Sandite Recruiting Report: Nine Sandites Sign College LOIs

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#55 Marcus Sims, middle, signed with NWOSU and #2 Kenneth Page, right, was offered by NSU. (Photo by Charity Emigh).

Nine seniors from Charles Page High School signed letters of intent to play collegiate sports Wednesday morning at the Ed Dubie Field House on National Signing Day.

For the football team:

Offensive linemen Mason Harris, Marcus Sims, and Marcum Sims and linebacker Keagan Gilman signed to play at Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

Marcus, a 6’1”, 270-pound guard picked Northwestern over offers from Southwestern College, Langston University, and Kansas Wesleyan University.

Marcum (5’11”, 225-pounds) didn’t announce any other offers prior to committing to Northwestern on Tuesday, nor did Harris, a 6’0”, 260-pound center.

Gilman (5’10”, 190 pounds) picked Northwestern over Bethel College. He had 58 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 3 fumble recoveries this season.

Marcus and Gilman were All-District selections this year while Marcum was an All-District Honorable Mention. Harris was an All-District and OCA All-Star selection.

Northwestern is an NCAA Division II program competing in the Great American Conference. The Rangers went 1-10 this year in a rebuilding season under first-year head coach Ronnie Jones.

The assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the program is Jason Medrano, who coached offensive line at Sand Springs for two seasons before joining the Rangers.

The four seniors will be reunited with fellow Sandites Blake Jones, Drake Fain, Kyle Morrall, and Jacob Blevins, who also followed Medrano to Northwestern.

Offensive lineman Tyler “Tank” Smith (5’10,” 285 pounds) signed with Hendrix College, a Division III program in Conway, Arkansas.

The Warriors compete in the Southern Athletics Association and went 3-7 last season under 11th-year head coach Buck Buchanan.

Smith was an All-District selection and chose Hendrix over offers from McPherson College and Southwestern College.

Lineman Evan Williams (5’10”, 215 pounds) signed to play at Bethel College, an NAIA program in North Newton, Kansas.

The Threshers went 6-5 last season in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Championship under first-year head coach A.B. Stokes.

Several other football players have received offers but have yet to commit or sign.

Senior linebacker Owen Floyd (6’0” 190 pounds) holds offers from Oklahoma Baptist University, Hendrix College, Oklahoma Wildcats Prep, and Kansas Wesleyan University.

Senior running back Kenneth Page (6’0” 190 pounds) holds two offers from Northeastern State University and Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Senior defensive end Dallas Elifrits (6’1”, 230 pounds) holds offers from McPherson College and Bethel College.

Sophomore lineman Ryley Kester (6’4” 270 pounds) holds offers from North Texas, UNLV, Houston, Tulsa, Georgia Tech, Texas Tech, and Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Sophomore quarterback Easton Webb (6’3” 175 pounds) is committed to playing baseball at Oklahoma State University, but he also holds a Division I football offer from UNLV.

Sophomore receiver Brock O’Dell (5’10” 170 pounds) holds one college offer from Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Junior receiver Kooper Kelly holds one offer from Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Girls Basketball

5’10” forward KiAryn Taylor signed with Ranger College, an NJCAA program in Ranger, Texas.

Taylor averaged 8.6 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.4 steals over the first five games of the season before tearing her ACL. She chose Ranger College over Cleveland Community College, Western Texas College, and Lincoln Trail College.

The Rangers are 4-19 this season under first-year head coach Mark Morefield.

5’7” guard Taiona “Yonnie” Morris signed with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, an NJCAA team in Miami.

Morris is averaging 10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 2.1 steals per game this season, leading the team in scoring six times.

5’3” senior guard Sakauri Wilson signed a letter of intent to play at Southwestern Oklahoma State University on Wednesday, November 8th.

Boys Golf

Zane Downey signed with Southern Nazarene University, an NCAA Division II program in Bethany, Oklahoma.

The Crimson Storm competes in the Great American Conference, taking third place in the GAC Preview tournament in September and seventh in last year’s GAC Championship in April. They are coached by Derrick Taylor in his 13th year.

Downey was an Academic All-Conference selection last year, placing as high as third at the Muskogee tournament last season.

