Sophie Grona, Cole Higgins, and Junior High Boys Win Cleveland XC Meet

Sand Springs had an exceptional performance at all age levels in the Cleveland Tigers Cross Country Meet on Thursday, earning two individual gold medals and one team title.

Cole Higgins won his second meet of the season, leading the junior high boys to their second team title of the year. His 1.5 mile time of 7:06 was two seconds better than the runner-up and enough to lead the field of 48.

Corbin Wesson placed third in 7:29, Daniel Stuckey was fifth in 7:38, and Wyatt Shaw was sixth in 7:46,

Sophie Grona took first place out of 85 runners with a 6:38 mile to lead the elementary girls to a sixth place team finish.

Chloe and Josie Grona led the junior high girls to a second place finish in the 1.5-mile run. Ghloe took second place in 8:08 and Josie took third in 8:12. Mya Wagers finished ninth in 8:49.

The varsity boys placed second, led by Rafi Huff in third place. Huff ran the 5K in 18:09, followed by Dallas Potter with an 18:30 mark for sixth.

Conner Williamson placed 18th out of 95 runners in the elementary boys race. His 7:05 mile led the Sandites to a fourth place finish.

The varsity girls didn’t have enough runners to earn a team place in the two-mile race. Laila Mirza placed 28th out of 59 runners in 16:19.

The Sand Springs high school and junior high teams will return to action at the Frontier Valley Conference Championship on Tuesday in Muskogee.

Sand Springs Results

Elementary Girls 1 Mile
1st - Sophie Grona - 6:38
34th - Melanie Kinser - 8:47
38th - Anna Voight - 8:55
49th - Starr Corbin - 9:24
50th - Kyall Mcaffrey - 9:27
54th - Nola Chamber - 9:36
55th - Julia Myers - 9:41
78th - Brinley Mckinney - 11:55

Junior High Girls 1.5 Mile
2nd - Chloe Grona - 8:08
3rd - Josie Grona - 8:12
9th - Mya Wagers - 8:49
15th - Lexi Boone - 9:08
24th - Rowen Hull - 9:40
62nd - Vivian Burr - 11:50

Varsity Girls 2 Mile
28th - Laila Mirza - 16:19
33rd - Blakelee Meeker - 17:03

Elementary Boys 1 Mile
18th - Conner Williamson - 7:05
31st - Stu Grona - 7:24
32nd - Sutton Corbin - 7:25
41st - Hudson Waag - 7:42
65th - Mark Garner - 8:59
82nd - Liam Kinman - 10:38
85th - Kai Chambers - 11:27
88th - Fisher Abbott - 11:59

Junior High Boys 1.5 Mile
1st - Cole Higgins - 7:06
3rd - Corbin Wesson - 7:29
5th - Daniel Stuckey - 7:38
6th - Wyatt Shaw - 7:46
14th - Canyon Carnahan - 8:13
17th - Presley Gunnery - 8:22
42nd - Dean Earnest - 10:50

Varsity Boys 5K
3rd - Rafi Huff - 18:09
6th - Dallas Potter - 18:30
17th - Kordel Hartmann - 19:58
20th - Jessen Cox - 20:15
27th - Jaxon Perry - 21:15
30th - Gavin Corbin - 21:36
40th - Malachi Waldrup - 23:03
50th - Rhys Foster - 24:00
57th - Dax Wilcox - 25:03

Anderson Elementary took fifth place in the girls race, led by Catherine Mundy in 7:55, and fifth in the boys race, led by Elliott Gibson in 7:08.

