Sandite Soccer Sweeps Tulsa NOAH, Ava Watts Scores Hat Trick

After a promising preseason, the Charles Page High School soccer teams officially launched the 2023 regular season with a pair of wins against Tulsa NOAH Friday night at Memorial Stadium.

The Lady Sandites jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in a 6-2 triumph, while the boys battled to a 1-1 draw in regulation and secured the victory in a 4-2 overtime shootout.

The two teams are coming off very different paths from last season. The girls are looking to live up to and even surpass last year’s historic 12-5 campaign. The boys, meanwhile, are excited to have snapped a 13-match losing streak after going winless last season.

Ava Watts will be looked to as the Lady Sandites’ powerhouse scorer after totaling 16 goals in her sophomore campaign. She opened the season on the right foot with a hat trick against the Jaguars, her second of the week after scoring three goals in Tuesday’s Glenpool scrimmage as well.

“I’m really excited, really happy,” said head coach Cisco Chavez. “Ava’s going to do huge things for our program and the program that she decides to play for in the future. But she’s really standing out this year and picking up the goals.”

Last year’s scoring leader Lainey Stanfill will, unfortunately, miss the season after a recent ACL surgery. The sophomore totalled 23 goals last year but is expected to be sidelined till August.

“I’m a little nervous right now; we picked up some more injuries,” said Chavez. “We definitely got hit by the injury bug this preseason.”

“We’re trying to get others some more minutes, trying to figure out formations and things like that, and we have a few people missing the next few games. It’s going to be challenging this year with all the injuries that we have, but we’re still excited.”

The Lady Sandites out-shot NOAH 19 to 10 and dominated the first half with a 2-0 lead on Watts’s first two goals.

The Jaguar offense came alive in the second half but the Sandites had plenty of answers.

Watts made it a hat trick in the 47th minute before Yophiyyah Fish connected on a free kick to make it 3-1. Just 33 seconds later, Avery Miller broke loose a quick score in transition.

Alyssa Cunningham put her team up 5-1 just 20 seconds later and Lauren Foster scored the Sandites’ final goal in the 52nd minute. NOAH’s Kinzie Doss had the final point but the teams went scoreless for the final 21 minutes.

The boys’ match was a defensive battle as the Sandites recorded 13 shots on goal, but Jaguar goalie Elijah Hafer made 12 saves.

“Super proud of these guys,” said head coach Brent Lollis. “They did endure a lot last season and they’ve worked really hard in the offseason and preseason.”

“This is essentially the same team. We had some seniors, but a lot of the guys that were on the field tonight are the ones that went through those experiences last year. They’ve all worked their tails off and every single one of them is better and they’re kind of getting the reward for a year and a half of hard work.”

The Sandites went undefeated in the preseason with three wins and one draw, beating Glenpool 3-0 on Tuesday. Brian Boyles, Elgin Hernandez, and Dawson Puckett scored one goal apiece in the final scrimmage.

Boyles had the lone goal against NOAH just five minutes into the match before Fisher Self tied it up two minutes into the second half.

“(Boyles) is our leading scorer so far this season and I think he also probably leads with assists,” said Lollis.

“He’s a key player, he’s a great player. He’s got a lot of soccer ahead of him. That was a great strike for that goal. He had some adversity last year and we didn’t have him all year. He’s been one of the leaders on the team and it’s great to have him back.”

After a scoreless 38 minutes to end regulation, the Sandites prevailed on a pair of overtime saves from Sammy Mendoza and successful penalty kicks from Nic Roberts, Zac Ritter, Nathaniel McClaren, and Boyles.

NOAH had answers for the Sandites’ first two kicks and saved Elias Villanueva’s try, putting the pressure on Mendoza. The sophomore came through to keep the score at 2-2, then put his team on top with another save after McClaren’s successful shot. Boyles secured the match to pay back last year’s 4-2 loss.

“With this team, the secret is going to be staying healthy and staying hungry. If they do that, the sky’s the limit for them.”

Both teams will return to action Tuesday at Muskogee before traveling to Metro Christian on Thursday.

