Sandites Qualify 12 Boys, 4 Girls for State Wrestling Tournament

Charles Page High School will be well represented at the OSSAA State Championship Thursday afternoon when 6A action starts.

Both the boys and girls will begin wrestling at 4:30 p.m. in Session II at Jim Norick Arena in the State Fairgrounds at Oklahoma City.

The Sandites qualified 12 boys for State after a strong second place finish at the West Regional in Moore on Saturday. It was their highest Regional placement since 2017 and their most total State qualifiers since at least 1996, if not ever. They also had their first Regional Champion since 2019 in Zander Grigsby.

The girls meanwhile qualified four for State at the East Regional in Glenpool on Tuesday, taking eighth place as a team. Bailey Copeland became the first-ever girls State qualifier from Sand Springs in the Sandites’ second year with a girls program.

The Sandites’ fourth and fifth placers from Regionals will be first to wrestle in the wrestle-in round on Thursday, followed by the quarterfinals at 6:00 p.m. Consolation matches will begin Friday at 5:00 p.m. followed by semifinals at 7:00 p.m. Consolation semifinals will be Saturday at 11:30 a.m. followed by 3rd place matches at 1:30 p.m. and finals matches at 6:30 p.m.

Girls Regionals

Copeland (17-4), a freshman, took third place at 100 pounds with three pins. Her only loss was a 2-0 decision to Broken Arrow’s Alina Peralta in the semifinals. In the placement round she earned a 6-1 decision over Ponca City junior Camila Bohon.

Laila Mirza (38-8) took fourth place at 115, going 3-2. She pinned her first foe and won a 5-2 decision over El Reno’s Brooklynn Huggins before falling 15-3 to returning Stillwater State qualifier Abigail Rivero. In consolation she pinned Claremore’s Cambry Suskey a second time but fell 11-4 to Bixby freshman Larra Mullin.

Kelsi Hilton (37-7) placed fourth at 135, pinning her first two opponents before falling to returning State finalist Mak Gregg in the semifinals. She added another pin in consolation before falling to returning State placer Adisyn Ivers from Ponca City. Hilton actually led 2-0 after the first period but was pinned after starting the second on bottom.

Freshman Ambrielle Chambers (22-8) took fifth place at 105 with three pins, falling to Durant senior Addison Polk, a returning State qualifier, in the quarterfinals. In the consolation semis she fell to Ada junior EllaBabe Fisher but bounced back with an 8-4 decision over Muskogee’s Grace Fraser to punch her ticket to State.

The girls finished in eighth place with 83 points, just one point behind Sapulpa and one point ahead of Shawnee. Broken Arrow won the Regional over runner-up Bixby. It was a drastic improvement for the Lady Sandites, who placed 42nd last year with no State qualifiers.

Boys Regionals

Zander Grigsby (38-2) manhandled the 165-pound bracket, outscoring his opponents 36-8 without giving up anything but escape points. He pinned two opponents and had a 24-7 technical fall en route to the finals, where he earned a 6-1 decision over top-seeded Brayden Lucas, a returning State placer from Edmond North

Freshman Jaxon Grigsby (18-9) placed second at 126, dominating Gavin Horn 12-1 before eking out a 3-2 overtime tie-breaker against two-seed Barrett Byers of Piedmont. In the finals he lost 3-0 to returning State finalist Christian Belford of Edmond North.

Mason Harris (34-3) was runner-up at heavyweight, winning his first three matches by fall. In the finals he lost a 1-0 decision to defending State Champion Ricky Thomas of Edmond North.

Matthew Moore (26-13) placed third at 132 with three pins, only losing a close 4-3 decision to top-seeded Hudson Hackbarth of Edmond North. In the consolation finals he pinned Deer Creek’s Parker DeGraffenreid in 5:36.

Jaxon Trotter (39-8) placed third at 175 with a 3-1 sudden victory overtime takedown against two-seeded Alex Wilson of Yukon, a returning State placer. He teched his first opponent in 4:31 before falling 3-2 to Westmoore State placer Cole Olguin. In consolation he pinned his next two opponents before decisioning Putnam North’s Ryan Gooch 3-1 in the semifinals.

David Ritchey (20-9) placed fourth at 120, pinning his first opponent and winning a 5-1 decision in the quarterfinals before falling 9-0 to two-time State Champion Cash Donnell from Piedmont. In consolation he pinned Southmoore’s Noah Reynolds before falling 7-0 to Yukon’s Hayden Wright.

