Cheyenne Walden is named first-ever 4X Gatorade Runner of the Year

CHICAGO (January 23, 2017) — In its 32nd year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, today announced Cheyenne Walden of Charles Page High School as its 2016-17 Gatorade Oklahoma Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. Walden is the first Gatorade Oklahoma Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Charles Page High School, and it is her fourth time being selected. 

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse, distinguishes Walden as Oklahoma’s best high school girls cross country runner. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year award to be announced in January/February, Walden joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Lukas Verzbicas (2010-11, 2009-10 Carl Sandburg, Orland Park, Ill.), Megan Goethals (2009-10, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Mich.), Jordan Hasay (2008-09, Mission College Prep., San Luis Obispo, Calif.) and Chris Derrick (2007-08, Neuqua Valley, Naperville, Ill.).

The three-time returning Gatorade Runner of the Year, the 5-foot-4 senior won her fourth-straight Class 6A state meet title this past season with a course-record time of 17:55.6, breaking the tape 40.8 seconds ahead of her next-closest competitor and leading the Sandites to an eighth-place finish as a team. Walden finished 34th at the Nike Cross Nationals Final and became the first Oklahoman to twice qualify for NXN Final. She also took 11th at the Foot Locker South Regional championships.

In addition to her four Cross Country titles, she is also a three-time State Champion on the track. She won gold in 2015 for the 3200 meter run, and won both the 1600 and 3200 in 2016.

Diagnosed with central auditory processing disorder and dyslexia, Walden speaks to youth groups about her learning challenges and working to overcome them. She has also volunteered locally at the Sand Springs Children’s Home and as a youth running coach. “Cheyenne had a great year,” said David Ayres, Bartlesville High head coach. “She is an amazing competitor and pushes herself every race. She trains hard, eats right and knows what it takes to succeed. She is one of the best Oklahoma runners ever and it’s an honor to watch her run and to be on the same field as her.”

Walden has maintained a weighted 3.76 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to run cross country on scholarship at Oklahoma State University this fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Four-time winner Walden joins Gatorade Oklahoma Girls Cross Country Runners of the Year Alex Davis (2012-13 & 2011-12, Plainview High School), Noemi Hernandez (2010-11, Westmoore High School), Jori Davis (2009-10, Piedmont High School), Andrea Lewis (2008- 09, Bishop Kelley High School), and Sara Vaughn (2007-08, Union High School) as athletes who have won the cross country award since its inception in 2007.

As a Gatorade Player of the Year, Walden will be able to select a national or local youth sports organization to receive a grant as part of the Gatorade Play It Forward program. Every Gatorade Player of the Year state winner receives a $1,000 grant to donate and will have the opportunity to enter for an additional $10,000 spotlight grant by writing a brief essay explaining why their selected organization deserves additional support. 12 spotlight grants – one for each sport – will be announced throughout the year.

To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of past winners and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit www.gatorade.com/poy.

Sandite of the Week: Cheyenne Walden places 34th at Nationals; CPHS Cross Country runners excel in post-season

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Left to right: Superintendent Sherry Durkee, Cross Country Head Coach Chris Corbin, Sandite of the Week Cheyenne Walden, Mayor and CC Assistant Coach Mike Burdge.

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Two members of the Charles Page High School varsity cross country team competed on the Oklahoma All-Star Team against Arkansas this past month. Senior Southwestern Oklahoma State-signee and four-time State Qualifier Alexis Davis placed 28th in the event with a 5K time of 20:54.85. Sophomore two-time State Qualifier Aden Baughman placed 36th with a time of 17:25.38.

The Arkansas Women's team won by nine points, though their average time was only two seconds ahead of the Okies. The Arkansas Men's team won by two points, but the average Oklahoman was a second faster. The meet was held at Rogers High School in Rogers, Arkansas.

Cheyenne Walden also qualified for the event, but instead traveled to The Woodlands, Texas for the Nike South Regionals. The four-time State Champion placed fifth at Bear Branch Park against runners from five different states. She finished the 5K with a time of 17:58.22. She was 26 seconds behind her personal-record, ten seconds behind the number-four runner, and 25 seconds behind the first place runner. 

From there Walden advanced to Nationals in Portland Oregon where she competed this past weekend. In 2014 she placed 22nd at the South Regional, then took sixth last year and went on to place 59th in the Nation. 

This time around she improved even further, placing 34th out of 200 of the country's best competitors. Walden finished the 5K run in 18:28.2 with an average mile of 5:56.3. She was neck-and-neck with several competitors, finishing 0.3 seconds behind the 33rd place runner and a flat second ahead of the runner after her. Overall she was 1:18.3 behind Berkeley-signed senior Brie Oakley who swept the National Championship by a 28 second margin over Portland sophomore Ember Stratton. 

