Hornets Complete Championship Season on Hardwood 

Greenhill girls, ESD boys among runner-up finishers at conference tournament 

By Mike Waters

Joey Sims emphatically states that Dillon Watt and Jaxson Thompson form the “best backcourt in the state.” 

The dynamic duo validated that praise from the Greenhill boys basketball coach throughout this season, culminating in a convincing 79-65 victory over defending champion Houston Episcopal in February that earned the Hornets their first SPC title in more than a quarter-century. 

“They are my go-to guys,” Sims said. “I don’t think there is a better guard combo around. They have just been tremendous for us all season.” 

Watt and Thompson tossed in 22 points apiece as third-seed Greenhill (29-4) bolted to a 25-11 first-quarter advantage and maintained a double-digit lead in the final three quarters. Thompson ensured Greenhill advanced to the title game, knocking down the game-winning shot with 2.1 seconds remaining against rival St. Mark’s the day before. 

Greenhill, which last won both boys and girls basketball titles the same season in 1999, almost duplicated that feat in the 4A division, but the girls dropped an 80-62 contest to top seed Houston Kinkaid in their championship game. 

“We played a good first half,” said longtime Greenhill head coach Darryn Sandler. “Then Kinkaid really got it going in the third quarter and we never recovered.” 

Greenhill (25-8) was led by sophomore Ava John, who tallied a team-high 24 points. Diya Jain added 16 points, including 14 in the first half. Vivian Franklin, a Cal Poly signee, chipped in with 13. The Hornets were riding a 15-game winning streak entering the title matchup. 

Meanwhile, the Episcopal School of Dallas boys narrowly missed their first SPC championship since 2010, falling to defending champion Austin St. Andrew’s 58-50 in the 3A division. The Eagles (20-14) were paced by sophomore Khizer Salmon with a team-high 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. 

Elsewhere at the SPC winter championships in Fort Worth, Greenhill was the 4A boys soccer runner-up after falling 3-0 to Houston Episcopal. Hockaday lost in the 4A girls championship game 2-1 against Austin St. Stephen’s. 

In swimming, St. Mark’s claimed its third straight SPC team title, and 19th since 2001. Ethan Wang broke school records in the 200-yard individual medley and 100 butterfly, while George Hoverman set a new 100 breaststroke mark. 

The Lions also had three individual gold medalists in wrestling — Ferris Gottlich (113 pounds), Zach Golle (120 pounds), and Wyatt Loehr (165 pounds) — as part of a fifth-place team finish.