Preston Reyna (26-11) finished fourth at 150, pinning his first foe before falling to Piedmont’s Jayden Fuston. In consolation he won a major decision, a pin, and a 9-5 upset of four-seed Axton Wright from Moore before falling once again to Fuston in the placement match.

Dawsen Briscoe (23-13) took fifth place at 106, winning his first match by 5-1 decision against Yukon’s Caleb Schneider, who also finished a State qualifier, before falling to top-seeded Jake Goodin from Edmond North. In consolation he fell 6-1 to third-placer Blake Thomas of Piedmont before earning a 6-5 decision over Putnam North’s Jaaziel Benman.

Jayden Pait (17-5) placed fifth at 138, losing his first match 3-1 to Westmoore’s Gannon Morales before winning his next two matches by fall. In the consolation semis he fell 8-4 to Yukon’s Dillon Ryan but he won his placement match by 9-1 major decision against Piedmont’s Ethan Applebee.

Jesse Moore (28-10) placed fifth at 144, losing his first match 3-2 to Moore’s Seth Shouse. In consolation he pinned one foe and teched another in just 3:10 before taking a 6-3 loss against Piedmont’s Kolton Mullings. In the placement round he got a rematch with Shouse and this time won 5-2.

Brody Ensten (30-15) placed fifth at 157, bouncing back from an opening 7-5 loss to Westmoore’s Sam Gibson with three dominant wins. He pinned his next two foes and earned a 16-1 technical fall before falling 11-2 to two-seeded Barrett Weathers of Deer Creek. In the placement round he won a 2-1 rematch with Gibson, scoring an escape in overtime.

Peyton Callis (36-13) placed fifth at 190, winning his first match by decision before falling 4-3 to Yukon’s Ryan Martindale. In consolation he received a medical forfeit then pinned his next opponent before falling to Piedmont’s Jackson Blackburn. In the placement round he won a 9-2 decision over Norman’s Lance Eubanks.

Boys Win Glenpool Classic, Ambrielle Chambers is Sandites' First-Ever Girls JH State Champ

The Charles Page High School boys’ wrestling team brought home its third team title of the season from the Glenpool Warrior Classic on Friday, defending their prior year’s crown with five individual champions.

The team title was decided by half a point and came down to the heavyweight placement round where Mason Harris took first place while Broken Arrow’s Kahlen Thompson settled for third.

No. 4 Broken Arrow settled for second place, followed by Owasso in a distant third place.

Harris (30-2) earned a 9-3 decision over Christian Heritage’s Chase Graham for his 15th win in a row and second consecutive tournament title, making his way to the finals with three consecutive pins.

Also winning titles were Dawsen Briscoe, Kase Skaggs, Zander Grigsby, and Jaxon Trotter.

Briscoe (20-11) earned his first gold medal of the season after pinning all four of his foes at 106 pounds. In the finals he trailed 2-0 after giving up a first-period takedown to Owasso’s Chace Hill, but he started the second period on top and worked the Ram over for a fall in 2:57.

Skaggs (32-7) followed it up with a win at 113. The junior lightweight has now won nine matches and two tournaments in a row, also taking home gold at the Nathan Hale tournament two weeks ago.

Skaggs earned one technical fall and one pin in pool play before eking out a pair of decisions in the championship bracket. In the finals he took Sapulpa senior State-placer Cavin Peper to overtime, scoring a pair of third-period takedowns after trailing 3-0. He added a third takedown for the 6-4 sudden victory win.

Zander Grigsby (34-1) picked up his fourth tournament title of the season and has now won 12 matches in a row since his only loss of the year. Grigsby pinned his first three opponents in the first period at 165 pounds. In the finals he won a 10-2 major decision against Jenks junior Josh Henderson.

Trotter (33-7) won his second title in a row after winning the Skiatook tournament last month. He pinned his first three opponents at 175 before dominating the last two by way of technical superiority. In the semifinals he won 16-1 in only 2:48 and in the finals he defeated Glenpool senior Mason Buzbee 17-2 in 3:27.

David Ritchey (16-7) took third place at 120, only losing an 8-5 semifinal decision to Owasso senior State-placer Bryson Humphries. In the placement round he pinned Glenpool’s Jayden Worledo in 1:04.

