OSSAA Announces New Districts for Baseball, Basketball, Football

The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association has announced new district assignments for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years.

Football

The football districts are still pending OSSAA board approval on September 6th.

The Sandites will remain in Class 6A-II, playing in District 2 with Stillwater, Bartlesville, Capitol Hill, Muskogee, Northwest Classen, Piedmont, and Ponca City.

Capitol Hill, Northwest Classen, Piedmont, and Ponca City will all be newcomers while Tahlequah, Putnam City West, and U.S. Grant will drop from the Sandites’ schedule.

Sand Springs has never played Capitol Hill, Northwest Classen, or Piedmont. The two Oklahoma City schools are currently in 6A-II but play in the opposite district, while Piedmont will be moving up from 5A.

Ponca City is a longstanding rival of the Sandites, with the two teams having met every year since 1978, even in non-district years.

Baseball

Sand Springs will play alongside Bartlesville, Jenks, Moore, Muskogee, Norman North, Owasso, and Stillwater in District 6A-3.

The Sandites are currently in a district with Jenks and Owasso, but Bartlesville, Moore, Muskogee, Norman North, and Stillwater will all be new foes.

Sand Springs played Bartlesville and Muskogee last year in non-district action but haven’t played Moore since 2017. The Sandites and Norman North last played in 2021.

The Stillwater and Sand Springs meetings will be particularly exciting after the Pioneers sabotaged the Sandites’ home regional this past year.

Basketball

Sandite fans will see a big change in basketball scheduling as the OSSAA implements districts for the first time, effectively ending the conference era.

Sand Springs will retain longtime Frontier Valley foes Owasso, Union, and Bartlesville while forging new rivalries with a slate of west-side schools in Edmond Memorial, Enid, U.S. Grant, and Putnam City.

CPHS Soccer: Luke Jeffus scores hat trick in 4-2 brawl at Capitol Hill

The Charles Page High School boys’ soccer team (12-2, 5-2) ended the regular season with back-to-back district wins, topping Owasso (8-6, 4-2) in overtime Tuesday, and beating Capitol Hill (5-8, 2-4) Thursday to spoil the Red Wolves’ senior night.

On Tuesday Jack Bratcher recorded his first brace of the season, Cameron Summerton notched his first goal of the season, and Gustavo Saldana also made his way onto the board for a 4-4 tie in regulation. Fernando Saldana kicked the golden goal in the 87th minute of the match in sudden victory overtime.

The final district game started an hour late following a transportation issue and a lightning delay. At one point the boys were in the middle of loading up to leave when they finally got the go-ahead to start the night. They made the most of it, taking a 4-0 lead on the home team before the Red Wolves battled back, and some of the battles were quite physical.

Sand Springs got off ten shots in the first half and took a 3-0 lead. Luke Jeffus was first on the board, scoring on a corner kick from Bratcher in the 5th minute. Bratcher took a pair of shots of his own, scoring a header in the 12th minute to put back a shot from Gustavo Saldana that bounced off the goalpost.

Salvador Castellon took a free kick for the home team from ten yards out in the 20th minute. He kept it low on the ground and got it past everyone, but just a few inches wide of the goal. The Wolves made another run on goal a few minutes later but Kaiden Cox cleared the box for the Sandites and a pair of corresponding corner kicks sailed wide.

Senior Goalkeeper Jose Alvarez made a beautiful save on a shot from Bratcher in the 31st minute, then Miguel Lopez barely evacuated a shot from Gustavo Franco that got past Alvarez and into the goal but didn’t quite make it to the net. The resulting corner kick set up Jeffus for his first brace of the season in the 34th minute.

Gustavo Saldana bounced one off the goal post early in the second half, then Jeffus had a shot saved a few minutes later. Jeffus recorded his first hat trick from 25 yards out in the 45th. Alvarez blocked one shot, then Dawson Quinton nearly scored a putback but sent it a hair wide.

A full on brawl erupted in the 49th minute after a Sandite went down and a Red Wolf appeared to trample him. Both teams combined in a massive shoving match, but thankfully no punches were thrown and only Lopez received a yellow card. Quinton and Alvarez received yellow cards in the 60th minute and Lopez took over in the goal.

