No. 15 Lady Sandite Volleyball falls 3-1 to at 5A No. 5 Collinsville; Mutiri scores 19 kills

Photo: Scott Emigh

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 15 ranked Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (21-13) played a tough one against 5A No. 5 Collinsville (20-9) Thursday night, falling 3-1 in a match that at times felt like a slumber party for both teams. 

The Sandites started out with a 4-0 lead in the first game thanks to back-to-back kills from Ohio State University commit Gloria Mutiri and a pair of errors from the Cardinals. They gave the points right back, however. The girls committed a pair of errors, 6'5" Arizona-basketball commit Mallory Vaughn blocked a shot from Mutiri, and Shea Thomas set up Katlynn Wheeler for the game-tying shot. 

SS Kills: Mutiri 19, Kersgieter 8, Youngblood 6, Leslie 3, MaKenzie Ward 1.
CV Kills: Flanagan 14, Wheeler 7, Vaughn 6, Haught 6.

SS Assists: Makenzie Ward 23, Burris 3, Kersgeiter 2, Leslie 1.
CV Assists: Thomas 30.

SS Blocks: Mutiri 5, Burris 1, Cypert 1, Kersgieter 1.
CV Blocks: Vaughn 5, Haught 2, Thomas 1, Wheeler 1, Flanagan 1.

SS Aces: Youngblood 2, Leslie 1, MaKenzie Ward 1. 
CV Aces: Flanagan 6, Haught 1.

SS Digs: Leslie 7, Mudd 6, Youngblood 4, Mutiri 4, Kersgieter 4, Taylor 3, MaKenzie Ward 3, Madison Ward 1, Cypert 1, Burris 1.

Sophomore Holly Kersgieter set up Lee Leslie for a kill to regain the lead, but Vaughn blocked and Megan Rice hit the go-ahead kill. Sand Springs tried to hang tight with another Kersgieter/Leslie combo, but back-to-back kills from Rice and a slew of errors led to an insurmountable lead for the Cardinals who won the set 25-16.

The home team got off to a huge 7-0 advantage in set two thanks to a block and kill from Vaughn with four aces from Ashley Flanagan. The Sandites played catch-up with blocks from Mutiri and Madison Burris, a series of Cardinal errors, and an ace from Leslie to close the gap to 9-7. Rice went on a four-kill run from there, broken up only by a Cardinal error, before the Sandites found another kill from Kersgieter. 

Collinsville surged ahead to 19-12 with kills from Flanagan and Wheeler and four Sandite errors. The girls never stopped fighting, however, and once more closed up to 19-16 thanks to a pair of errors, a block from Mutiri and Makenna Cypert, and a kill from Mutiri. The two teams exchanged three-point runs from there and ultimately the home team won 25-19 with a kill from Flanagan.

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The third set went to the Sandites who built their own 7-0 lead this time. An error from Flanagan put the girls on a run with a pair of aces from freshman Devree Youngblood and kills from Mutiri off sets by Leslie and MaKenzie Ward. 

The Cardinals battled back to 7-4 with a pair of kills and a pair of errors, but the Sandites continued to hold their own, playing their most awake and competitive set of the match. The Cardinals never once led or tied in the duration of the game, though they came close at 21-19. The Sandites won 25-20 led by seven kills from the Mutiri and three by Kersgieter. 

The fourth set saw both teams step up their game, though the Sandites lead from the start till 14-14. An error from Youngblood gave Collinsville the ball and Flanagan served up fifth and sixth aces of the night. An error from Leslie and kills from Vaughn and Wheeler gave the Cardinals a six-straight run for a 16-14 lead that they held to the end. Ward set up a pair of kills for Kersgieter and served an ace late in the game to pull close at 23-21 and an error by Vaughn put the girls within a point, but Flanagan scored on a hard spike and Vaughn scored on a tipped ball for the 25-22 win. 

The Sandites were outperformed in both kills and errors by the Cardinals, who committed only 36 faults through the whole match compared to the Sandites' 44. Mutiri led both teams in kills with 19, in addition to 5 blocks. Flanagan was the leading scorer for Collinsville with 14 kills, followed by Vaughn with 11 and Rice with 10. Ward did the bulk of the setting for the Sandites with 23 assists, while Thomas did all of the setting for Collinsville and registered 30 assists. Leslie had 7 digs for the Sandites, followed by Baylee Mudd with 6.

