Arbuckles, Greenhill Swim to SPC Titles
Both of the Arbuckle swimming siblings brought plenty of hardware home to Greenhill from the SPC championship meet on Saturday.
The Hornets dominated the SPC 4A girls division and 3A boys division at the meet in Houston, while St. Mark’s claimed the 4A boys crown.
Josie Arbuckle wrapped up her decorated high school career with five gold medals, highlighted by a meet record in the 100-yard backstroke. She also won the 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley and contributed to victories in the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay.
Meanwhile, younger brother J.J. also won a quintet of events, shattering two meet records in the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke. The sophomore also finished first in the 100 butterfly and anchored two of Greenhill’s three winning relays.
Other individual gold medalists for the Hornets included Zachary Geller (meet record in the boys 100 freestyle) and Avery Lonergan (girls 200 freestyle).
St. Mark’s used its depth to earn a title despite winning no individual events. The only gold for the Lions came in the 200 freestyle relay, with a meet record courtesy of Adrian Lutgen, George Hoverman, Ethan Wang, and Miller Martin).
In other sports, Hockaday was upset in its quest for a fifth consecutive championship in 4A girls soccer. The Daisies scored shutouts in each of their first two games in the tournament before falling to Houston Episcopal in penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in the final. It was Hockaday’s first loss to a private-school opponent all season.
St. Mark’s suffered a similar fate as the top seed in 4A boys basketball. The Lions cruised through the first two rounds before stumbling against Episcopal 62-55 in the championship game.
Freshman standout Dawson Battie scored 20 points and Luke Laczkowski added 14 to lead St. Mark’s (24-8), which had its 13-game winning streak snapped.
Greenhill took third place in 4A girls basketball, and Episcopal School of Dallas did the same in 3A boys soccer.
In wrestling, Houston St. John’s edged out St. Mark’s for the title for the seventh straight year, as the two rivals battled for the top spot in several weight classes.
Among the individual champions for the Lions were Chali Perkison (106 pounds), Willam Taylor (150 pounds), and Wyatt Loehr (175 pounds). ESD’s Brett Dopona was the heavyweight gold medalist.
