Lion Sports Update (3/12)

Track & Field
The St. Mark’s varsity track and field team finally hosted the Double-Dual Meet with Jesuit, Ursuline, and Hockaday after two years of cancellations due to bad weather. The meet was a success, with St. Mark’s easily defeating Jesuit in the one-on-one dual and winning the combined SM/Hockaday vs. Jesuit/Ursuline dual meet. Mateu Parker led the Lions, winning the Long Jump (21’ 3.5” PR), High Jump (6’ 0”), 400m (51.17), and anchoring both the 4x100 and 4x400 Relays. Distance standout Noah Roby also had a successful day, winning the 800m (2:00.31 PR) and 1600m (4:36.56 PR). Brady Wyatt won the Shot Put, and William Morrow claimed victory in the Discus (119’ 4” PR). Overall, the team achieved more than 30 personal records (PRs) throughout the meet. The event was a great celebration of the unique bond shared by the four schools. St. Mark’s was originally scheduled to attend a meet at FWCD, but it was canceled due to weather, preventing the team from participating. The Lions’ next competition will be the First Baptist Rogers Relays on Saturday, March 15.

Baseball
After a strong week of games, the varsity baseball team opened its second week of play against Bishop Lynch on Tuesday evening. Battling high winds and a determined Friar team, St. Mark's threatened in the first inning after loading the bases on a series of walks to Jake DeBoever, Lucas Petrikas, and Jack Frary. However, the Lions were unable to capitalize and left all three runners stranded. Jackson Ostella pitched three innings, allowing four runs (two earned) before handing the ball to relievers Spenser New and Henry Sun. Five defensive errors and ten strikeouts, combined with no hits from the offense, led to a 0-12 defeat in five innings. On Thursday, St. Mark's hosted Pantego Christian Academy (Arlington). Lucas Petrikas pitched well, surrendering seven runs (just one earned) in 4.1 innings before reliever Peter Rubi (1.2 IP, 1 hit, 1 run) took over. Six defensive errors spoiled an otherwise strong pitching effort, and the Lions’ offense managed only eight hits in a 1-8 loss. The following day, the Lions traveled to Cistercian for a non-conference game. Deven Pietrzak pitched 5.2 innings, stifling the Hawks’ bats. After a walk to Jake DeBoever and a double by Jack Frary, Jackson Ostella and Pietrzak plated both runners with productive infield groundouts. Though Cistercian took the lead in the bottom of the third, St. Mark's exploded for six runs in the fifth inning, with key hits from William Everitt, Ostella, Petrikas, and sophomore Marshall Sudbury. The team reduced errors and strikeouts to secure a 10-3 victory. The Lions (4-3 overall, 2-0 in conference play) will face a challenging week before Spring Break, including home games against Mansfield Knights (Tuesday), a non-conference contest against ESD (Wednesday), and an away game at Breckenridge Park against a tough HSAA team (Thursday).

The second week of the varsity tennis schedule presented a few challenges due to weather. A scrimmage against Jesuit on March 3rd was abandoned due to high winds, and a match against John Cooper on March 8th was canceled due to rain. The team will practice this week leading into Spring Break and will resume play on Wednesday, March 26, against Cistercian.

Crew

On Sunday, March 9th, St. Mark’s rowers participated in a 1,400-meter scrimmage on Bachman Lake. The event featured teams from the Dallas Rowing Club, ESD, Hockaday, and Founders Rowing, and followed a Henley-style, head-to-head format. The St. Mark’s 1st Varsity 4x, consisting of Linyang Lee, Eli Kraus, Hewes Lance, and Ian McGowan, easily defeated ESD and DRC in their matchups. The 2nd Varsity crew of Walker Stevens, Jack Shepro, Andrew Hofmann, and Eric Yi also triumphed over ESD’s 1V and 2V as well as DRC’s 1V and 2V. Due to the depth of the roster, the 3V, 4V, and 5V teams raced each other and also competed against the 2V crews from ESD and DRC. In a highlight for the future, St. Mark’s novice rowers, including Harlan Smith, Sebastian Garcia-Toledo, Caleb Ratcliff, and Jack Wilson, defeated DRC’s Novice 4x. Overall, St. Mark’s won 6 of the 9 matchups against ESD and DRC in the 11-race event.

Golf

On March 2nd and 3rd, the St. Mark’s golf team traveled to Bastrop, TX, to compete in the St. John’s Invitational at Lost Pines Golf Club. Wind played a major role, especially on day one, as the Lions struggled early. However, the team showed resilience, with sophomore James Hoak posting five birdies on the back nine. Freshman Rafe O’Rear impressed with a score of 79 in his first competitive outing for St. Mark’s. Heading into day two, the team was in striking distance, but Kinkaid, an SPC rival, overcame an 11-stroke deficit from day one to secure a first-place finish, relegating the Lions to second.

Lacrosse

St. Mark’s varsity lacrosse had a busy week with three games. On Tuesday evening, the Lions hosted Rockwall and delivered a complete team performance in a 13-3 win. Mac Saye led with 7 goals, while JT Teinert contributed 5 assists. On Thursday night, the Lions traveled to Dallas Jesuit and, despite a strong defensive first half, lost 3-12 to the Rangers. The week concluded on Saturday with a close match against McCallie School (TN), where the Lions fell 7-10, unable to break through a two-goal deficit. This week, the team will face ESD on Thursday at 7:00 pm in Hunt Stadium.