Mason Ward signed with Coffeyville Community College, an NJCAA program in Kansas. The Red Ravens placed 10th in the KJCCC Championship last season under fourth-year head coach Conner Murrell.

Ward was an Academic All Conference selection in 2022 and an All-Conference Honorable Mention in 2023 as a State qualifier. Ward took first place at the Jenks S.L.A.M. event last year.

Baseball

Senior RHP/OF Cole Pearson (6’2” 150 pounds) signed to play at McPherson College next season.

McPherson is an NAIA program competing in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Bulldogs went 37-16 overall and 26-7 in conference play last season. The program is led by Chris Dawson in his first year.

Six Sandite baseball players signed letters of intent to play college ball on November 8th.

Senior INF/RHP Jackson Stewart (5’11” 195 pounds) signed with McPherson College.

Senior RF/LHP Kayden Campbell (5’9” 165 pounds) signed with Cowley County Community College.

Senior right-handed pitcher Eli Buxton (6’6” 185 pounds) signed with Arizona State University.

Senior OF/LHP Miller Tavaglione (6’2” 190 pounds) and senior INF/RHP Jace Arnold (6’2” 180 pounds) signed with Allen County Community College.

Senior INF Wyatt Rutledge (6’2” 170 pounds) signed with Northern Oklahoma College at Enid.

Softball

Senior RHP/INF Kelsi Hilton signed an LOI with Southern Nazarene University on November 8th.

Junior RHP/IB/OF Addison Hughes announced on X this week that she has received an offer to play at Southwestern Christian University in Bethany. She also holds offers from East Central University, Oklahoma Wesleyan University, and Coffeyville Community College.

Boys Basketball

6’4” junior guard Deke Thompson holds one offer from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Soccer

Two senior soccer players signed LOIs on November 8th.

Senior Ava Watts signed to play Division I soccer at Texas A&M-Commerce.

Senior Kate Webb signed to play at University of the Ozarks.

Coaches, players, and parents can send recruiting updates to sanditepridenews@gmail.com.

Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Girls Soccer Wins Collinsville Tournament

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Track and Field

The Sand Springs junior high team kicked off its season at Ft. Gibson with several first-place finishers.

Avery Voight won at 110- and 300-meter hurdles; Kaizen Freese won in high jump; Cole Higgins won the 800-meter run; Chloe Grona won the 1600-meter run; and the seventh-grade boys won the 3200-meter relay.

Golf

It was a three-way race to lead the team at the Jenks tournament as Mason Ward, Zane Downey, and Coleman Hight all scored 85s and Cameron Villines was right behind them at 86. Next up is the Rock Creek Tournament at Sapulpa on April 12th.

Soccer

The Lady Sandites soccer team (5-2) wrapped up a successful non-district slate with a tournament title Friday, March 24th at Collinsville.

Sand Springs won 2-0 against Bartlesville JV and 3-0 against Durant (3-6) before taking down Oologah-Talala (7-2) in penalty kicks in a rematch of the previous year’s finals.

Ava Watts scored the team’s lone goal in regulation and a save from Sophia Hart secured the 5-3 shootout victory to repeat as tournament champions.

The Sandites suffered a 4-3 loss in their district opener Friday at Enid (5-2) despite a hat trick from Alyssa Cunningham.

The shorthanded visitors were down to only 12 players, missing leading scorer Watts as well as Jayden Ellenburg and Avery Miller. Those three are expected to be back in the lineup by next week but Carson Sargent also suffered a sprained ankle during the match.

Sand Springs rallied from a 2-0 deficit and tied it at 3-3 but the Pacers pulled ahead on a 25-yard penalty kick from Ava Burnett late in the match.

The boys (4-1) suffered their first loss of the year, 2-1 at Enid (6-3). The Plainsmen took a 2-0 lead before Nic Roberts averted the shutout with a penalty kick in the second half.

Both teams will return to action Tuesday at Jenks before hosting Choctaw Friday for Senior Night.

Tennis

The Lady Sandites had a successful outing at the Skiatook quad Wednesday against Skiatook and Victory Christian.