Sandite Weekly Sports Roundup: Two Sandites Medal at State Wrestling Tournament

The Sand Springs boys’ wrestling team took tenth place at the OSSAA 6A State Tournament with two placers in their best finish since 2020.

Mitchell Smith took fourth place at 150 pounds to end his career as a four-time State qualifier and two time placer with a 108-35 record.

Mason Harris took fourth place at heavyweight and finished his junior year with a team-best 40-9 record.

The Sandites went 3-3 in the wrestle-in round and 3-3 in the quarterfinals with Jayden Pait, Jaxon Trotter, and Ethan White earning their way into the main bracket.

Smith, Harris, and Kase Skaggs all advanced to the semifinals before taking their first losses. Skaggs and Trotter were both eliminated one win short of the podium.

Sand Springs will graduate Smith and White but will return 12 starters and seven state qualifiers next season.

Soccer

The CPHS boys soccer team improved to 2-0-1 in preseason action while the girls fell to 2-1-0.

The boys won 3-0 against Collinsville on Tuesday with goals from Elias Villanueva, Zac Ritter, and Elgin Hernandez, with Brian Boyles recording an assist. They battled to a 1-1 draw against Sapulpa with Eli Bise scoring the lone goal.

The girls fell 2-1 against Collinsville, with Alyssa Cunningham scoring the lone goal on an assist from Ava Watts. On Thursday they defeated Sapulpa 4-1 with two goals from Watts and one goal apiece from Avery Miller and Ashley Feigenbaum.

The Sandites have one more scrimmage scheduled Tuesday against Glenpool before opening the regular season Friday with home matches against Tulsa NOAH at 6:00 p.m.

Bowling

The CPHS girls bowling team of Tabby Hicks, Olivia Alexander, Zoe Butler, and Kyeara Owens finished as Regional Runners-Up on February 18th in Sapulpa, advancing to the State Tournament Saturday in Enid.

At State they sat in second place after eight games of qualifying, but were eliminated in the first round of bracket play.

“I’m so proud of this team,” said coach Shawn Judy. “Three out of the four girls on the team, this is the first year they have competed in high school bowling. I believe we overachieved every expectation that anybody put on us.”

Baseball

Sandite baseball improved to 5-1-1 in preseason games, losing 6-7 at Owasso on Monday before winning 9-6 Tuesday against Bartlesville and 13-0 Thursday against Glenpool. On Saturday they beat Edmond Santa Fe 2-0 and tied Noble 3-3.

The Sandites will travel to Pryor on Monday and will host Union on Tuesday to conclude the preseason.

The regular season will kick off Thursday at 11:00 a.m. against Greenwood, AR with a home game Friday at 6:00 p.m. against Shawnee. Sand Springs will travel to Yukon Saturday at noon.

Sandite Weekly Sports Roundup: Girls Powerlifting Wins Meet, Wrestling Qualifies 9 for State

The Sand Springs boys wrestling team took fifth place at the OSSAA 6A-East Regional Championship Saturday in Jenks, their highest mark since 2020.

The team qualified nine wrestlers for this weekend’s State Championship, the most since 2018.

The Sandites had a tough regional with nationally ranked Stillwater and Bixby, as well as perennial powerhouse Broken Arrow leading the pack. Owasso edged out the Sandites for fourth place with 147.5 points to 141.5.

Kase Skaggs was the lone finalist with a 6-0 semifinal upset against second-seeded Ponca City junior Jimmy Swenson to avenge a district loss at 106. In the finals he fell to nationally ranked Aydan Thomas from Stillwater.

Mitchell Smith took third place at 150 pounds, winning a 2-1 overtime tiebreaker against Broken Arrow’s Garrett Stinchcomb in the placement round.

Mason Harris placed third at heavyweight with a 4-2 sudden victory takedown against Broken Arrow’s Michael Cook.

Jaxon Trotter placed fourth at 157, losing only to nationally ranked LaDarion Lockett from Stillwater before medical forfeiting the placement round.

David Ritchey, Jayden Pait, Jesse Moore, Ethan White, and Hudson Sheppard placed fifth.

The State tournament will be held Friday and Saturday at Jim Norick Arena at the State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City.

