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.

Bishop Kelley Volleyball wins 36th consecutive Regional Championship

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A version of this story was originally written for the Tulsa World.

It’s hard to stop a freight train, and it’s hard to stop Bishop Kelley from reaching the State Tournament. The Class 6A No. 1 Comets (28-5) streaked their way to a 36th consecutive Regional Championship Tuesday night at the Eusebius S. Beltran Activities Center.

Moving up from 5A in 2020 has done little to slow down the powerhouse volleyball program, which won its 19th gold ball last year and appears to be on a collision course for another State Finals appearance.

The Comets swept past Ponca City (5-13) and Booker T. Washington (15-21) in straight sets, winning 25-4, 25-10, and 25-7 against the Wildcats, and 25-15, 25-11, and 25-14 against the Hornets. 

“We’re really proud to get to play Booker T.,” said head coach Jerri Berna. “They’re a fine team and we really enjoyed competing with them and the way they pushed us to have to overcome. We couldn’t be more excited to go to State.”

Bishop Kelley was led offensively by sophomore star Curry Kendall, who racked up 12 kills and two aces against the Hornets, with seven kills in the first set alone. 

“Curry is absolutely one of the best outside hitters in the state,” said Berna. “We’re really proud of the work that she does and the balls she puts away, but I know she would also give a big shoutout to her team.”

There was no shortage of offensive firepower from the team. Brooke Goen scored nine kills, and Madeline Barton added six. Kate Schneeberg recorded 30 assists, while Milee Jackson and Jessica Shildt led the team on defense. 

“This is probably the most parity there’s ever been in 6A,” said Berna. “We’re really proud of the way we played tonight. We’re really quite honored to be part of such a legacy of 36 years in a row and we’re just going to do the best we can to keep working up until the State Tournament, see what the draw looks like and give it our best shot.”

Joining the Comets at State will be Edmond Santa Fe, Jenks, Edmond Deer Creek, Norman North, Edmond Memorial, Broken Arrow, and Owasso.

The Hornets defeated No. 16 Sand Springs (14-20) in straight sets to reach the finals, with sets of 25-12, 25-18, and 26-24. Taryn McIntosh scored eight kills, Makenzie Johns had seven kills, and Sydney Thompson scored six. Brenna Weaver and Bridget Johnson recorded 11 kills apiece.

Leading the Sandites was Kasidy Holland with seven kills, Teyha Johnson with 18 assists, and Charley Fahland with 15 digs. 

Walden leads ladies to third place finish

The CPHS Cross Country girls took 3rd at Ponca City on August 27th with the following individual results.

1. Cheyenne Walden (2-time state champion) 12:05

17. Alexis Davis 14:49

18. Nia Byrd 14:51

24. Elizabeth Watts 15:13

30. Melina Flores 15:47

45. Julia Lewis 17:26

50. Emma McFarland 18:25

Team results were as follows

1. Bartlesville

2. Enid

3. Sand Springs

4. Edmond Santa Fe

5. Perry

6. Deer Creek Lamont

7. Ponca City

8. Pawhuksa

9. Tonkawa

The boys came in 4th place with the following individual results.

16. Landin Green 11:44

21. Aden Baughman 12:14

27. Ian Baustert 12:54

30. Brennan Williams 12:58

31. Nathan McKnight 13:01

32. Austin McCaskey 13:15

Team results were as follows

1. Bartlesville

2. Enid

3. Ponca City

4. Sand Springs

5. Tonkawa

6. Pawhuska

Click here to read the Tulsa World write-up.