Jayden Pait (14-2) placed third at 138, pinning his first three opponents before falling 15-3 to Broken Arrow State Champion Jake Miller in the semifinals. In the consolation finals he pinned Sapulpa State qualifier Ethan Peterson in 1:42.

Peyton Callis (32-10) placed third at 190, pinning two opponents before losing 4-2 to Jenks State qualifier Owen Jones in the semifinals. In the placement match he won a 16-0 technical fall against Broken Arrow senior Braden Jones in 3:26.

Jesse Moore placed fifth at 144, Preston Reyna placed fifth at 150, Hunter Spencer placed sixth at 126, Colt Hood placed seventh at 126, Brody Ensten placed seventh at 157, Gage Gunn placed eighth at 132, and Isaac Sensintaffar placed ninth at 157.

The Sandites (10-1) will return to action Friday at noon against No. 4 Stillwater (13-2) in the first round of Dual State at the Stride Bank Center in Enid. The winner of that dual will face the winner of No. 1 Edmond North (15-1) vs. No. 8 Edmond Deer Creek (12-7) at 2:00 p.m. The Championship finals will be at 6:30 p.m.

Junior High

The boys took seventh place and the girls took fourth place at the Junior High All-State tournament, led by freshman Ambrielle Chambers as the Sandites’ first-ever girls State Champion.

The junior high State tournament is arguable tougher than the high school tournament because there are no divisions based on school size.

Chambers pinned her first five opponents in the first period while outscoring them 15-1. In the 108-pound finals she won a 9-5 decision over Union’s Lydia Suniga with a takedown, two reversals, and three nearfall points.

Kenzie Johnson was runner-up at 87 pounds, pinning each of her first three opponents in the first period before falling to Lawton Eisenhower’s Emalyn Johnston-Stewart in the finals. She actually led 4-0 early in the match before giving up a takedown in the second.

Bailey Copeland was runner-up at 94 pounds, pinning her first three opponents before falling to Edmond North’s Alexandria Skidmore in the finals.

Kasen McAffrey was runner-up at 138 pounds, only dropping a close 1-0 decision to Ft. Gibson’s Brendan Bell. He started the tournament with a major decision, three falls, and a technical fall, outscoring his opponents 35-2 without giving up a single takedown.

Griffin Sensintaffar was runner-up at 87 pounds, losing a 6-5 decision to Hobart’s Jett Kline in the finals. He pinned his first four opponents and added an 11-0 major decision in the semifinals.

Ryder Richardson placed sixth at 76 pounds in the 6th and 7th-grade division and Jaxon Grigsby placed sixth at 128 in junior high.

Lady Sandites Enjoying Successful Inaugural Dual Season

The Charles Page High School girls wrestling team (3-1) is enjoying a successful first dual season and picked up its third win of the season Tuesday night, 42-30 against Claremore a dual that came down to the final match.

Bailey Copeland, Ambrielle Chambers, and Laila Mirza all pinned their opponents to help the Lady Sandites bounce back from a 42-30 loss at 5A No. 12 Skiatook (2-0) last week.

Sand Springs wrestled two duals at Skiatook last Tuesday, winning 60-24 against Glenpool (1-3) before falling to the Bulldogs.

Copeland, Mirza, and Tessa Urrey pinned their opponents in the Glenpool dual.

Kenzie Johnson and Kelsi Hilton secured pins against Skiatook while Mirza recorded a 14-1 major decision.

The Lady Sandites will return to action Thursday at 6:00 p.m. in the first-ever Highway 97 Rivalry dual at No. 14 Sapulpa.

Sandite Wrestling Opens Season with Double-Header Beatdowns of Glenpool & Skiatook

Kase Skaggs had the signature win of the night, defeating a returning State Finalist. (Photo by Scott Emigh).

The Charles Page High School boys’ wrestling team opened the dual season with a bang Thursday night in Skiatook, dominating 5A No. 15 Glenpool 72-0 and 4A No. 13 Skiatook 73-6.

The Sandites didn’t lose a single match, with Skiatook’s only points coming on a forfeit at 106 in the second dual of the night.

“Those are traditionally good wrestling teams,” said head coach Ty Bowling. “We thought it’d be good to start the season off against some traditional wrestling powers, so it was a good start for us.”