The Lady Sandites didn’t have any State qualifiers in their first year, placing 42nd out of 64 schools at the OSSAA East Regional.

The Keystone Kids had several top performers at the OKWA Youth State Championship, placing third in Open 8U and ninth in Open 15U.

Hudson Waag, Hagan Wolfenberger, and Ryley Kester won State titles; Sutton Hawley was runner-up; Mason Londo, Karson Waag, and Jace Simms placed third.

Girls Powerlifting

The Lady Sandite powerlifting team won its second meet of the season at Chandler, beating the home team 161 to 110 in team points.

Jaden Jordan won her third meet of the year at heavyweight, taking first in bench at 160 pounds, first in deadlift at 390, and second in squat at 360.

Madison Thompson was runner-up at 220, placing second in squat at 305, second in bench at 150, and fourth in deadlift at 315.

Addily Shotwell was runner-up at 181, placing second in squat at 235, second in bench at 125, and fourth in deadlift at 270.

Gracie Worthington placed third and Olivia Alexander, Bailey Doughty, Kelsi Hilton, and Melanie Skelly placed fourth.

The girls will compete at the Regional Championship in Miami on Tuesday the 28th.

Soccer

The CPHS soccer teams started the preseason with a scrimmage sweep at Grove.

The boys won 4-0 behind two goals from Brian Boyles and one goal apiece from Eli Bise and Dawson Puckett. The girls won 3-0 with a hat trick from Ava Watts.

Both teams will return to action with home scrimmages against Collinsville Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.

Baseball

The Sandite baseball team won its first two scrimmages of the year 6-0 against Mannford and 18-10 against Westmoore.

Gage Elliott and Wyatt Rutledge combined for a nine-strikeout one-hitter against the Pirates on Friday and Rhen Rutledge went 1-of-2 at the plate with a triple, 3 RBI, and a run.

Jackson Turney, Dom Ornelas, and Alex Dudley had two hits apiece against the Jaguars, with Ornelas scoring a 3RBI homer.

The Sandites will travel to Owasso, Glenpool, and Edmond Santa Fe next week and will host Bartlesville on Tuesday and Bixby on Friday.

Brian Boyles, Fernando Saldana Propel WSA Team to National Championship

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The West Side Alliance’s U19 team won the Super Y League National Championship in Tampa Bay on December 13th, and two Sandites were key contributors.

Brian Boyles and Fernando Saldana compete on the 04/05 Boys team for the WSA, a competitive soccer club based in Sand Springs and West Tulsa.

Boyles is a senior at Charles Page High School and Saldana is a 2021 CPHS alum..

“When we got there I think we all had a goal in mind and that was to win a national championship,” said Boyles.

“We all knew what we could do and we were fully capable of doing that.”

In Tampa the WSA team defeated New York’s Westchester Flames 4-3 in overtime after coming back from a 3-1 deficit. After taking the lead, they had to hold it for seven minutes.

“Going 3-1 down in the final, in the last 10 or 15 minutes you expect teams to quit,” said Boyles. “Down two goals with not much time left, I feel like we were ready for that moment.”

The finals battle was a rematch of a 3-1 WSA victory from pool play.

“It actually made it harder on us because it’s hard to beat a team twice, especially in the same tournament, and they were obviously the other best team there besides us.”

En route to the finals, the WSA group won 6-2 against Michigan’s Liverpool FC, 2-0 against Maryland’s Arundel SA, and 3-1 against Northern Virginia United Academy, in addition to the first match against Westchester.

“When we went into our first game we weren’t nervous at all like how teams are usually nervous on their first game,” said Boyles.

“We were laughing, having fun in the warmups, and it showed when we were so relaxed and won our first game 6-2.”

“I think that momentum just kept going throughout the whole tournament. I feel like we were more confident than the other teams as a whole. That just made us feel better about ourselves going into each next game.”

Saldana was named the MVP of the game after scoring both the equalizer and the game winner.

Saldana and Boyles didn’t get to play much together as Sandites. The 2020 season was canceled after only three matches due to the initial COVID-19 outbreak, then Boyles broke his foot during the 2021 season.

Despite this, the two have a close relationship. While many teammates feel a sense of brotherhood, Boyles actually describes it as a father-son relationship.

