for the day as were William Taylor, Zach Golle and Oliver Loehr. Final match results: Wylie HS (30) vs St. Mark’s (48); Marcus HS (48) vs St. Mark’s (30).
 
Soccer
The Lions’ varsity soccer team began its 2023-24 campaign quite positively against Parish Episcopal amassing a two-goal lead within 20 minutes of kickoff. Senior Alex Soliz scored a brace with assists from seniors Temi Balogun and Reed Sussman. Parish took full advantage of defensive lapses by the Lions to equalize by halftime. Shortly into the second half, junior Vikram Singh proved quite opportunistic in scoring the match winner when he finished senior Ben Adams’ decisive strike on goal that could only be parried by the Parish keeper. On Friday, Nov. 17 against HSAA, the Lions continued to vacillate between moments of brilliance and ineptitude in the ongoing process to refine the quality of their play. Inconsistencies are often prevalent early in the season as a team is in the early stages of establishing an identity. After conceding a goal in the first half of the match, St. Mark’s demonstrated resilience and resolve with two goals during the middle portion of the second half. In the 57th minute, senior Sharang Vyas redirected junior Alden Reagins’ cross to score the equalizer. Ten minutes later, junior Vikram Singh notched his second consecutive match winner with an assist from senior captain Alex Soliz. On an evening when the Lions were missing several starters, the 2-1 victory demonstrated the depth of the team. 
 
Basketball 
The varsity basketball team started the season with a flurry of games beginning with a home bout against DASCHE on Nov. 10. Junior Luke Laczkowski roared out of the gate with a thunderous dunk as part of a 30-point, 16-rebound effort that led the way, but a few late mistakes on the defensive end cost the inexperienced Lions a 65-70 loss. However, the squad would bounce back the next day at the Jimmy Gales Classic Showcase held at South Oak Cliff High School. Despite trailing in the second half to a talented Roosevelt team, St. Mark’s rallied to a 53-41 victory, thanks in large part to freshman Dawson Battie, who followed up Friday night’s 16-boint breakout with a team-high 22 points and nine rebounds. After four strong practices, the ensuing week, the Lions entered their Thanksgiving break with a Friday night home game against familiar conference foe, St. John’s. The Marksmen had defeated their Houston counterpart in the final game of the 2022-23 season, earning SPC 3rd-place honors in the process. Both teams returned the bulk of their starters and added elite youngsters, setting up a high-energy contest in the historic Spencer Gym. The Lions jumped out to a small lead that they maintained for most of the night and then extended in the third quarter, thanks to a pair of clutch scores by junior Jack Baker. However, St. John’s tied the game with under two minutes to play in regulation, and it seemed that overtime might be inevitable; but several game-clinching free throws, along with tough ball security (the senior duo of CJ Ness and Bryan Graham combined for a six assist, two turnover performance) enabled the home team to secure a gutsy two-point win, 67-65.
 
The next day, Nov. 18, the Lions again overcame adversity and emerged victorious against Argyle Liberty Christian. Injuries and illness sidelined two starters, but juniors Lawrence Gardner and Henry Estes notched eight points apiece to help the Marksmen turn a two-point lead late in the third quarter into a double-digit win. After a day off, the boys in navy and blue finished their pre-Thanksgiving schedule with a pair of road games. First, at the Massive Monday Showcase held at Desoto High School, the team used a second quarter surge, ignited by a thunderous dunk from junior Luke Laczkowski (who followed up a 31-point, 14-rebound effort on Saturday with another 24-point, 12-rebound double-double), to seize the lead. Senior Lucas Blumenthal turned in a team-high six assists, and fellow senior Noah Cathey knocked down a late-3 to put a nice bow on the Lions’ convincing victory. However, the script would flip the following night at W.T. White. St. Mark’s showed grit despite lacking a full roster, keeping the game tight near halftime against the talented Longhorns. Late in the game, however, W.T. White’s size advantage wore down the turnover-prone Lions with nine second-half dunks that eclipsed a stellar 30-point scoring performance from the Lion’s Dawson Battie. This week, St. Mark’s will be the lone private school competing in a gauntlet of a tournament held at Lewisville High School. The Lions play Denton High at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening, Nov. 30, followed by games on Friday and Saturday.
 
Swimming 
The varsity swim team has been training hard to start the season. They take the pool for their first competition next Thursday, Dec. 7 at 5:45 pm against several familiar SPC foes, Cistercian and ESD.