SPC Champs: St. Mark’s Volleyball, Hockaday Runner Win Titles
St. Mark’s was no stranger to coming from behind in the SPC boys volleyball tournament.
In the semifinals against Austin St. Stephen’s, the Lions were down two sets and still rallied to advance to the championship match on their home floor.
(ABOVE: St. Mark’s celebrates a thrilling four-set victory over top-seeded Fort Worth Trinity Valley. Photo by Chris McGathey)
When it counted the most, and again after falling behind, St. Mark’s prevailed, beating top seed Fort Worth Trinity Valley, 12-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-11, to win its first SPC title since 2014.
In four previous matches this season, the Trojans had beaten the Lions soundly, losing only one set in the process.
“We finally got the monkey off our back against a very solid Trinity Valley team,” said St. Mark’s head coach Darren Teicher, who has led the Lions to five championships in his 10 years at the helm. “After coming from behind in the third set, our confidence soared. We always believed we could win, even after going 0-4 against them this season. How we played in that last set is what I’ve come to expect from this team, and I could not be more proud.”
Cross Country
Also at the SPC fall championship meet, Hockaday senior Adoette Vaughan claimed her fourth consecutive individual cross country title, winning the girls race by more than a minute over Greenhill’s Maddie Hatfield.
Vaughan completed the 5-kilometer course at Norbuck Park in 17 minutes, 25 seconds, for a pace of 5:36 per mile. She will next compete at the prestigious Foot Locker Cross Country Championship National Finals on Dec. 8 in San Diego. Vaughan finished 11th in the elite race last year.
However, Hockaday couldn’t defend its title in the team standings, finishing fifth overall with an average time per runner of 20:06.
On the boys’ side, St. Mark’s placed second in the team standings behind Austin St. Stephen’s. Seth Weprin (16:06) came in third place for the Lions, followed by teammate Pablo Arroyo in fourth.
Girls Volleyball
ESD won the third-place match in five sets over rival Hockaday, avenging a five-set defeat a week earlier in the regular-season finale.