The Red Wolves finally began to battle back as Lopez saved shots from Kaleb Brooks and Gustavo Saldana and Jonathan Perez got them on the board in the 70th minute. Brooks received a technical with seven minutes left and Juan Vazquez made a 52-yard sailing free kick just over Xander Quirogas’s outstretched fingertips. Trent Goldman and Missael Hernandez were both carded after a brief shoving match with five minutes to play, but that was the last action of the night.

Capitol Hill will return to action Tuesday in non-district action against Western Heights (8-3) while the Sandites will return in the State Playoffs on April 30th.

CPHS Soccer: Demi Deshazo golden goal downs Capitol Hill in overtime

The Charles Page High School girls soccer team (7-7, 2-5) traveled to Oklahoma City Thursday evening for their regular season finale and ended the year with a .500 record after a 1-0 overtime win against Capitol Hill (3-9, 0-7). The match almost didn’t happen.

The Sandite teams arrived more than thirty minutes late after mechanical difficulty caused them to have to switch buses. They made it through the National Anthem and the team introductions, and were immediately sent back to the locker rooms after a lightning strike in the immediate vicinity.

The girls were cleared to take the field despite another storm cell threatening in the distance. The teams agreed to play 35 minute halves instead of 40s and finally the first match began, 75 minutes late. Thankfully, the next round of weather never arrived.

The game went through 70 minutes of regulation without a score, despite a lopsided offensive effort from the visitors. Capitol Hill didn’t get a single quality shot on goal, while the Sandites spent the majority of the game downfield. Sand Springs sent four shots a hair wide, had three saved, and bounced one off the goalpost.

The first half was uneventful, with the only close shot coming two minutes in from Ari Esparza. The second half was a melee. Esparza and Elizabeth Horn both had shots saved, and the Red Wolf goalie won several foot races against Sandite forwards to scoop up threatening balls.

After a scoreless second period they went to a ten-minute sudden victory overtime, and junior Demi Deshazo scored her second goal of the season to secure the victory in the 72nd minute of the match.

The girls’ 7-7 record matched their tally from the prior year, but they improved from 1-6 to 2-5 in district action, and had far better performances in each game. Offensively they averaged 1.86 points per game, compared to 1.71 from the prior year. But defensively they only gave up 1.93 compared to 3.5 the year before. It was their first season under Head Coach Matthew Watkins.

The Lady Sandites will be in good shape next season as they return 89% of their scoring power. They will only graduate four players in Amrey Lee, Alisha Carlisle, Brynlee Slankard, and Elizabeth Watts.

District 6A-4 Standings
6-0 Owasso (13-1)
5-1 Sapulpa (12-2)
5-1 Norman (7-5)
4-3 Union (7-6)
3-4 Edmond Santa Fe (4-7)
2-5 Sand Springs (7-7)
1-5 Shawnee (3-8)
0-7 Capitol Hill (3-9)

District Schedule
4/19 Owasso @ Sapulpa.
4/19 Norman @ Shawnee.

CPHS Season Stats

Goals
6 Elizabeth Horn
4 Ari Esparza
3 Baylee Metcalfe
2 Karsen Lynch
2 Demi Deshazo
1 Elizabeth Watts
1 Jade Patton
1 Kasandra Burgess
1 Kaslynn Horton
1 Amrey Lee
1 Brynlee Slankard
1 Morgan Poletek

PKs
3 Elizabeth Horn
2 Karsen Lynch
2 Demi Deshazo
1 Elizabeth Watts
1 Josie Gelsthorpe
1 Ari Esparza
1 Kaslynn Horton
1 Alyssa Perry

Total Scoring
9 Elizabeth Horn
5 Ari Esparza
4 Karsen Lynch
4 Demi Deshazo
3 Baylee Metcalfe
2 Elizabeth Watts
2 Kaslynn Horton
1 Josie Gelsthorpe
1 Jade Patton
1 Kasandra Burgess
1 Amrey Lee
1 Brynlee Slankard
1 Morgan Poletek
1 Alyssa Perry

9 Sandites remain at State, only slightly behind Broken Arrow and Choctaw

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The remaining Sandites have about an hour long break before the next round begins at the 6A State Championship in Oklahoma City. 