Kira Shipley defeated her Skiatook opponent 6-1, 6-1 in No. 1 Singles and Daffaney Snyder won 6-0, 6-0 against Victory Christian in No. 2 Singles.

Caitlin Shipman and Abigail Dunn won 2-0 against both Victory and Skiatook in No. 1 Doubles, beating the Conquerors 6-0 in both sets and the Bulldogs 6-4, 6-2.

Mary Alvarez and Stephanie Horton won 6-2, 6-0 against Victory in No. 2 Doubles.

Sand Springs will host a home event against Rejoice Christian and Sapulpa on Monday, April 10th.

Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Jabe Schlehuber Pitches One-Hit Upset of Owasso

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The defending 6A State Baseball Champion was toppled Tuesday, March 7th, as Jabe Schlehuber pitched a one-hit shutout against Owasso (4-3, 1-1).

The NOC Enid-signed senior tossed eight strikeouts in seven innings to deal the Rams their first loss of the season while also going 2-of-3 at the plate with a run and two RBIs.

Sand Springs (3-1, 1-1) won the game 8-0 after jumping out to an early 6-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to three walks, two errors, Schlehuber’s two-run double, and a two-run single from Brody Rutledge.

Alex Dudley and Jackson Turney added RBI singles in the third and fourth innings to pad the lead.

The victory paid back a 4-0 loss to start district action the night before.

The Sandites departed for their annual Spring Break tournament Saturday night and will compete at the Tate Aggie Classic in Pensacola.

Powerlifting

The Lady Sandite powerlifting team took fifth place at the OGPCA State Championship meet with two placers.

Jaden Jordan finished as runner-up at heavyweight, placing fourth in squat (370) and bench (160), while setting the OGPCA State Meet record in deadlift at 420 pounds.

Madison Thompson took fourth place at 220, finishing third in squat (325) and deadlift (330) and fifth in bench (150).

Golf

The Sand Springs varsity boys took second place in their season opener at the Muskogee Golf Invitational at Muskogee Golf Club behind a third-place performance from Zane Downey.

Downey shot 74, Cole Hight shot 78, Mason Ward scored 80, Cameron Villines scored 83, and Drew Paden scored 90.

Eastyn Eardley led the varsity girls with a 104 at their season opener in Sapulpa, Addison Endicott shot 114 and Kaylee Brenner scored 117.

Wrestling

Mitchell Smith was selected to represent the Large East at 150 pounds in the OCA All-State Duals. Smith went 108-35 in his career as a four-time State qualifier and two-time placer.

Sandite Weekly Sports Roundup: Basketball Sweeps Roughers, Athletes Sign LOIs

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Sandite basketball swept the Muskogee Roughers Friday night with the varsity boys winning 72-65 while the girls won 63-41.

The 6A-East No. 6 Lady Sandites (12-5, 5-3) never trailed against No. 14 Muskogee. It was still a close game at 39-31 entering the fourth but the Sandites steamrolled the Roughers 24-10 in the final stanza.

Hailey Jackson scored 24 points to lead all scorers, Taiona “Yanni” Morris added 13, Sakauri Wilson had 9, and three different Sandites scored 5 apiece.

“We’re starting to play better as a unit,” said head coach Josh Berry. “We have more people stepping up.”

Sand Springs will have to cover six games over the final two weeks after meetings with Bartlesville and Booker T. Washington were postponed due to weather. This is the second time the Washington game has been rescheduled.

“This is our second game in 17 days,” said Berry. “It’s a bit different from when we start the season out with eight games in like 14 days.”

“We’re rested and we’re ready to go. It’s nothing that we can control so we just try to get better.”

The No. 11 Sandite boys (9-8, 2-6) snapped a five-game conference skid and got back above .500 overall with a win over the No. 15 Roughers (3-13, 0-9).

The Sandites led 34-27 at halftime but a seven-point run put the Roughers up 45-44 entering the final stanza.

Jamarian Ficklin tied it for the final time at 52-52 but Kooper Kelly hit a pair of free throws and layed up on a steal to put his team ahead for the final three minutes of the game.