Lady Sandites fall 3-1 despite valiant effort against #3 Norman North

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 18 ranked Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (10-8) met their match in the No. 3 Norman North Timberwolves (10-2) Friday afternoon at the Broken Arrow Tournament. It took the Sandites two games to find their rhythm against one of the most aggressive teams they’ve met this season.

Norman North utterly dominated the first two sets 25-7 and 25-8. Sand Springs managed to tie the first game 2-2 with a block combo from Gloria Mutiri and Lee Leslie, but the Timberwolves ran away with the next six rallies before Mutiri found a set from Mackenzie Ward for the kill. Norman grabbed five more points from there, gave up one on an error, then stole four more for a 17-4 lead. The Sandites only scored three more points, all of which came from errors.

In the second set the Timberwolves exploded to 9-1 before Leslie set up Holly Kersgieter for the kill. Leslie scored a kill off Ward, then combined on a block with Mutiri at 14-4. Mutiri added an ace and Kenzie Bradshaw scored a kill, but the Timberwolves coasted safely along for the win.

The Lady Sandites found their footing in the third game and doubled down on the Timberwolves for an early 8-4 lead thanks to kills from Mutiri and a block from Kenzie Bradshaw. Norman battled back with kills from Hallie Hembree, Lexi Thompson, and Maggie Davis, then tied things up at 9-9 as Davis and Lauren Kersey blocked a Mutiri spike. 

The teams fought back and forth for the lead and eventually Norman pulled away as far as 18-13 with a kill from Hembree, but the Sandites got back within a point thanks to a Bradshaw kill, Mutiri block, and Lee ace. Thompson found Abbey Woodrow's set for a kill, but Mutiri scored three straight with a kill and two solo blocks, capped off by a Baylee Mudd ace for the 21-19 lead. Ward set up Mutiri for back-to-back kills to solidify the win at 25-20.

The fourth set started with promise as neither team posted a three-point lead till halfway through the game. After Ward set up Kersgieter for a kill to tie it at 8-8, Norman went on a run with six straight rallies before handing the ball over on a serve error. The Sandites were unable to capitalize on the side-out and the Timberwolves went back to piling on the kills for a 25-12 victory. 

Mutiri led the Sandites with nine kills and seven total blocks, including three solo. Bradshaw and Kersgieter each added three, and Leslie, Madison Burris, and Mudd each scored two.

Jenks sweeps Sandites 3-0 despite strong defense from Holly Kersgieter

Photo:// MORGAN MILLER

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (2-2) had little time to rest after falling to the 5A State Champions from Bishop Kelley Monday night before taking on yet another top-tier team Tuesday. 

The Lady Sandites met their match in the Jenks Lady Trojans (6-2) at the Ed Dubie Field House. The 2015 State Runners-Up picked out all the holes in the Sandite defense, scoring heavily on tipped balls.

Sophomore Gloria Mutiri led in scoring for the fourth-straight match with eleven total kills. Despite averaging more than six blocks per match this season, Mutiri ended up with only one due to the crafty Trojan offense. The majority of Jenks's kills came from lightly tipped balls and rarely on hard spikes. 

When the Trojans did go for the hard hits, the Sandites were more than ready. Sophomore Holly Kersgieter was outstanding on defense with eighteen digs in addition to her four kills. Senior Lee Leslie added eight digs and Mutiri had seven. Devree Youngblood hit the lone ace of the evening for Sand Springs.

Jenks won varsity 3-0 with sets of 25-14, 25-14, and 25-11. The Sandite JV lost 2-0 with sets of 25-12 and 25-16. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action Friday at the Coweta Volleyball Tournament. 

Payton Scott, Team Oklahoma place sixth at Junior Greco Roman Nationals

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Oklahoma Outlaws put up a tough fight, but lost back-to-back duals for a sixth place finish Thursday evening at the Cox Business Center in Tulsa. The USA Wrestling Junior Greco-Roman Dual Nationals featured thirty-four teams from twenty-six states and drew nearly 600 of the best wrestlers in the nation. Last year the Oklahoma Greco team included two Sandites in Kyler Childers and Cody Karstetter, and placed fifth overall. This year Payton Scott was the lone Charles Page student to compete in Greco.

Team Oklahoma got off to a fast start against Team Georgia Blue Wednesday morning and won every weight for a 68-2 finish. Read that story here.