 According to Head Coach Chris Corbin, Walden's performance is the best placing ever for an Oklahoma girl at the event. Walden was presented with a Sandite Spirit Award by the Sand Springs Board of Education at their regular monthly meeting Monday night. "She's a better human being than she is a runner," said Corbin during the presentation. Walden volunteers every Tuesday and Thursday with the Elementary running program.

Walden signed with the No. 15 ranked Oklahoma State University earlier this school year and will be studying physical education. This is her fourth time being named Sandite of the Week. 

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Sandite of the Week is a weekly recognition given to any one person with significant ties to the Sand Springs community who accomplishes remarkable achievements during the Sunday through Saturday week preceding the award. Prior achievements may be noted in the article, but do not bear direct influence on the selection committee which only considers prior week accomplishments. Candidates may be nominated by anyone by emailing SanditePrideNews@gmail.com. The award is not given to anyone in consecutive weeks, but any recipient may be nominated and awarded again in the future, so long as the weeks are not consecutive. Final selection is made by a majority vote of the Sandite Pride Editorial Board.

Businesses or organizations seeking to sponsor the Sandite of the Week award may contact the above email for inquiries.

CPHS Senior Alexis Davis signs with SWOSU Cross Country

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior Alexis Davis signed a letter of intent to run Cross Country and Track for Southwestern Oklahoma State University Tuesday morning at Ed Dubie Field House. 

SWOSU is a public university located in Weatherford, Oklahoma and competes in NCAA Division II and Great American Conference. The SWOSU Cross Country season recently came to a close at the Central Region Championship where the team placed 24th. They took third at the Conference Championship and sixth at the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree. Head Coach Shane Brookshire is in his third year at the program.

Davis, along with Oklahoma State commit Cheyenne Walden, is the first Lady Sandite in town history to qualify for the State Championship all four years. She took 59th place her freshman year, 21st place her sophomore year, 45th place her junior year, and 21st place her senior year. She also took 21st place this year at the Meet of Champions, which matches top runners from all divisions. Her 5K personal record is 19:53 and her one-mile PR is 6:11. She has been named to the All-Conference Cross Country team twice and was selected to the Meet of Champions Senior All-Star Team.

Last year in Track she set PRs of 2:49.20 in the 800 meter run, 5:57.43 in the 1600m, and 13:19.50 in the 3200m.

SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Jake Terry officially signs with University of Oklahoma baseball
SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Sydney Pennington signs with Oklahoma State University Softball
SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Jessica Collins signs with Connors State College Softball
SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Cheyenne Walden signs with Oklahoma State University Cross Country
SEE RELATED: CPHS Senior Kyle Keener signs with University of Central Oklahoma Basketball

Cheyenne Walden wins fourth State Title in Cross Country by 41 second margin

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior and Oklahoma State University-commit Cheyenne Walden is not only the most heavily decorated high-school athlete in town history, she accounts for a third of all track and field medals in city history, and that's including all three high schools. Already holding three Spring Track State Championships, Walden added her fourth Fall Cross Country State Title Saturday at Edmond Santa Fe High School. Her seven total State Titles radically outpace any other Sandite in history, and she still has half of her senior year left to compete.

Only one other Sandite in town history has accounted for four State Championships; Shawn Gilton. Gilton won four medals in three years in various Track and Field competitions. She won the Long Jump in 1980 and 1982, the 220 yard dash in 1981, and the 440 yard dash in 1982. We also have two three-time State Champions in Wrestling: David McGuire and Daton Fix. Fix has the opportunity to win a fourth State Title this Winter.

Walden's seven State Titles account for a third of all track and field Championships in town history, but if you limit it to running only, it's nearly half. Sand Springs has fifteen State Championships in running competitions, and Walden is the only Sandite to ever win a Cross Country Title. Her achievements are not only remarkable among Sand Springs athletes, but even on the State-wide level. 

Only five other runners have ever won Cross Country titles in all four years of their high school careers. Natalie Gray of Cascia Hall accomplished the feat from 1990-1993, followed by Amanda Jordan of Bishop McGuinness from 1997-2000. Plainview High School holds a special place in history; they had two four-time State Champions, and both were at the same time. From 1998-2001, Jesse Gordon won it for the girls and Patrick McGuire won it for the boys. The last time anyone pulled it off was in 2004 when Brooke Edsall of Lomega won her fourth Title. 

At Friday's meet, Walden finished with the fifth-best time of her career, but her fastest State Championship performance. In 2013 she won the State Title in a 3200 meter run by eleven seconds with a time of 11:19.50. In 2014 she won the State Title in a 5K run by fifteen seconds over teammate Morgan Long with a time of 17:56.3. Long is a two-time State Champion in Track. In 2015 she won the 5K run by 53 seconds with a time of 17:57.9. This time she finished the 5K in 17:55.6, 41 seconds ahead of Bartlesville's Shay Stayton. 

