Homecoming

STRONG. TOGETHER.

The St. Mark’s community comes together for Homecoming after a devastating tornado hits campus.

Just as Sean and the Athletic Department were scrambling to untangle the logistical headache before them (rescheduling or canceling practices, salvaging athletic equipment, contacting players and coaches), St. Mark’s peer schools reached out to offer their support – and their athletic facilities.

Homecoming 2019 was set to be a showdown between the Lions and the Greenhill Hornets. This annual matchup is a longstanding tradition for both schools as, each year, fans cheer their respective teams to victory. But this year, Greenhill stepped up to help its fellow SPC school when disaster struck, opening its stadium to host the Homecoming football game.

Sean Lissemore was just four months into his tenure as St. Mark’s new Director of Athletics when the unthinkable happened. A tornado ripped through campus, striking a direct blow to some of the School’s core athletic facilities.

As Sean surveyed the damage the next morning, one thought weighed heavily on his mind: St. Mark’s Homecoming was just four days away. Hicks Gym was destroyed. Hunt Stadium suffered damage and was littered with debris. Preston Road was closed in both directions between Royal and Walnut Hill. Clearly, there was no way the School could host the volleyball and football games on Friday night. “When we woke up Monday morning and realized what had happened, we knew St. Mark’s would need a place to play its game,” Greenhill Athletic Director Jarrett Shine told NBC5 News. “We’re still going to compete when we’re out there on the field, but at the same time, we still have to have love for one another.”

Likewise, the Hockaday School opened its doors to the Lions. By Tuesday, just two days after the tornado, the varsity football team was geared up on a newly striped field on the Hockaday campus, practicing for the big game. On Wednesday, Trinity Valley School worked with its volleyball equipment supplier to provide the Lions with new gear.

(opposite) The varsity football team during the national anthem before playing Greenhill

(below) Matthew Raroque ’20 sets the Lions attack

(bottom) Athletic Director Sean Lissemore thanks members of the Greenhill football team

Still, as cleanup and repairs began, Eugene McDermott Headmaster David W. Dini instructed administrators to focus attention on things that were mission-critical to the boys. Sean could think of nothing more critical than preserving the tradition of Homecoming: “Establishing a sense of normalcy was important and bringing everyone together helped with the healing process. Life is very unpredictable and, while the impact of this storm was significant, the strength and resilience of our community proved to be much more powerful.”

(above right) The banner hangs outside of the Hockaday gymnasium

(below) Toby Nwafor ’20 jumps up for the spike

(below right) Jack Palmer ’21 shows off his St. Mark’s Strong button

Finally, on Friday, October 25, the St. Mark’s

community gathered to celebrate Homecoming

2019. The evening began with the varsity volleyball

game, held at Hockaday’s Penson Athletic Center.

Hanging above the gym was a giant blue and

green banner reading: “St. Mark’s ♥ Hockaday.

Strong. Together.”

Walking in, varsity volleyball players realized that Penson had been transformed, starting with the St. Mark’s volleyball net and pads retrieved from Hicks Gym. The poster-sized senior player portraits had been reprinted and hung behind the home stands. A squad of Hockaday students even donned their St. Mark’s cheer uniforms as the Lions faced off against the Hornets. An energetic student section, all wearing blue “St. Mark’s Strong” buttons, cheered the Lions on to a 3–0 victory.

“That whole night, Hockaday did everything they could to make their gym feel like our home,” volleyball team captain Sam Ahmed ’20 wrote in an article for the Dallas Morning News. “As we finished the three-set match, we shook hands with the Greenhill players and immediately exchanged expressions of concern and support for both of our communities.”

Homecoming then moved to The Greenhill School’s Brinkmann Field for the varsity football game. Once again, every effort was made to welcome the Marksmen. Greenhill repainted its yard lines blue and wrapped its goalposts with Lions padding, and even painted over the ‘G’ at the 50-yard line. St. Mark’s teacher Scott Gonzalez was invited to call the game over the loudspeaker, as he always does at home games. Despite a chilly drizzle, traditions continued with the presentation of the Homecoming Court at halftime and recognition of senior football players, band members, cheerleaders, athletic trainers, Spurs, and Super Fan Men. To cap off the night, the Lions won 25–0.

Off the field, the Homecoming games took on an even greater meaning. For the first time in more than a week, the community was together. Students, teachers, parents, alumni, and friends shared hugs and a few tears. Families asked how others

(left) Students celebrate their Homecoming victory

(below left) Senior football players with their parents

(below) Conor Duffy ’22 leaps to make the catch

Stories quickly spread about how families had offered their homes to neighbors who’d suffered damage, or how a group of students had met up in Preston Hollow to help clean yards.

had fared. Whose homes were damaged and who was in need of help? Stories quickly spread about how families had offered their homes to neighbors who’d suffered damage, or how a group of students had met up in Preston Hollow to help clean yards. For all of the touchdowns and cheering, this Homecoming was much more than a game. It was a chance for a community, rocked by a terrible disaster, to reconnect and begin to heal.

“There was a strong sense of sportsmanship amongst both teams as well as a great mutual respect for each other,” Sean said. “While it was a very competitive game, everyone realized that this difficult situation transcended sports. The big picture was that we needed to lean on each other to move forward. The positive attitude expressed on and off the field exemplifies the strength, character, and resilience on which Marksmen pride themselves.”