Sports Year in Review: San Marcos High School

It was another exciting sports year for the city of San Marcos, as many of the local schools were able to see success both on and off the field.

The Daily Record takes a look at the Sports Year that was–from Fall 2022 to Spring 2023.

Today is a purple and white recap for the San Marcos Rattlers.

San Marcos High School

It is an exciting time to be a San Marcos Rattler as a number of Rattler Athletics teams were able to represent their alma mater and bring home many gold medals and trophies.

Here is what the Rattlers did for the 2022-2023 Sports Year.

Fall Season

Kicking things off is the fall season sports, taking place both on the gridiron and on the court.

Coming off their first playoff appearance in three years, the Rattlers football team found themselves back in the San Antonio District along with Cibolo Steele, Converse Judson, East Central, New Braunfels and Schertz Clemens.

Unfortunately for the Rattlers, the program was marred by an off the field controversy which saw San Marcos embroiled in an alleged recruiting scandal which SMCISD denies.

The Rattlers were hit with a two-year postseason ban that was ultimately rescinded by the UIL State Executive Committee.

The UIL SEC ultimately gave San Marcos a postseason ban for the 2023 season along with Head Coach John Walsh being suspended for five games.

As of now, SMCISD is currently fighting to reverse the SEC’s decision after a San Marcos investigation revealed that the District Executive Committee allegedly violated several rules of the DEC Handbook and Texas Open Meeting Act when handing down punishments for San Marcos High School.

As for the on the field results, San Marcos battled through the off the field drama-soaked season on route to their second consecutive playoff appearance and a 4-6 regular season record including a thrilling win over East Central to clinch a playoff berth winning with a double reverse pass in the final minute of the game.

On the volleyball court, the Rattlers were also looking to advance to the playoffs for the third consecutive year.

Moving into a new district, San Marcos finished the regular season with a 24-18 record while finishing district play in fourth place to seal another playoff berth for the Rattlers.

One of the key victories of the season was handing rival New Braunfels their only district loss of the season defeating the Unicorns in a thrilling 3-2 five set win.

In Cross Country, the San Marcos Lady Rattlers placed fourth in district with three runners place in the Top 25.

Ally Juarez was the high placer for the Rattlers placing in fourth place with a time of 19:43.050. Kareena Rodriguez placed 16th with a time of 20:46.690 and Aaralyn Julian placed 20th with a time of 21:24.711 On the Boys side, Marcos Morales placed 7th for the Rattlers with a time 16:59.565 Both Juarez and Morales qualified for the Region IV Cross Country Meet.

Winter Season

Much of the focus was on the San Marcos Boys Basketball team as the Rattlers came into the season with high expectations of not only qualifying for the playoffs but also competing for the team’s first district championship since the 1998-1999 season.

But the Rattlers surpassed everyone’s expectations as San Marcos broke a school record for most wins in a season with a record of 38-4, which resulted in capturing the district championship for the first time in over 24 years.

After defeating San Antonio Clark to win their first playoff game since 2016, San Marcos battled a familiar rival in Austin Westlake.

In front of a packed house at Austin Bowie High School, the Rattlers knocked off their former district nemesis to capture the Area Championship.

San Marcos then defeated San Antonio Reagan in another thrilling game as the Rattlers made the Regional Tournament for the first time in 40 years.

San Marcos' season came to an end when the Rattlers fell in the Regional Final to San Antonio Brennan.

On the flip, the Lady Rattlers faced a tough season with a young core of players in what turned out to be a rollercoaster season.

Despite not making the playoffs, San Marcos came away with some positives as the Lady Rattlers defeated both Schertz Clemens and New Braunfels in the final half of district play to end the season on a positive note and set the tone for the next season.

Going from the court to the soccer pitch, it was a rebound season for the San Marcos Lady Rattler soccer team.

Coming off of a 3-16-1 record, the Lady Rattlers bounced back to finish the season with a winning record at 10-8-4 while qualifying for the playoffs.

During the season, San Marcos rattled off four straight wins in the middle of district play to finish in third place including thrilling wins against Judson, Clemens, and Steele.

Though the season ended with a playoff loss to San Antonio Reagan in the Bi-District Round of the playoffs, San Marcos looks to make a return trip to the playoffs next season.

Boys Soccer had their rough goings during the season as the Rattlers just missed out of the playoffs but look to remain in contention for next season.

On the wrestling mat, the Lady Rattlers led the way sending three wrestlers to the State Championships with Kaylynn Martin, Anisa Moreno and Jesyka Banda who all captured Regional Medals.

Capping off a gold medal performance in the Region IV Tournament, Moreno was the highest placing Rattler at the State Tournament finishing with a fourth place finish while Banda placed fifth.

Not to be out done was Senior Ezra Mendez of the San Marcos Powerlifting Team.

Mendez capped off her senior year by out only qualifying for State after missing out last year but also bringing home the bronze medal at the State Meet.

Also qualifying for the State Powerlifting meet on the boys side were seniors Zach Decker and Ezequiel Davila.

Spring Season

Much like the basketball team, the Rattler baseball team was coming into the season with high expectations of winning their first district championship in quite some time.

San Marcos exceeded expectations as the Rattlers battled through a tough district on route to capturing the district championship which included a three-game sweep over rival New Braunfels.

One of the highlights of the season was the thrilling playoff series against San Antonio Churchill which saw an exciting game three be played at two different stadiums whilst seeing both benches clear.

In the end, the Rattlers captured the Bi-District Championship to cap off another successful season while also seeing Head Coach Bryan Webb make history by winning his 400th career game.

To the mound into the pitching circle, San Marcos softball saw their season be marred by injuries.

Despite the lows, the Lady Rattlers did see some highs as San Marcos handed East Central, who ended their season in the Regional Final, a district loss in a 2-1 win for the Lady Rattlers.

Capping off both the spring and the year was Senior Exavion Harris who became the first San Marcos Track Athlete to qualify for the State Track Meet in a decade.

Harris finished his track career placing in fourth place in the triple jump.