Kelly tied his career-high with 20 points to lead all scorers while Luke Hooper also had a career night with 15 points.

“Any conference win, especially on the road, is a good feeling,” said head coach Eric Savage.

“In the past we’ve kind of lost our composure. A couple of times this wear we gave up the lead and never got it back. We showed some growth tonight and were able to weather the storm and get back in control late in the fourth quarter.”

Sand Springs will travel to Bixby on Tuesday and Bartlesville on Thursday before hosting Sapulpa Friday night.

Signing Day

School may have been canceled, but the festivities couldn’t be stopped Wednesday morning at the Ed Dubie Field House. Sand Springs celebrated 10 student-athletes who signed letters of intent to continue their careers at the collegiate level.

Many of the players will get to enjoy Sand Springs connections on their new rosters.

Kyle Morrall, Jacob Blevins, and Drake Fain signed with Northwestern Oklahoma State University to play Division II football. There they will be reunited with former Sandite assistant coach Jason Medrano, who recently took over as Offensive Coordinator for the Rangers.

Brody Rutledge signed to play Division II football at Northeastern State University. There he will join former Sand Springs teammates Gabe Brown, Landon Hendricks, and Blake Jones.

Dominic Ornelas and Jabe Schlehuber signed to play junior college baseball together at Northern Oklahoma College in Enid.

Carson Sargent signed to play Division II soccer at Rogers State University, where she will join former teammates Ali Day and Karsen Lynch.

Payton Robbins signed to play NAIA volleyball at Friends University in Kansas, where she’ll be reunited with Sandites Tehya Johnson, Charley Fahland, and Kasidy Holland.

Madori Bland signed with the stunt team at Drury University, a Division II program in Missouri.

Coleman Hight signed to play NAIA golf at Southwestern College in Kansas.

Baseball

Freshman quarterback Easton Webb has been getting lots of attention as a football prospect, but on Friday he announced his commitment to Oklahoma State University as a baseball player before ever playing a varsity minute.

Sand Springs will kick off the preseason with a home scrimmage against Sapulpa on the 16th at 4:30 p.m.

Girls Powerlifting

The Sand Springs girls powerlifting team took second place at the All-American Lift-a-thon in Shawnee Saturday with two champions. The Sandites had 137 team points, just behind Choctaw with 141.

Madison Thompson won the 220 weight class, sweeping all three events. She benched 140, squatted 285, and deadlifted 295.

Jaden Jordan won at heavyweight, taking first in squat at 335 pounds, first in deadlift at 375, and third in bench at 155.

Melani Skelly placed third, Gracie Worthington placed fourth, and Bailey Doughty and Kiyah Dover placed fifth.

Sandite Baseball clinches home Regional, Layne Kirkendoll wins Conference Championship

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

For the first time since 2011, the Charles Page High School baseball team (29-6, 11-3) has clinched a home regional tournament after winning its final two district games last week.

The Sandites won 4-0 against Putnam City North (8-27, 3-11) Monday at home before steamrolling the Panthers 25-7 Tuesday on the road.

Jabe Schlehuber (6-1) tossed a complete game one-hitter on Monday with 10 strikeouts and Keaton Campbell scored one run and two RBI.

Dom Ornelas blasted his team-leading eighth home run of the season on Tuesday and the Sandites talled 20 hits in their highest-scoring game since 2016. Eli Buxton (3-1) threw six strikeouts against two hits in three innings.

On Thursday the Sandites paid back an 8-0 loss from earlier in the season by defeating Highway 97 rival Sapulpa 18-5. 

Kayden Campbell (4-0) threw three strikeouts and allowed two hits against the Chieftains (26-9) for the win, and Keaton Campbell and Ty Pennington both hit home runs to lead a 16-hit Sandite effort.

The regular season ended in a 4-3 loss to Westmoore (25-10) on Saturday. Buxton took his first loss of the year, throwing three hits and three strikeouts in 1.1 innings. 

Five pitchers combined to allow only five hits in the loss, and the Sandites managed 10 hits of their own but stranded nine runners.

Fishing

Hunter Spencer and Hayden Lowrance won first place in the Oklahoma Bass Nation youth event on Keystone Lake, Sunday, April 24th. The duo caught five fish totaling 16.54 pounds, including the 4.37-pound big bass.