Anderson Results

Elementary Girls 1 Mile
15th - Catherine Mundy - 7:56
23rd - Beighley Ray - 8:19
29th - Joaline Reeve - 8:38
30th - Sophia Reyna - 8:39
32nd - Saylor Harmon - 8:44
67th - Lilly Reinhardt - 11:01
73rd - Kinley Fulton - 11:30
74th - Hallie Graham - 11:38
82nd - Presley Graham - 12:48
83rd - Nova West - 13:32

Elementary Boys 1 Mile
21st - Elliott Gibson - 7:08
39th - Cooper Lisicki - 7:39
44th - Grayson Shoopman - 7:55
51st - Kiptyn Reeve - 8:20
52nd - Jaxon Couffer - 8:22
54th - Ace Jewell - 8:23
57th - Zander Hefele - 8:40
63rd - Lincoln Bozone - 8:56
66th - Waylon Lightle - 9:11
67th - Joseph Parsell - 9:13
71st - Kota Fulton - 9:42
76th - Elijah Ray - 10:22
78th - Vandon Flynn - 10:33
86th - Praxton Flynn - 11:36
89th - Royce Hefele - 12:19
93rd - Colton Bartell - 13:21

Laila Mirza Becomes First-Ever Girls Tournament Champion from Sand Springs

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Laila Mirza is officially the first ever regular-season tournament champion for the Sand Springs girls wrestling program.

The junior 120 pounder won the Joe Cole Classic in Cleveland, helping her team to a program-best 2nd place finish. All five Lady Sandites placed top-four in their divisions.

“I found her in the weight room because I help coach (Kevin) Avey with the girls weightlifting,” said head coach Ty Bowling, who started the girls’ program this year.

“She tries to get as much extra work (during free period) or during weightlifting period when they’re not lifting weights, and she’ll stay after practice.”

“She’s one that gets here early and stays late,” said Bowling.

Mirza pinned her first two opponents without giving up a single point, then received two forfeits in the round-robin bracket.

“She’s run cross country and she’s ran some track, and she told me at the beginning of the year that she had never ever won a medal.”

“That preseason tournament she went to she got first, then she took sixth (at Jay) and got a medal there, and then she got first here, so she’s kind of three for three on the medals in wrestling.”

Kelsi Hilton placed third at 140 pounds with three pins, only losing in a close 8-5 decision to the tournament champion.

Addily Shotwell placed third at 170 with one pin. Kreedence Behnke placed third and Madison Chambers was fourth at 100 pounds.

“Our girls are working hard,” said Bowling. “Wrestling’s not an easy sport and they’re in here every day doing it exactly like the boys are doing.”

“We’re not trying to put too much pressure on them, but we’re telling them how they’re going to be forever remembered as the girls that started (the program) and have a chance to be the first ever Sand Springs girls State qualifiers.”

The junior varsity boys placed fourth at the tournament despite mostly facing varsity competitors.

Kase Skaggs won the 113-pound bracket and four other Sandites also medaled.

Skaggs outscored his opponents 51 to 13 with a pin and two major decisions before earning a 4-2 decision over State qualifier Daxtyn Davis.

Peyton Callis was runner-up at 165 with three pins; Cash Lucas was runner-up at 285 with three pins; Jesse Moore placed third at 144 with four pins; and Logan Childers placed fourth at 113 with three pins.

The junior high boys team placed 12th with two total medalists and the junior high girls placed 14th with one medalist.

Gage Gunn placed fourth at 132 with three pins; Dallas Flores placed fourth at 155 with five pins; and Rylee Allen placed fourth at girls 117 with two pins.

The Keystone Kids wrestling club had no problem winning the Sand Springs Slam tournament over the weekend with 28 champions, nearly tripling the score of runner-up Barnsdall.

Jase Morgan, Maddix Spencer, Hagan Wolfenberger, Kason Wolfe, Acetyn Hart, Sutton Hawley, Zander Pope, Rylan Hamby, Ty Galloway, Samuel Moore, Joshua Compton, Griffin Sensintaffar, Ayreson Reiss, David Ritchey, Matthew Moore, Kasen McAffrey, Samuel Reichel, Jaxon Trotter, Brenntly Taylor, Jayce Parks, Caemon Young, Ryker Dawes, Collin Randall, Hunter Sims, Colt Combs, Kydon Harness, Gage Buchanan, and Saylor Eaglin all won their divisions.