Sand Springs opened the season against Glenpool (1-3), Bowling’s former program.

106 was double forfeited, then Ayreson Reiss received a forfeit at 113. The next six matches were all decided by fall.

Kase Skaggs pinned Talan Williamson in 1:45, Jaxon Grigsby pinned Kamm Hart in 1:21, Matthew Moore pinned his foe in 2:27, Jayden Pait pinned Jacoby Constant in 1:52, Jesse Moore pinned Tyler Kent in 0:46, and Preston Reyna pinned Michael Lohr in 2:27.

Brody Ensten won a 13-2 major decision against Liam Saville, and Zander Grigsby had the biggest win of the night in 7-1 decision over returning State qualifier Trent Cole.

Jaxon Trotter won a 17-0 technical fall, Peyton Callis pinned Kaden Witzel in 0:45, Ali McCoy pinned Landon Pangle in 1:17, and Mason Harris pinned his opponent in 0:47 to complete the shutout.

The victory marked the second shutout and fourth 70-point margin of victory in the Ty Bowling era.

In the second dual the Sandites trailed 6-0 after forfeiting at 106, but Reiss tied it up immediately with a pin of Andrew Havens in 2:07.

The top victory of the night went to Skaggs at 120 with a 5-3 decision over returning State finalist Jagen Jones.

Jaxon Grigsby pinned Caleb Thompson in 0:43, Matthew Moore pinned Dominick King in 2:06, Pait pinned Landon Dodd in 0:28, and Jesse Moore pinned Maddox Tucker in 0:53.

Reyna got an 8-0 major decision against Ian Long, then the Sandites won the final six consecutive matches by fall to end the night.

Ensten pinned Johnny Leonard in 0:52, Zander Grigsby pinned Luke Sutton in 2:30, Hudson Sheppard pinned Eli Sutton in 1:00, Callis pinned Isaac Sherril in 0:43, McCoy pinned State qualifier Jackson Bailey in 4:53, and Harris pinned State qualifier Biggs Havens in 4:01.

The Sandites appear to have a loaded roster this season after returning 12 out of 14 starters from last year with some talented underclassmen vying for mat time.

“Guys are battling to make the lineup,” said Bowling. “We’ve got State qualifiers that are right now on the outside looking in.”

Next up on the dual schedule is a bout with 5A No. 5 Claremore (3-1) Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at Clyde Boyd Middle School.

Shelli Brown Earns 650th Career Win as Sandites Defeat Glenpool 4-1

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The Charles Page High School softball team (9-8) snapped a five-game losing streak with a milestone win Friday morning at the Bixby Tournament, dealing Glenpool (10-10) a 4-1 loss for head coach Shelli Brown’s 650th win with the Sandites.

Down 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning, freshman Lakelyn Harger hit a two-run go-ahead double to center field before scoring on a single from Kaylei Rake.

Kenzie King added an insurance run in the fourth to get the Sandites back in the win column for the first time in three weeks.

Addison Hughes (6-4) got the win in the circle, tossing nine strikeouts with only four hits and no walks.

In the second game of the tournament the girls were upset 3-1 by Haskell (16-7) in a five-inning battle.

Both teams left two stranded in the first inning but Haskell got hot in the third to take a 3-0 lead on a walk, two singles, and a double.

Sand Springs stranded two more on a pair of walks in the bottom of the third and both teams stranded a single in the fourth.

The Haymakers hit two doubles in the fifth but were unable to pad their lead. Bella Wilson hit a one-out solo homer to try and spark a Sandite rally but after a single from Morgan Rector the Haymakers put the game away on a pair of fielder’s choices.

Kelsi Hilton (1-2) got the loss, pitching five hits, two walks, and three strikeouts in three innings. Kylie King (2-2) tossed three hits, no walks, and two strikeouts in relief.

Sand Springs will return to tournament play Saturday at 11:40 a.m. against Muskogee (10-11) and will play Coweta (11-9) at 1:20 p.m. at Bentley Park.

On Thursday evening the Sandites fell 9-1 to Broken Arrow (19-2) in a key district battle.

Hughes recorded the loss in that game, surrendering only two hits, no earned runs, and three walks with five strikeouts in 2.2 innings as the starter and the closer.