Walden and teammate Alexis Davis are the only two Sandites in school history to qualify for the State meet all four years. The two helped bring their team with them three of those four years, and qualified as individuals last year. Davis tied her previous-best at State with a 21st place finish. As a freshman she finished in 59th place with a time of 13:01.48 in the 3200 meter run. She took 21st place in 2014 with a career-best 19:53.6. Last season she came in 45th place with a time of 21:02.5. This year she finished in 20:21.0.

Junior transfer Tiqvah Soap, formerly of Jenks, came in 25th place with a time of 20:29.5. This was her first State appearance, and she was only three seconds away from beating her previous personal-record of 20:27.93. Sophomore Sara Abbet came in 88th place with a time of 23:01.5. Sophomore Elizabeth Watts placed 95th with a time of 23:25.6. Freshman Chezney Kelley placed 96th with a time of 23:29.2. Freshman Kaitlyn Walden, Cheyenne's sister, finished in 106th with a time of 26:28.2. 

As a team, the Lady Sandites finished in eighth place of fourteen teams with an average time of 21:02.7. They also placed eighth in 2014, and tenth in 2013. 

Sophomore Aden Baughman is working on qualifying for State all for years as well, and posted his fifth-best performance with a time of 17:36.7 for 44th place. Last year he came in 69th place with a time of 17:53.5. He was the only Sandite boy to qualify. 

Lady Sandite Cross Country qualifies for State as team, Aden Baughman qualifies individually

Photo: Scott Emigh

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Varsity Girls 5K

17:32 Cheyenne Walden 1st Place (PR-0:03)
20:01 Alexis Davis 15th Place
20:53 Tiqvah Soap 25th Place
22:27 Sara Abbet 54th Place (PR-0:37)
22:51 Elizabeth Watts 60th Place
23:27 Chezney Kelley 69th Place (PR-0:45)
24:32 Kaitlyn Walden 85th Place (PR-2:00)

Varsity Boys 5K

17:00 Aden Baughman 25th Place (PR-0:06)
17:28 Kaegan Murray 39th Place (PR-0:28)
18:36 Ian Baustert 65th Place (PR-0:06)
18:40 Phillip Elleman 67th Place (PR-1:38)
19:18 Nelson Yazzie 80th Place
19:19 Jaden Weiser 81st Place

It was a great weekend for the Charles Page High School varsity cross country teams. The girls took seventh place at the Regional 5K at Mohawk Park, just making the cut for State. This is their third time qualifying in four years, having just missed it last year. The boys failed to qualify as a team, but set several personal records.

The regional takes the top seven teams and the top seven individuals who weren't on qualifying teams. In 2015 the girls took eighth place, but sent three runners individually. According to Head Coach Chris Corbin, seniors Cheyenne Walden and Alexis Davis are now the first runners in the history of the program to qualify all four years. Sophomore Aden Baughman led the boys and qualified for the second straight year after placing fourth among runners who weren't on qualifying teams.

The girls finished seventh of fifteen teams with an average time of 20:45, their best "true" 5K of the season. Last week they finished in 20:27 at the Conference meet, but that track was a few hundred meters short. Oklahoma State-commit Cheyenne Walden secured her fourth Regional Title by an incredible margin of 53 seconds over the number two runner, Shay Stayton of Bartlesville. She also set a personal record of 17:32, a three-second improvement over last year's Regional time. This is her sixth first-place finish this year and 26th first-place finish of her career. The full qualifying squad is Alexis Davis, junior Tiqvah Soap, sophomore Sara Abbet, sophomore Elizabeth Watts, freshman Chezney Kelley, and freshman Kaitlyn Walden. Abbet, Kelley, and Kaitlyn Walden all set personal records. There were 106 runners in the girls race.

The boys took tenth of sixteen teams with an average time of 18:13, their fourth best this season. Senior Jacob Garbey, who usually finishes top-three among the Sandite boys, was unavoidably out of town for the race, and freshman Jaden Weiser was nursing a mild injury throughout the race and finished 28 seconds behind his previous performance. Garbey's presence might have made the difference between tenth and ninth place, but wasn't likely to help qualify the boys as a whole. Overall, the boys still performed well and finished with strong times all-around. Baughman set a personal record 17:00 finish, marking a six-second improvement over last year's Regional. Freshman Kaegan Murray set a personal record 17:28, improving 28 seconds over his previous best. He finished second among non-qualifying runners and was just nine seconds away from making the cut. Senior Ian Baustert finished his high school career with a PR 18:36, improving six seconds over his previous best. Junior Phillip Elleman also set a PR.

The State Championship will be held Saturday, October 29th at Edmond Santa Fe High School. The school is located at 1901 W. 15th Street, Edmond, Oklahoma. 6A Girls will begin at 12:00 p.m. followed by 6A Boys at 12:45 p.m. The awards assembly will be held at 1:30 p.m. Admission is $7.00 for adults and students.