Caden Strawn and Drew Turner were runners-up with five fish weighing 16.47 pounds, including a 3.93 pounder. 

In the high school division the Sandites were led by Mack Taylor and Parker Haling with five fish weighing 13.15 pounds for ninth place.

Eli Rogers and Caden Shea placed 10th with five fish weighing 13.09 pounds. Nathan Griffin and Jaxon Trotter placed 11th with five fish weighing 12.87 pounds. 

Gabriel Castellano and Dallas Elifrits were 32nd with three fish weighing 7.07 pounds. Cruz Norris and Gunnar Casey were 56th with a 3.05-pound fish.

Disc Golf

40 players turned out for the Sand Springs Showcase PDGA C-Tier one-round tournament at Case DiscGolfPark on Sunday, April 24th. 

Tyler Oakes won the Open division with a 51, Hueston Kratz won Advanced with a 52, Sonny Dalesandro won Intermediate with a 49, Joshua Pauley won Recreational with a 55, and Joshua Loustaunau won Novice with a 56.

Samantha Russell won Advanced Women with a 69, Jimmy Haase won Amateur Masters 40+ with a 56, Jude Henry won Amateur Masters 50+ with a 61, and Shane Chester won Junior 15U with a 69.

Softball

The CPHS slow pitch softball team ended the season with a 7-14 record after falling 10-2 to Guthrie and 19-1 to Jenks at Regionals on Wednesday.

Golf

Zane Downey scored an 81 and Mason Ward shot 84 to lead the Sandites at the Skiatook tournament on Wednesday. Seth Benton scored 89, Drew Paden scored 91, and Cameron Villines scored 94.

The girls ended their season Tuesday at the Ponca City regional tournament. Gina Foster shot 110 and Madison Chambers scored 112.

Track and Field

The Sand Springs boys took 10th and the girls placed eighth at the Frontier Valley Conference track meet at Union High School on Friday with one champion.

Layne Kirkendoll won the long jump at 19 ft. 1.5 in. to break her own school record of 18 ft. 8 in. She also placed fourth in the high jump at 5 ft. 2 in.

Matthew Shelton placed fourth in shot put at 46 ft. 10 in. Jestin Rawlins placed sixth in discus at 139 ft. 6 in. The girls 4x800 relay team placed fourth in 11:04.84.

Tennis

The CPHS girls tennis team split with Sapulpa on Thursday. Sapulpa won the Singles match, but Caitlin Shipman and Daffaney Snyder won 6-2, 7-5 in Doubles.

Sand Springs weekly roundup: Eli Buxton pitches perfect game in 20-0 shutout of US Grant

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Left to right: Abbie Dunn, Daffaney Snyder, Caitlin Shipman. Courtesy of Dana Peacock.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School baseball team (26-5, 9-3) started last week with a pair of run-rule district shutouts, 18-0 and 20-0, at U.S. Grant (1-14, 0-7) before taking on Oologah-Talala, Bixby, and Tahlequah in non-district play.

Jabe Schlehuber (5-1) threw a five-inning one-hitter with seven strikeouts in the first game and Keaton Campbell went 4-for-4 at the plate with two runs and five RBI to lead a slugging crew that amassed 15 hits.

Eli Buxton (2-0) pitched a perfect game in the nightcap, tossing 11 strikeouts as the visitors recorded 14 hits. 

Keaton Campbell continued his dominant night at the plate, going 2-of-3 with three runs, three RBI, and a triple. Ty Pennington was 2-of-2 with three runs, three RBI, and a home run, and Jace Arnold was 2-of-2 with two runs, three RBI, and a triple. 

On Thursday the Sandites traveled to Oologah (15-9) and won 11-4 while out-hitting the Mustangs 12 to six. 

Kayden Campbell (3-0) tossed eight strikeouts with five hits and two walks in five innings, while Gage Elliott threw one hit, one strikeout, and one HBP in two innings of relief. 

Keaton Cambpell led at the plate, going 3-of-5, while Schlehuber scored one run and three RBI.