The varsity boys and girls will return to action Tuesday, December 20th with home duals against Sapulpa at 6:00 p.m.

Junior High Boys Place Second at Home Tournament

The Sand Springs girls wrestling team took 16th place in its season opener at the Jay Border Wars with three medalists.

Kelsi Hilton placed fourth at 140 pounds with two pins, Laila Mirza was sixth at 120 with two pins, and Tyreyalle Davis was sixth at 135 with four pins.

The Lady Sandites will return to action December 16th at the Cleveland Tournament while the boys will open the season Thursday with home duals against Duncan and Rogers Heritage.

Junior High

The boys wrestling team took second place with two champions and four runners-up at its 51st annual home tournament. The girls program placed 11th in its first year.

Riley Kester won the heavyweight bracket with five pins and a technical fall, outscoring his opponents 35-5. In the finals he won a 5-0 decision over Marley Branscum.

Corbin Wooley picked up his fourth win of the season at 132 pounds, making a comeback after an overtime loss in pool play.

After falling 8-6 to Cameron Bowman in sudden victory, Wooley won his next five matches without giving up a single point, defeating Stillwater’s Caden Johnson 6-0 in the finals.

Jaxon Grigsby was runner-up at 98 pounds, recording five pins and a technical fall, outscoring his first six opponents 60-3 before falling 5-0 to defending junior high State champion Aiden Jalajel in the finals.

Matthew Moore was runner-up at 126, pinning six opponents before falling in a 5-2 decision to defending State champion Legend Ellis in the finals.

Isaac Sensintaffer was runner-up at 155 with four pins, falling 10-0 to State champion Jakoby Petree in the finals.

Hudson Sheppard was runner-up at 170, outscoring his first six opponents 17-0 while pinning each of them in an average time of only 39 seconds. He had to medical forfeit his finals match to Haydan Yocham.

Kaden Pope finished third at 119 with four pins, outscoring his opponents 52-9. His only loss was a 3-0 decision to defending State champion Justus Heeg.

Other top-ten finishers were: Gage Gunn (4th), Hunter Spencer (5th), Kasen McAffrey (5th), Caleb Childers (6th), Colt Chambers (6th), Josh Compton (8th), David Cline (8th), and Brody Wilson (9th).

Camben Garrison led the girls with a third-place finish at 96 pounds with two pins and Rylee Allen was fifth at 117 with four pins.

Ananiah King and Lyla Waldren placed 5th, Cassidy Cypert was 8th, and Cailey Miller was 10th.

Youth

The Keystone Kids placed sixth at the Owasso Takedown Classic with six champions.

Jase Morgan won 49 pounds with four pins; Jett Galloway won at 55 with two pins; Holden Yingst won at 66 with one pin; Ryker Dawes won at 64 with three pins; Collin Randall won at 82 with three pins; and Hunter Sims won at 76 pounds with three pins.

Rixon Hathaway, Jayde Parks, and Na’Kya Canady were also finalists.

Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Softball Ends Season at Broken Arrow Regional

The Charles Page High School softball team ended a successful season Wednesday afternoon with a Regional loss to Broken Arrow (28-10). The Sandites went 25-16, a seven-win improvement over last year.

Kelsi Hilton pitched a one-hitter with five strikeouts to start the Regional tournament Tuesday, and the Sandites won 2-0 against Muskogee (15-24).

The Sandites were derailed in a 9-0 loss to the host Tigers (27-10), but got back to work in their elimination rematch with Muskogee and prevailed 10-0 to stay alive.

Addison Hughes struck out 11 in a three-hitter while the Sandites combined for 14 hits. Ashlyn Clark was 4-for-4 at the plate with three runs in the five-inning run-rule victory.