Charles Page wrestling qualified eleven for the tournament with seven Regional Champions, more than either Broken Arrow or the Dual State Champions from Choctaw. Unfortunately 220 pound junior and Regional Champion Delvin Jordan was unable to participate dropping the number to nine. 

106 freshman Riley Weir (20-12) came in third at Regionals and was pitted against Choctaw's Colt Newton (40-3) in the first round and was pinned in 0:41. From there he was majored 14-4 by Yukon's Braden Fowler and eliminated. 

113 Regional Champion Michael Ritchey (22-16) was defeated in round one by Westmoore's Wes Hardin (31-11) by a narrow 5-2 decision but managed to hold the lead in the next match for a 5-3 victory over Spencer Schickram (14-9) of Ponca City. 

120 Regional Champion Blake Sargent (36-10) went into overtime with Zackery Bibb (24-5) of Capitol Hill and lost 4-2 in the tie breaker round. He fell in an early hole to Justin Gundlach (29-11) of Moore and trailed 3-2 going into the final period, but rallied for a takedown and pin at 5:14 to stay alive in the consolation bracket. 

126 two-time undefeated State Champion Daton Fix (44-0) pinned Bobby Robinson (30-13) of Deer Creek in 1:37.

132 Regional Champion Jack Karstetter (38-7) breezed through his first match with a 17-2 tech fall over Norman's Jeffrey Adams (23-12) in 5:42.  

138 Regional Champion Beau Bratcher (40-6) pinned Choctaw's Jeff Speer (23-10) in 4:48. 

145 Regional Champion Payton Scott (18-4) pinned Westmoore's Trey Painter (32-10) in 3:52.  

160 Regional Runner-Up Zane Basma (32-11) scored an 8-3 decision over Sam Hensley (31-13) of Edmond Memorial.  

170 Trace Fleischman (10-4) placed fourth at Regionals but rebounded big time at State with a 3-1 upset of West Regional Champion Jacob Schimmels (23-6) of Edmond. 

The top three teams are as close now as they have been all season with Broken Arrow at 25.5, Choctaw at 25, and Sand Springs at 23.5.  

The semi finals will begin at 7:15.  

#1 Sandites unstoppable with 2 shutouts and 4th place finish at Yukon tourney

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

What a time to be a Sandite! Our football and softball teams were State Runners-Up, Cheyenne Walden won the cross country State Championship, and now we're midway through our Winter sports and there's no sign that this outstanding class of athletes has any intention of slowing down. 

Both of our basketball teams won games by more than 40 points this weekend and are ranked top 15, and our wrestlers have had the craziest week in years. Last week the wrestlers (9-0) dominated #1 Broken Arrow (4-2) 33-19 to earn the top spot in the state and followed it up Tuesday with a 57-15 slaughter of Bixby (0-4).

Thursday the wrestlers traveled to Enid for the triple-header District Duals. The Sandites pulled off the highest-scoring dual possible against the Putnam West Patriots (3-6), winning all matches by pin for an 84-0 shutout. U.S. Grant (11-4) only fared slightly better, losing by 80-0 shutout, and Enid (4-4) was put down 65-6 to secure the Sandites' spot at Dual State.

Not only did the boys have to wrestle three duals in a single day, but they didn't even get a day off to rest before traveling to Yukon for the annual Jay Hancock Memorial Invitational. 

The Sandites placed fourth in the tournament with nine placers and three champions. Allen, Texas, ranked 25th in the nation by Flowrestling, took first place, followed by Choctaw in second and Plainview third. Choctaw is currently ranked 2nd in Tournaments and 3rd in Duals.  Plainsview is ranked #1 in both 3A categories.

The Sandites have two duals left this season. Tuesday night the boys will take on the #1 5A Collinsville Cardinals, and Thursday they'll battle the #15 Jenks Trojans. 

The Sandites are still missing 106 starting freshman #7 Riley Weir (15-8), who's nursing a hand injury, but they have plenty of capable fill-ins at the lower weights. 