The Sandites’ six-game win streak came to an end on Senior Night in a 17-7 run-rule loss to Bixby (27-5).

The Spartans scored five runs in the first, second, and third innings and out-hit the Sandites 17 to eight with nine home runs.

John Keim (4-1) took his first loss of the season, tossing two hits, five walks, and three strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning. Elliott threw 10 hits, one strikeout, and one walk in two innings, and Wyatt Rutledge threw five hits and one walk in 2.1 innings.

The Sandites also had strong offensive performances in the second and fourth innings, but couldn’t stymie the Spartan bats that combined for nine homers.

Pennington went 2-of-3 with two runs, three RBI, and a home run, and Keaton Campbell hit a solo homer.

Prior to the game the Sandites celebrated seniors Carson Seabolt, Jacob Shields, Cale Askew, Keaton Campbell, Jason Clark, Brooks Dudley, Nathan Gibson, Gabe Glenn, Keim, Ethan Norton, Pennington, and manager Avery Tanner.

Sand Springs wrapped up the busy week with a high-noon showdown at Tahlequah (9-19) and won 16-3 in five innings.

Arnold (6-0) got the win on the mound, tossing three hits, six strikeouts, and no walks in four innings. Buxton threw two strikeouts and one walk, surrendering one hit in an inning of relief.

Glenn and Dom Ornelas both hit home runs and the team amassed 11 hits overall.

Sand Springs will wrap up the regular season with a district home-and-away series against Putnam City North Monday and Tuesday, followed by home games against Sapulpa Thursday at 6:00 p.m. and Westmoore Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

Softball

The No. 15 Sand Springs slow pitch team (7-12) picked up an 11-8 upset win against No. 8 Union (15-16) Tuesday but fell 8-0 to Bixby in the evening game and 16-7 to No. 5 Jenks (23-8) in Thursday’s regular season finale.

The Sandites will travel to Jenks for a three-team Regional tournament on Wednesday, April 27th, with a first-round game against No. 14 Guthrie (12-8) at 10:00 a.m. 

Sand Springs has yet to play the Bluejays this season, but they’re 1-2 against Jenks, upsetting the Trojans 7-5 at the Haskell tournament in March.

Golf

Gina Foster shot a 103 and Madison Chambers shot 116 at the Frontier Valley Conference Championship in Bartlesville on Wednesday. Chambers scored 108 and Foster scored 110 at the Skiatook tournament on Thursday.

The boys’ Skiatook tournament was rescheduled for Wednesday, April 27th.

Track and Field

The Sand Springs varsity girls placed ninth and the boys took 13th at the Terry Due Track Classic in Collinsville on Friday. The freshman girls and boys both placed eighth and Sandites won four total events.

Layne Kirkendoll won the high jump with a mark of 5 ft. 6 in. and the long jump with a distance of 17 ft. 0.75 in. Jestin Rawlins won the discus throw with a mark of 162 ft. 9 in.

Jazmin Lopez placed fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:32.42.

In freshman action, Gracie Gifford placed third in the 1600 in 6:37.39 and won the 3200 uncontested in 14:37.93. Briona Searcy was second in long jump at 14 ft. 9 in.

Caleb Goodman ran the 110 hurdles in 17.51 seconds for fourth place, Preston Kennedy ran the 100 in 11.8 for fifth, Jacob York ran the 400 in 1:00.56 for sixth. Kennedy also placed third in the high jump at 5 ft. 4 in. and was sixth in the long jump at 17 ft. 8.5 in.

The freshman boys placed third in the 4x100 relay in 48.01 and fourth in the 4x200 in 1:43.68.

Tennis

Kira Shipley placed seventh in No. 1 Singles, Abbie Dunn placed sixth in No. 2 Singles, and Caitlin Shipman and Daffaney Snyder placed seventh in No. 1 Doubles at the Broken Arrow tournament on Friday, April 15th.

On Monday, April 18th the girls won the consolation bracket at the Bartlesville tournament with Dunn defeating Muskogee and Ponca City in No. 1 Singles, while Shipman and Snyder defeated Edison and Ponca City in No. 1 Doubles.