The Sandite bats couldn’t keep up with Broken Arrow in the rematch, however, ending in a 16-6, five-inning loss. The Tigers took a 16-0 lead before Jaden Jordan hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth.

Jordan ended the season with a team-best .493 batting average, followed by Kelby Little with a .433 and Hilton with a .407. Jordan had a .944 slugging average with eight home runs.

Hughes went 14-11 in the circle with 139 strikeouts and a 3.05 ERA, while Hilton was 11-5 with 94 strikeouts and a 3.11 ERA.

Fishing

Hayden Lowrance and Hunter Spencer took 21st place at the Oklahoma Bass Nation trail event on Ft. Gibson Lake, Sunday, October 2nd. The duo caught four fish totaling 6.79 pounds.

Jonathan Isley and Jaxon Trotter placed 29th, Nate Griffin and Eli Rogers placed 42nd, Caden Strawn and Drew Turner placed 44th, and Decana Plummer and Gunner Beasley placed 51st.

Volleyball

The Sand Springs volleyball team ended the regular season with a 3-0 loss to the conference champions from No. 1 Jenks (28-4, 9-0). The Sandites are 16-17 overall and 3-6 in conference play.

Next up is the Regional tournament at Jenks, where the Sandites will play No. 16 Booker T. Washington (11-15) in a Tuesday elimination game. The winner of that match will play either Jenks or Ponca City (13-20) in the finals.

Cross Country

The varsity girls team placed sixth at the Cleveland meet Thursday, led by Kelsi Hilton in seventh place. Hilton ran the two-mile race in 13:28.

The varsity boys placed fifth, led by Rafi Huff in 11th and Taigh Wright in 12th. Huff ran the 5K in 19:22 and Huff finished in 19:24.

Football

The eighth grade Sandites improved to 5-0 on the season with a 48-20 win over Muskogee Green on Thursday.

E-Sports

Sand Springs Public Schools announced Thursday the addition of an eSports program at Charles Page High School. eSports became an OSSAA-sanctioned activity last school year. The school acquired new gaming computers through partnership with an unnamed donor and will be competing in Rocket League.

UFC

Sand Springs fighter Jimmy “The Brick” Flick (16-5) will officially be coming out of retirement with a flyweight bout against Jeff Molina (11-2) Saturday, January 14th.

CPHS Wrestling: Mitchell Smith, Caden Vaughn win gold at Cleveland

The Charles Page High School junior varsity wrestling team competed at the Cleveland Joe Cole Classic this past weekend while the varsity squad traveled to Kansas City. The Sandites only sent eight competitors and voided seven weight classes, but still managed to take fourth place out of eighteen teams, in a tournament that featured mostly varsity units.

Freshman Mitchell Smith won the 113-pound bracket with ease, pinning Carson Auschwitz (Barnsdall) in 1:37 and Hunter Dorius (Mannford) in 0:18.

Caden Vaughn pinned his way though the 120-pound bracket, taking down Dakotah Allen (Cushing) in 2:35, Jordan Bridges (Mannford) in 2:28, and Ryan McClary (Webster) in 3:20. Sammy Naugle went 1-2, falling to Allen and McClary, but pinned Mackenzie Owens in 1:59.

Shane Wolf lost his first match by fall to Wyatt Miller (Glenpool), but won his next three matches for third place at 106 pounds. He beat Bryson Waugh (Skiatook) 6-4, pinned Keiven Slone (Barnsdall) in 2:52, then won a 6-1 decision against Alexander Patrick (Will Rogers).

Ethan Norton pinned Caden Davis (Will Rogers) in 1:26 before falling to State Qualifier Elijah Reece (McLoud). In consolation he pinned Davis in 4:03, then won a 6-4 decision over Jarrett Penn (Chandler) for third place at 126 pounds.

