It’s been 12 years since the city of Houston has won a state championship in lacrosse, when St. John’s took the title in 2006. It’s been 23 years since a Houston-area public school has won the coveted state title.

The Woodlands Highlanders made history, beating St. Mark’s in Austin on Sunday 10-6 to break the decade-long streak of Dallas teams winning state. The Woodlands is now the power program in the city, having reached the state tourney 5 times over the past decade.

“Winning was the most satisfying feeling,” Notre Dame-signee Ramsey McCreary said. “All the work our team has put in since we first started playing paid off. I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Five different Highlanders scored in the win. McCreary had a goal and two assists in the title game, while Jack Barron (Furman) led all scorers with four goals. Mitch Williams had two goals.

“We are happy to finally give some credibility for Houston as contenders in the state,” Furman-signee Jacob Moore said. “The feeling is indescribable. The most memorable moment was seeing Coach T’s (Keith Tintle) tears when we won.”

Tintle also coached the Kinkaid school before coming over to The Woodlands. Kinkaid won a state title in 1997.

“It feels amazing after playing with my best friends the past four years and finally winning it all,” senior James McDowell said. “Some of the most memorable moments were our Spring Break trips playing in California, the bus rides and just hanging out with the team at team dinners. It’s the perfect ending to four years of high school lacrosse.”