St. John's Maverick Ramble 2025

The Maverick Ramble did what it always does, turn Spring Branch Park into a private-school showcase and a preview of what's coming at SPC. Created and hosted by Houston St. John's, the meet again drew most of the league's heavyweights plus a slate of strong TAPPS programs, all getting a crucial second look at Tomball's rolling grass and rhythm-changing turns before the SPC Championships return here on Nov. 11.

Even with the lingering late-September warmth, racing was honest up front and deep through the packs-exactly the kind of rehearsal coaches want five weeks out.

Girls Race

St. John's star sophomore Taylor Synnott reminded everyone why she's the defending SPC 4A champion. Already faster than a year ago-with headline efforts of 17:34 (Waxahachie Woodhouse), 18:31 (Texas A&M), and 18:27 (McNeil), she controlled the girls' varsity race from the gun and closed with authority in 18:24.9.

Greenhill's Lilly Williams, last spring's SPC 800m champion and a steady mover in the fall, handled the mid-race surge well to claim second in 19:01.9, a sharp sign she's trending towards November. John Cooper's Raya Al Aghbar delivered the breakthrough of the day, third in 19:30.0 after running 22:38 here last fall and top-15 at SPC 3A. It capped a month that already included a strong 20:05 at Nike South.

Houston Episcopal stacked three in the top ten (Meg Billipp 19:44.7, Palmer Popov 20:07.1, Ashley Conoscenti 20:11.8) despite resting regular scorers, and Kinkaid's Maya Bernal (19:52.7), Hockaday's Aniela Coughlin (20:02.6), and Greenhill's Isabel Bhatia (20:04.0) showed valuable consistency in the chase pack. Duchesne's Mina Poizat (20:14.1) rounded out the top ten and underscored how deep the SPC front is this year.

Girls Varsity - Top 10

In the team battle, the shorthanded defending SPC champions (Houston Episcopal) left the window cracked and St. John's blew it open. The hosts won with 69, riding Synnott's win and a tight mid-pack. John Cooper (82) earned silver with Al Aghbar's podium and solid compression; Episcopal (106) still finished third thanks to that 4-8-9 trio.

Hockaday (117) and Duchesne (122) rounded out the top five, while Greenhill (152) leveraged Williams/Bhatia up front and will be dangerous once the back end closes the gap.

Girls Teams - Scores

2025 Boys Black Race

Boys Races

The boys' Varsity Black race turned into a lively TAPPS-SPC crossfire. Fort Bend Christian's Elijah Savage, third at TAPPS 5A last fall and fresh off a 15:55 PR, made a massive course leap from 16:17 here in 2024 to 15:33.5 for the win, looking smooth and decisive over the final kilometer.

Antonian's John Boland, last year's TAPPS 6A runner-up and one of Texas private school's hottest names (15:11 at A&M, 15:15 at PR'ville), was next in 15:44.0. St. Thomas answered with a potent 3-7 punch: Isaac Knape (15:53.6) and Shaun Benesch (16:20.8), with Knape stacking yet another mid-15 after 15:41/15:53 in September.

SPC's top finishers were St. Stephen's standout Oscar Whiteley Bermeo (4th, 16:09.3) and St. John's captain Andrew Wasserman (5th, 16:15.4), both trending well. Bermeo chopped nearly a minute from last year's mark here, and Wasserman-armed with 1:57/4:21 speed from track, looked like the November version his coaches want.

Providence Classical added depth with Kaeden Beno (6th, 16:16.9) and Elijah Zuniga (8th, 16:22.2), while Houston Homeschools Stephen McClelland cracked the ten in 16:28.0.

Boys Varsity Black - Top 10

The Black team race was jam packed with some of Texas best private school programs. A statement from the hosts: St. John's took the win with 57, fronted by Wasserman (5th) and Caruso (9th) and a well-timed pack behind them.

St. Thomas (92) used its 3-7 pairing to secure second, Antonian (126) bagged another podium for TAPPS, St. Andrew's (127) was just a single point back in fourth, and Providence Classical (193) closed the top five with two scorers in the top eight but a wider back-end gap.

Boys Varsity Black - Team Scores

In the boys' Varsity Red race, Trinity Classical went 1-2 behind Logan Foederer (17:14.8) and Ben Antonio (17:22.3), but the team trophy belonged to Dallas St. Mark's of Texas, which countered with superior depth (4-5-9 inside the top ten) to outpoint Antonian and Trinity in the final math.

St. Mark's looked composed and organized-exactly the template you want to replicate when the lights are brighter in November.

Boys Varsity Red - Top 10

Boys Varsity Red - Team Scores

Maverick Ramble Final Takeaways:

Synnott's command performance anchors St. John's as a favorite on the girls' side if Episcopal's full lineup isn't at 100%, though the Knights' top-three today suggests they'll be a handful once whole. Greenhill, Duchesne, and John Cooper all left with real podium paths.

On the boys' side, St. John's looked like a complete SPC unit-front-end plus depth-while St. Thomas and Antonian showed TAPPS firepower that will keep pushing the SPC squads. With everyone coming back to Spring Branch Park for the SPC meet, the Ramble did its job: it clarified contenders, exposed needs, and set up a compelling November rematch on the very same grass.