Next to go down was a scrappy team from Pennsylvania who put up a tough battle but ultimately fell 38-30. Read that story here.

In the Pool D finals, Oklahoma pulled off a surprisingly easy 41-29 upset over the top-seeded team from Iowa. Read that story here.

Day two was far tougher for the Outlaws as they faced off against the toughest teams in the nation in the Gold/Silver Pool. Their dominating win streak came to an end at the hands of California in a fiercely contested battle that wasn't decided till the final match. Read that story here. 

Scott had the honor of clinching the win in the next dual, however, as the Okies edged out Florida 36-30. Read that story here. 

The final two duals would not be as kind to Oklahoma, however, as they lost to Minnesota Blue and Michigan Blue back-to-back. 

Trenton Lieurance, Wyatt Adams, Jet Taylor, Jacob Butler, and Jaxen Gilmore all won their matches against Minnesota, but the home team lost 43-22 to the eventual National Champions. Oklahoma can take some solace in the fact that they didn't lose by any more than the eventual Runners-Up from Illinois. Both teams lost by 21 points.

Lieurance won a 9-2 decision over Trenton Rogich, Adams teched Minnesota State Champ Ashton Clark 10-0, and Taylor teched Curtis LeMair 10-0. Butler pulled off a huge 12-10 upset decision over Brent Jones, who placed third at last year's Fargo Nationals. Probably the biggest win went to Jaxen Gilmore who pinned Cadet National Runner-Up Calvin Germinaro in 1:45. 

Scott lost his match by 10-0 tech fall to Southern Plains Regional Champion Travis Ostby. Alec McDoulett put up a great performance against nationally ranked No. 9 Patrick McKee that ended in a close 16-15 decision. Bear Hughes also went the distance for a 14-10 decision to Nationally ranked No. 11 Taylor Venz. 

In the placement match against Michigan Blue, the Okies were noticeably drained after a long day of brutal competition. Dalton Duffield defeated Michigan State Champion Jordan Hamdan with a 16-5 tech fall. Butler finished out the tournament undefeated after holding off Central Regional Champion Nick Freeman for a 3-0 decision. Butler was the only Oklahoma wrestler to go undefeated. Brik Filippo won a 12-0 tech fall over Trent Lashuay and Jaryn Curry pinned Dustin Gross in 1:54. Dan Baker went the distance against Nationally ranked No. 11 Jelani Embree for a 15-8 loss. 

After placing sixth in the country, the Oklahoma team earned All-American status for the third straight year.

Friday morning will begin the Freestyle Dual tournament in which Team Oklahoma is the back-to-back defending National Champions. Thirty-nine teams will be competing, including two from Oklahoma. Riley Weir and Daton Fix will be representing Sand Springs on the Oklahoma Blue team.

OK Blue is the fifth-highest seeded team in the tournament, behind California, Illinois, Iowa Red, and New Jersey, but boasts an impressive roster of nationally ranked wrestlers. Paxton Rosen is ranked 12th in the nation, Fix is ranked second, Kaden Gfeller is ranked fourth, and Wyatt Sheets is ranked 11th. Up first for team Blue is South Dakota at 9:00 am, followed by Texas Blue immediately after.

Photos of Team Oklahoma can be found at this link.

Four Sandites will represent Oklahoma at Jr Dual Nationals

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Junior Dual Nationals will return to the Cox Business Center in Tulsa on June 22nd. The Tournament will last through the 25th and will feature four Charles Page High School wrestlers.

Last year Team Oklahoma bulldozed their way through both styles, placing fourth in Greco and first in Freestyle. That talented team included three Sandites. Cody Karstetter and Kyler Childers had just graduated that year and are now wrestling the collegiate circuit. Daton Fix is back to help his State defend its title.

Riley Weir just finished his Freshman year with a 21-12 record at the 106 pound class and a State Championship appearance. Weir placed fourth at the Perry Tournament of Champions and ninth at the highly prestigious Kansas City Stampede. He came in third at the Regional Championship to qualify for State, but was eliminated after losing his first two matches. Weir nursed an injured elbow throughout the final weeks of the high school season and wasn’t even close to full strength in the post-season. This event will be a great demonstration of his true potential in the upcoming high school season.