106 Scotty Patton (3-2)- 5th Place

• teched 17-0 in 4:00 by #8 Trenton Higginbotham (Edmond North) 
• pinned Bennett Siler (Westlake) in 0:49
• majored Brendan Noetzal (Southlake Carroll) 16-7
• pinned in 1:52 by #5 Braden Fowler (Yukon)
• pinned Dominic Fitzpatrick (Moore) in 5:54

113 #5 Michael Ritchey (15-13) - 4th Place

• pinned Davion Perkins (Lawton) in 1:59
• defeated Chase Slatton (Jenks) 5-1
• teched 15-0 in 4:20 by #1 Paxton Rosen (Edmond North) 
• defeated Jonathan Warford (Sapulpa) 8-2
• lost 10-3 to Logan Brown (Allen)

120 #6 Blake Sargent (26-9) - 5th Place

• lost 5-0 to Jack Skudlarczyk (Westlake) 
• majored Cameron Clark (Sapulpa) 12-3
• pinned Zane Everett (Yukon) in 2:43
• pinned Jaxson Roney (Plainview) in 3:54
• lost 3-0 to Jack Skudlarczyk (Westlake)
• pinned #5 Zane Taylor (Yukon) in 4:28

126 #4 Jack Karstetter (26-6) - Champion

• pinned Ibrahim Crespo (Capitol Hill) in 1:00
• pinned Kaiden Ogee (Choctaw) in 2:45
• majored #3 Clayton Seleznoff (Moore) 9-1
• defeated Zach Atencio (Plainview) 3-1 by sudden victory

132 Unattached Derek Davis (7-4) - DNP

• defeated Tre Moore (Allen) 5-4
• lost 7-2 to Dayton West (Deer Creek) 
• lost 10-4 to Cole Shipman (Choctaw)

132 Daton Fix (31-0) - Champion

• pinned Andrew Day (Jenks) in 0:52
• pinned Garrett Griffin (Sapulpa) in 0:27
• teched Hunter Hershey (Westlake) 23-6 in 3:57
• teched Madison Roney (Plainview) 28-13 in 5:55

138 #2 Beau Bratcher (30-5) - Runner-Up

• pinned Joseph Smith (Moore) in 0:59
• pinned Noah Austin (Edmond North) in 1:12
• pinned David Washington (Allen) in 4:34
• lost 2-0 to #1 Jaxen Gilmore (Yukon)

145 Cody Mathis (10-11) - 6th Place

• pinned in 1:41 by Ty Lucus (Plainview)
• pinned Hunter Walsh (Edmond North) in 0:32
• pinned Dylan Waklee (Choctaw) in 3:55
• pinned in 0:38 by #1 Chase Vincent (Yukon)
• defeated 7-1 by Gabe Moreau (Westlake)

At 152 #2 Payton Scott (11-3) is also taking some time to recover before State, and the Sandite roster has less depth in the upper weights. Every tournament this season has had at least one weight class forfeited, and the team would consistently place higher were they at full strength. 

160 #4 Zane Basma (22-9) - Champion

• pinned Leon Larkpor (Putnam City) in 0:38
• defeated #5 Chase King (Choctaw) 7-1
• defeated John McCabe (Allen) 5-1
• defeated Anderson Salisbury (Westlake) 3-1

170 Bryton Beck (8-13) - DNP

• defeated Keith Thierry (Lawton) 7-2
• lost 8-3 to #7 Jacob Schimmels (Deer Creek)
• majored Cameron Hanson (Moore) 12-1
• pinned in 0:51 by Eli Paul (Plainview)

182 #3 Trace Fleischman (6-6) - DNP

• pinned Tres Davis (Westlake) in 1:27
• lost 7-0 to #2 Noah Hooks (Edmond North)
• pinned #9 Jak McCall (Deer Creek) in 1:46
• lost 3-2 to #6 Jared Kerr (Bixby)

195 Zach Sims (17-18) - 4th Place

• majored Zane Bailey (Edmond North) 14-5
• defeated #4 Cody Adams (Bixby) 8-4 
• lost 3-1 to Bodie Davis (Plainview) 
• defeated Cole Dixon (CPHS) 6-1
• lost 3-0 to #4 Cody Adams (Bixby) 

195 Unattached Cole Dixon (3-3) - 6th Place

• defeated Nathan Seaton (Edmond North) 10-4
• lost to Dalton Madole (Allen) 7-4
• pinned Bracken Campbell (Plainview) in 1:00
• pinned Jake Johnson (Southlake Carroll) in 1:31
• lost 6-1 to Zach Sims (CPHS) 
• lost 8-3 to Dakota Carnes (Sapulpa) 