Carter Goodman placed third at 132 pounds. He pinned Ty Young (Union) in 1:09 and Gabe Vieyra (Cushing) in 0:32 before falling 5-2 to State Qualifier Nathan Dekker (Cleveland). In consolation he pinned Karson Cue (McLoud) in 0:44 and scored an 18-2 technical fall against Kenneth Adams (Webster) in 5:32.

Tegen Campbell was teched 17-2 by Alex Johnson (Skiatook) in the first round of 182. He received a forfeit in his next match, then pinned Rhythm Smith (Glenpool) in 1:39 before falling to Wyatt Clark (Cleveland) in the third place match.

James Robey lost his first match 11-3 to Joey Dickens (McLoud) and forfeited his consolation match. The Sandites voided 138, 145, 152, 160, 195, 220, and 285.

Champions
106: Caydon Miller (Sapulpa).
113: Mitchell Smith (Sand Springs JV).
120: Caden Vaughn (Sand Springs JV).
126: Jacob Schwenker (Cleveland).
132: Nathan Dekker (Cleveland).
138: Dylan Brown (Cleveland).
145: Luke Young (Sapulpa).
152: Simon Young (Sapulpa).
160: Joe Cole (Barnsdall).
170: Jaden Weldon (Mannford).
182: Alex Johnson (Skiatook).
195: Jamison Wortham (Will Rogers).
220: Colby Jerome (Mannford).
285: Wes Stokes (Cleveland).

Team Scores
149.5 Cleveland
144.0 4A No. 7 Mannford
117.0 Sapulpa
104.5 Sand Springs JV
83.0 Barnsdall
83.0 McLoud
66.0 Daniel Webster
63.0 Skiatook JV
58.0 Nathan Hale
54.0 Morrison
53.0 3A No. 15 Chandler
51.0 Will Rogers
50.5 Glenpool JV
39.0 McLain
33.0 Cushing JV
18.0 Prague
17.5 Jenks JV
12.0 Union JV

Sand Springs Black places third at Cleveland Junior High Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sand Springs Junior High Black wrestling team placed 3rd at the Cleveland tournament last month. The White team placed 11th. Together the Sandites had eight placers and three champions. Brendon Wiseley, Hayden Cramer, and Caleb Phillips each won their prospective brackets.

• 80 - KJ Clark (3-2)
• 80 - Dylan Luker (3-2) - 4th Place
• 89 - Connor Lee (1-2)
• 98 - Hunter Carter (2-1) - Runner-Up
• 98 - Brendon Wiseley (4-0) - Champion
• 106 - Hunter Hilger (0-2)
• 106 - Kyler Clark (3-2)
• 106 - Jacob Rampy (4-2) - 4th Place
• 113 - Jacob Reed (1-2)
• 120 - Jared Jenkins (0-2)
• 120 - Caleb Phillips (4-0) - Champion
• 126 - Preston Medlin (2-2) 
• 132 - Braden Dahl (2-2)
• 140 - Josh Fincannon (3-2)
• 140 - Dayvon Taylor (3-1) - Runner-Up
• 150 - Tegen Campbell (0-2) 
• 162 - Justin Smith (1-2)
• 162 - Colton Sanders (2-2) - 4th Place
• 175 - Robbie Parrish (1-2)
• 175 - Hayden Cramer (3-0) - Champion
• 200 - Spencer O'Bryan (0-2)

TEAM Scores

1. Glenpool A, 159.5
2. Cleveland A, 151.5
3. Sand Springs Black, 148
4. Catoosa A, 138
5. Newkirk A, 137.5
6. Morrison, 122
7. Webster A, 90.5
8. Union B, 77.5
9. Claremore B, 74
10. Barnsdall A, 68
11. Sand Springs White, 61
12. Morris A, 34.5
13. Keys, 29
14. Glenpool B, 23
15. Morris b, 20.5
16. Pawhuska A, 20
17. Cleveland B, 17
18. Glenpool C, 16.5
19. Newkirk B, 8
20. Claremore C, 7
21. Holdenville, 4