Jack Karstetter finished his Junior year with a 39-8 record and placed second at 132 pounds in the State Championship after giving up a heart-breaker 3-2 decision to Kruz Simons of Edmond North. Throughout the high school season he placed fourth at Perry, ninth at Kansas City, second at the Geary Invitational, first at the Sand Springs Invitational, first at the Jay Hancock Memorial, and secured the Regional Championship.

Since school let out he came in Runner-Up at the UWW Cadet Greco-Roman Nationals and secured his spot on Team USA for the Pan-American Championships in Lima, Peru this July.

Daton Fix is earning his way into the history books after completing his third straight undefeated high school season. He’s currently sitting at an overall record of 118-0 with three-straight State Championships. He’s only the second Sandite in school history to win three State Championships, the first being David McGuire from 1963-1965. No Sandite has won four.

Since the high school season ended, Fix won the UWW Junior Freestyle National Championship, defeated the Iranian Champion Kheyrollah Gharamani at the Beat The Streets Gala in Times Square, and scored a pair of 10-0 tech falls over National Champion Austin Gomez to earn his way onto the USA World Team.

Fix will compete at the Grand Prix of Spain, a Senior level tournament in Madrid from July 9-10, then will travel to Fargo, North Dakota for the Junior Freestyle Nationals from July 16-23 where he is a defending Champion. From August 30th through September 4th he will compete at the UWW World Championship in Macon, France.

Payton Scott finished his Sophomore year with a 19-6 record at 152 pounds and placed fourth in the State Championship. He missed the first half of the season while getting back in shape after a long and grueling football post-season, but placed fourth at Geary, second at Sand Springs, and first at the Regional Championship.

Scott was also a member of last year’s Cadet National Dual Team that finished seventh in Freestyle and second in Greco. Overall he went 13-3 between the two styles.

Other Team Oklahoma members include:

• Alex Fields of Guthrie, 2016 Southern Plains Regional Champion in both styles.
• Rhett Golowenski of Tuttle, two-time OSSAA 4A State Champion.
• Mason Naifeh of Tulsa Union, two-time OSSAA 6A State Placer.
• Wyatt Adams of Lawton MacArthur, 2015 OSSAA 5A State Champion.
• Dalton Duffield of Westmoore, three-time OSSAA 6A finalist, 2015 Fargo National Champion.
• Jacob Butler of Elgin, 2016 OSSAA 4A State Champion.
• Kaden Gfeller of Heritage Hall, three-time undefeated OSSAA 3A State Champion.
• Brik Filippo of Tuttle, 2016 OSSAA 4A State Champion, two-time finalist.
• Beau Guffey of Tuttle, three-time OSSAA 4A State Champion.
• Jaryn Curry of Choctaw, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Champion, 2015 USAW Cadet National Runner-Up.
• Dayton Garrett of Tuttle, three-time OSSAA 4A State Finalist, 2015 State Champion.
• Wyatt Sheets of Stilwell, four-time OSSAA 4A State Champion, Oklahoma State commit.
• Christian Bahl of Stillwater, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Champion.
• Dan Baker of Sulphur, 2016 OSSAA 3A State Champion.
• Drew Hinkle of Jenks, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Runner-Up.
• Zach Marcheselli of Broken Arrow, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Champion.
• Bear Hughes of Coweta, 2016 OSSAA 5A State Champion.
• Gunner Cash of Tecumseh, two-time OSSAA 4A State Qualifier.
• Gage Johnson of Norman North, 2016 OSSAA 6A State Runner-Up.
• Trenton Lieurance of Broken Arrow, two-time OSSAA 6A State Placer.

Three Sandites compete at Southern Plains Regional Championship

The Sandites made a strong showing at the Southern Plains Regional Tournament in Dodge City, Kansas last weekend.

Clyde Boyd Middle School eighth-grader Carter Young placed first in both styles of Schoolboy 77. In Greco-Roman he pinned Devon Weber in 0:45 then defeated Nathan Mooney 10-0 and Brandon Boehm 12-0. In Freestyle he defeated Weber with a 10-0 technical fall and Vince Cornella with a 10-2 tech.

Charles Page High School junior Michael Ritchey competed in Junior 120 Freestyle at 120 pounds but failed to place. He won his first two matches with a 7-0 decision over Brock Henderson and a 10-10 overtime decision over Fabian Gutierrez, but dropped a close 5-4 match to Brady Kyner and was eliminated with a tech fall by Tanner Hitchcock.

CPHS 2016 graduate Sage Singleton also competed but failed to place after going 0-4.