220 Delvin Jordan (7-4) - DNP

• pinned Conner O'Neal (Plainview) in 0:49
• lost 7-3 to #1 Nic Roller (Bixby)
• pinned Colin Foster (Yukon) in 0:40
• lost 4-2 to Tyrel Bell (Choctaw)

285 Gage Fain (7-16) - DNP

• pinned in 3:23 by Dorian Fagan (Plainview) 
• defeated Hunter Richard (Edmond North) 2-1
• lost 2-1 in tie-breaker to Ashraf Mohamad (Edmond North)

Week 6 Roundup

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

#1 Booker T Washington (5-0, 3-0) District 1

#10 Claremore (2-4, 0-3) District 1

No surprise here, the Hornets registered yet another dominating win, their first shut out of the season, over Claremore. OSU-commit Justice Hill rushed for 276 yards and five touchdowns and personally registered more than double Claremore's total yardage. 

The pick: BTW 52, Claremore 3

Results, BTW 40, Claremore 0. 

#2 Bartlesville (6-0, 3-0) District 1

#6 Muskogee (2-4, 2-1) District 1

Bartlesville keeps on winning, but they keep doing it sloppily and last minute. Simply looking at the score and you'd think it was a Bartlesville slaughter, but believe it or not, the Roughers led 21-7 at one point. Statistically, the teams were neck-and-neck and it looks like Rafe Watkins might finally be whipping the Roughers into shape. Muskogee could very well be shaping up to be a major contender next year.

The pick: Bartlesville 54, Muskogee 14

Results: Bartlesville 48, Muskogee 27

#3 Bixby (4-2, 2-1) District 1

#12 Ponca City (1-4, 0-3) District 1

Oh how the mighty keep falling. The Spartans were without go-to running back Nic Roller for most of the night, and while they firmly routed the Wildcats, it was far from the devastation that was expected of the former number one team. The defending state champions are far from out of contention for a playoff-repeat, but they need to get their stuff together quick. 

The pick: Bixby 47, Ponca 6

Results: Bixby 43, Ponca 21

#4 Sand Springs (2-3, 2-1) District 1

#13 Sapulpa (1-4, 0-3) District 1

Yet another exciting installment of the greatest rivalry in Oklahoma. Between QB Hunter Greathouse's 181 passing yards and Lane Lettich's 116 rushing yards, the Sandites dominated in air and on land, and the defense was outstanding as well, with numerous interceptions and fumble recoveries. 

The pick: Sand Springs 42, Sapulpa 35

Results: Sand Springs 44, Sapulpa 10. 

#5 Lawton (4-1, 3-0) District 2

#8 Stillwater (2-4, 1-1) District 2

Just when I thought Stillwater was starting to make a come-back, they go and get shut out. Four different Lawton players crossed the hundred-yard mark against Stillwater as the top team in District 2 affirmed their position.

The pick: Lawton 35, Stillwater 14

Results: Lawton 24, Stillwater 0

#7 Putnam City West (3-3, 1-1) District 2

5A Capitol Hill (1-5) 

Not going to lie, I'm jealous that District 2 gets to explore a little more. Non-district games are a lot more exciting to me. What I don't understand is why they waste their time with teams their JV could stomp. 

The pick: PCW 42, Capitol 7

Results: PCW 56, Capitol 0

#9 Midwest City (4-2, 2-1) District 2

#14 Enid (1-5, 0-3) District 2

Enid just keeps getting floored, and Midwest City found their feet after being upset last week by Stillwater.

The pick: MWC 35, Enid 12

Results: MWC 38, Enid 6

#11 Choctaw (4-2, 2-1) District 2

#15 Eisenhower (0-6, 0-2) District 2

The pick: Choctaw 38, Eisenhower 15

Results: Choctaw 59, Ike 27.

My Record

• Week 1: 10-2 (.833)
• Week 2: 12-2 (.857)
• Week 3: 6-3 (.666)
• Week 4: 6-2 (.750)
• Week 5: 5-3 (.625)
• Week 6: 8-0 (1.00)
• Overall: 47-12 (.796)