Hilton returned to the pitcher’s circle in the third inning for the first time in three weeks after nursing an arm injury. She tossed seven hits, three walks, and one strikeout in three innings.

Kylie King tossed two hits in the seventh inning before Hughes returned to the circle to close out the game.

Rake was 2-of-3 as the lead hitter for the Sandites while Rector scored the lone run on a single from Hilton in the fourth inning to avert the shutout.

Sand Springs kicked off the week with a brief trip to Putnam City North (6-11, 2-5) on Tuesday that was supposed to be a double-header.

The Panthers took a 1-0 lead before the game was postponed in the top of the second due to inclement weather. Those games will be made up on Monday.

Sandite Baseball Splits With Broken Arrow

The hunt for the 6A-3 district title is still wide open as the Charles Page High School baseball team (11-5, 4-2) split a district series with Broken Arrow (13-3, 5-1) last week.

“One of our goals every year is always to finish in the top two and host a Regional,” says head coach Matt Brown.

“We’ve put that opportunity right in front of us. When we go and play how we’re supposed to play, we’re going to end up in a good place at the end of the year.”

The Sandites have now split series with two of the top three teams in the district, making next week’s games against district-leading Jenks (12-6, 6-0) crucial. Sand Springs will play the Trojans at home on Monday and Tuesday on the road.

“Jenks hasn’t lost a district game yet so obviously they’re good,” says Brown.”And we’re pretty good too, so it should be some fun baseball games.”

On Monday the Sandites fell 7-1 to Broken Arrow despite an eight-strikeout effort from Eli Buxton (1-3). Rhen Rutledge scored the lone run on an RBI single from Schlehuber in the bottom of the first.

Schlehuber (3-0) got the win in Tuesday’s rematch with Easton Webb recording the save in a shootout.

“We’re really deep on the mound,” says Brown. “We’ve got a lot of experience on the mound and I think that’s our strength. We’re really pretty well rounded.”

The teams combined for 23 hits as the Sandites scored the most runs of any Broken Arrow opponent this season.

After falling behind 2-0 in the first, the Sandites took the lead once and for all in the second on a two-run single from Wyatt Rutledge. Elliott and Rhen Rutledge added one-run singles to go up 5-2.

The Tigers cut it to 5-4 in the third but Rhen Rutledge added his second scoring hit in the fourth to bring in Brody Rutledge, who tripled. Dom Ornelas’s fifth homer of the year put the visiting Sandites up 8-4.

“Dom is obviously our leader offensively for sure and Rhen and Brody have pretty great years so far. We’ve worked really really hard in the weight room all year long and it’s nice to see that translate out on the field.”

Broken Arrow scored two more in the fifth but Rhen Rutledge added an insurance run in the sixth on a single from Ornelas.

The Sandites had a Thursday game against Lincoln Christian rained out before winning a 6-4 non-district battle against Muskogee (4-10) on Friday.

The Sandites stormed out to a 6-0 lead before a sixth-inning Rougher rally flipped the script from blowout to nail-bitter.

“In Oklahoma, everyone’s good,” says Brown. “Every time you show up, there’s someone in the other dugout who’s capable of beating you.”

“Everybody in 6A has good kids…You lose focus for even a second and mess around - you’ll get beat.”

Four walks, a sacrifice hit from Schlehuber, and a two-run single from Wyatt Rutledge put the home team up 4-0 in the bottom of the first.

Jackson Turney added an RBI double in the second and Brody Rutledge scored on a sacrifice fly from Ornelas after a leadoff triple in the fourth.

Gage Elliott (4-0) got the start and win on the mound, fanning four with one hit in three innings.

Jace Arnold (1-1) entered the game in the fourth and struck out five before getting in a bind in the top of the sixth. After loading the bases with two walks and a single he struck out a sixth before Doc Estes blasted a bases-clearing triple to get Muskogee on the board.

Arnold ended with seven strikeouts to three hits and two walks in three innings. Webb recorded his second save of the week to close out the game.

“I really like where our program is at,” says Brown. “I feel like we can compete with anybody. I know for sure our kids aren’t scared of anybody. We’re at a place right now where our kids show up and expect to win and it doesn’t matter who’s in the other dugout. They expect to win every single time.”

Sand Springs will host Glenpool (7-11) Thursday at 5:00 p.m. before traveling to Edmond Deer Creek (10-8) on Saturday.