“He’s always been like the older guy in the locker room. A mentor. He’s always been someone who, if I need help with something, I can always just go and ask him. He’s a good person to learn off of because he’s humble and quiet and he’s just a guy that you want to be around.”

Boyles will be looking for some of that club success to translate into prep wins as the Sandites enter their second season under Brent Lollis this spring.

Sandite Athletics Weekly Roundup

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Boys Soccer

The Sand Springs boys’ soccer team (4-4) fell 2-1 in non-district play at Enid, Tuesday, March 23rd, with Brian Boyles scoring the lone goal. They placed fourth at the Holland Hall tournament last week, beating Oklahoma Christian School 6-0 on Thursday before falling 2-1 to Holland Hall Friday and 7-3 to Owasso on Saturday. 

Fernando Saldana scored a hat trick against OCS and Jack Bratcher had a brace. Cameron Summerton added the sixth goal, his first of the season. Saldana scored one goal against Holland Hall and another against Owasso. Bratcher and Mason Ritter also had goals against Owasso. 

The boys were short handed in their placement match, playing without NSU-bound David Fancher and goalkeeper Xander Quiroga, among others. Junior backup Shawn Hayes made ten saves in the loss.

Baseball

Sandite Baseball went 3-2 last week and is 8-8 overall. Jabe Schlehuber got the win and Eli Buxton recorded a save in a 4-2 district game at Bartlesville, Tuesday, March 23rd. Bartlesville won the rematch 6-4 on Wednesday.

The Sandites returned to Bartlesville on Thursday and Friday for a festival. Gage Elliott went the distance in a 10-2 win over Ponca City Thursday, only giving up three hits, then Kayden Campbell recorded a 7-4 rivalry win against Sapulpa with another save from Buxton. Schlehuber and Ty Pennington both hit triples in the win. Bishop Kelley scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh for an 8-7 walk-off on Friday.

Rhen Rutledge paced the offense, going 7-of-15 at the plate last week with seven runs, two RBI, a double, and a triple. Cason Savage also hit a triple in the Wednesday loss to Bartlesville.

Sand Springs will travel to Jenks Friday for a non-district game, and will host Midwest City Saturday at noon.

Slow Pitch Softball

Sandite Slow Pitch started the season with a pair of wins Tuesday, March 23rd at Union High School. They beat Berryhill 13-1 in a three-inning run rule and survived a 12-11 shootout with the host team. 

Lauren Hammock got the win against Berryhill, only giving up one hit. Jaden Jordan hit a two-run homer in the first inning to give her team the lead, and Kelsi Hilton and Kaden Barnes both hit RBI triples. Hilton added a grand slam in the second inning, then Hammock threw a bases-loaded strikeout for the win. 

Barnes got the win against Union and Hammock recorded a save. Jordan went a perfect three-for-three at the plate with two home runs and six RBI. 

Sand Springs Softball will compete at the Haskell Tournament on Thursday, where they are the defending tournament champions.

Track and Field

The Sand Springs boys placed sixth and the girls took fifth Friday at the Muskogee Track Classic. Two Lady Sandites brought home three gold medals from the event. 

Jazmin Lopez won the 800-meter run in 2:29.87. Layne Kirkendoll won the high jump with a mark of 5’04.00” and the long jump with a distance of 17’06.00.” Jayda Rowe placed second in the discus throw with a mark of 105’07.00”, ranking her second in Sand Springs history in the event. 

Alejandro Lopez placed second in the 800-meter run in 2:04.95, less than half a second behind the winner. Joseph Mattison placed third in the 100-meter dash in 11.27, third in the 200 in 23.15, and third in the long jump at 19’07.00”.

The girls 4x100 relay team placed third in 52.04 seconds, the 4x400 placed fourth in 4:29.49, and the 4x200 placed fifth in 1:56.22. 

The boys 4x800 relay team placed fourth in 8:48.62, the 4x400 placed fourth in 3:41.33, and the 4x200 placed fifth in 1:38.57. 

Sandite Track will next compete at the Broken Arrow Track Classic Saturday at 10:00 a.m.