Tennis:

The Lions’ tennis team fell to the St. John’s Mavericks in the finals of the 4A division tournament, losing three matches to one. With the defeat, the team finishes the year at 12-1, breaking its perfect season. The loss marks the fourth consecutive time that the program has fallen to the eventual tournament champion.

Despite the disappointing finish, the Lions had one of the best seasons in program history. The team dominated the entire year, going 52-7 in all combined singles and doubles matches, including eight team sweeps during the season.

Track and Field:

The Lions’ track and field program ended their season with a strong showing in the SPC Championships, earning a bronze medal in the boys 4A division. Due to heavy rain, the majority of the events were moved to Saturday, with only the 4×800 meter relay being completed on Friday.

In the 3200 meter race, Jackson Bailey finished fifth for the Lions with a 9:59.15, and freshmen George Brown and Ward Beasley placed seventh and fourteenth respectively. William Cho ran a 4:30.40 to win bronze in the 1600 meter event, followed by his twin brother Nicholas who finished half a second later for fourth place while Bailey secured the fifth spot as all three runners set new personal records.

Charles Shea competed in the 800 meter run for the Lions, finishing fourteenth. In the 400 meter race, Tripp Schoellkopf’s time of 49.68 earned him the silver medal as Anderson Love placed tenth and Hugh Feferman came seventeenth. 

Schoellkopf also had a strong showing in the 200 meter dash, where he won bronze and set a personal best with a 21.94. Also in the 200 meter, Max Bean ended in seventh and Braden Scott came ninth. Bean ran the 100 meter dash as well, coming in fifth with a time of 11.13, while his twin brother Riggs Bean finished third by running an 11.07. 

Bryce Jone-Quiadoo was the lone Lions’ representative in both 110 meter and 300 meter hurdles. The freshman came in fifth place in the 110 meter race, and ran a personal best of 42.09 in the 300 meter hurdles, good for third place.

In the 4×800 meter relay, the Cho brothers, Shea, and Bailey combined for an 8:23.08 for fifth place. The 4×400 meter squad of the Bean twins, Schoellkopf and Scott earned silver medals for the 3:27.81 performance. The foursome also came second in the 4×100 meter relay with a final time of 42.98.

Omar Jenkins shined in the throwing events for the Lions. The junior tossed the 12-pound shot put 45 feet and nine inches to earn a bronze, then threw the discus 126’ 4” for his second bronze. Dillon Kennedy had a disappointing tenth-place finish in the shot put, but made up for it by hurling his discus 135 feet, a personal record that earned him a silver medal. Eric Zhang was also a solid contributor to the Lions throwing team, placing tenth in the shot put and eleventh in the discus.

Pole vaulter Leo Hughes finished sixth in his event. In the long jump, Love came in seventh, Scott in fifth, and Max Bean jumped almost 22 feet to win his third silver medal. Finally, Love and Scott finished fifth and eighth respectively in the triple jump. The only event where the Lions did not have a qualified athlete was the high jump.

In total, the Lions compiled 139 points over 16 events, earning medals in nine different events. The program took a massive leap forward this year, doubling their points total from last year and moving up three places in the final team standings.

Baseball:

Due to heavy rainfall and lightning in the Houston area, the baseball consolation brackets were eliminated. However, the Lions were scheduled to play the Greenhill Hornets in the sixth-place game, and both sides have agreed to play in Dallas. Although details are still pending, the two teams expect to play on Monday afternoon at St. Mark’s.

Tennis:

Tennis’s matchup against the Kinkaid Falcons was moved to the indoor courts at the Rubenstein Jewish Community Center due to the rain. After a first-round sweep, the Lions continued their quest for the championship with a 3-1 win over the Falcons. Bryan Li dominated as the line one, 6-0 and 6-1. Caden Lim won his match after dropping the opening set, and Aryaman Lahoti and Nathaniel Hochman secured the Lions’ victory, winning their doubles match 6-3, 6-1. The team is now set to face the St. John’s Mavericks in the championship match at Rice University on Saturday, with first sets beginning at noon.

Track and Field:

Almost all track and field events have been moved to Saturday due to the rain, as the only men’s event of the day was the 4×800-meter relay. Nicholas Cho, William Cho, Charles Shea and Jackson Bailey combined to run an 8:23.08, good for fifth in the 4A division.

Baseball:

The Lions’ baseball team dropped a nail-biter to the Kinkaid Falcons, 5-4, in the first round of the SPC tournament.

After a long bus ride, the Lions were gifted two baserunners when Jackson Ostella was hit by a pitch and Jake DeBoever drew a walk. Ostella later stole third, and Thomas Zelenski executed a safety squeeze bunt to plate the Lions’ first run. The Falcons threatened in the bottom half of the inning with runners on second and third and just one out, but starting pitcher Spenser New limited the damage to a single run to keep the game tied after the first.

The Falcons continued their attack in the second when they baited New into a pickoff attempt to force a rundown, but New’s throw sailed above the reach of Ostella, allowing two runs to come across. 

Trailing 3-1, the Lions got runners into scoring position after back-to-back hits by DeBoever and Hudson Da Rosa. Zelenski delivered again, lining a double into the right-field gap to tie the game. However, the Falcons kept their bats hot by stringing together two hits before a groundout and a passed ball plated two more runs. 

In the fourth, the Falcons loaded the bases with two out, prompting a pitching change. Whit Turner entered and immediately recorded a clutch out to halt the Falcons’ rally and swing the momentum back to the Lions. 

After a few quiet innings, the Lions’ offense loaded the bases in the sixth with one out. Freshman Elliott Stone brought in Alex Dahlander on a groundout to cut the lead to one.

Entering the last inning down one run, DeBoever led off with a hard single up the middle to give the Lions a much-needed base runner, but was thrown out trying to steal second. The Lions offense continued to battle, as Da Rosa walked and Zelenski singled, but a strikeout and sharp grounder to the pitcher ended the game.

The Lions pitching staff held its own against a dangerous Falcons’ lineup. New tossed 3 ⅔ innings, giving up eight hits and one walk on a day where the righty didn’t always have his best stuff, but fought through and gave up only three earned runs. Turner came out of the bullpen to throw 2 ⅓ hitless innings where he walked three and hit one Falcon, but did not allow any runs while striking out two.

The Lions’ lineup put pressure on one of the top pitching staffs in the SPC, collecting twelve baserunners including seven hits. DeBoever went 2-3 with a walk and one run scored, and Zelenski had a stellar performance as the sophomore finished 2-3 with a double and three runs batted in.

With the loss, the Lions move into the consolation bracket. The team is scheduled to take on the Greenhill Hornets at Kinkaid starting at 12:30 on Friday, exactly one week after the Lions defeated the Hornets 2-0 during regular season conference play.

Tennis:

An undefeated Lions tennis team started their SPC Championship quest with a dominant, 5-0, performance against the Houston Christian Mustangs. 

The Lions three singles players, Bryan Li, Caden Lim, and Dominic Liaw, all won their matches with two straight bagel sets. In the doubles, the line one pair Aryaman Lahoti and Nathaniel Hochman won 6-1, 6-0. The second doubles team of Lucas Gong and Tejas Allada finished the domination with a 6-0, 6-0 victory. Overall, the Lions won 60 of 61 games and all 10 sets. 

In the semifinals, the Lions will now face the Kinkaid Falcons, who beat the Lions three sets to two last year. First matches are set to begin Friday at 1:00 at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center.

Track:

The Lions track and field team travelled to Houston today in preparation for their competitions which will begin Friday afternoon at Awty International School.