Sandite Alumni Report: Track, Wrestling, Volleyball & More

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Courtesy of OSU Athletics.

Oklahoma State University super-senior Daton Fix, a 2017 CPHS alum, is now 8-0 on the season and ranked third in the country at 133 pounds.

Most recently Fix won an 11-3 major decision against No. 7 Evan Frost to help the No. 5 Cowboys win a 21-12 upset against No. 4 Iowa State (9-2) Saturday night.

OSU is now 10-0 on the season and will return to action Friday with a home dual against Arizona State (3-4).

2022 alum Ethan Norton is in his sophomore season at College of the Ozarks. The 157-pounder went 1-2 at the Pete Willson Invitational this weekend, earning a 6-5 decision over Muskingum’s Zeke Poulos.

Men’s Basketball

2021 CPHS alum Marlo Fox is in his junior year at Rogers State University. The Hillcats are 11-8 on the season and 8-5 in the MIAA conference.

Rogers State will look to bounce back from a 75-53 loss at Missouri Southern when it hosts Washburn (13-6, 9-4) Thursday in Claremore.

Cheer

2022 alum Ashley Blake is in her sophomore year at Oklahoma Baptist University while 2020 alum Coleman Wright is representing the Sandites at Nichols College.

Women’s Track and Field

2021 alum Erika Baker is a distance runner at Pittsburg State University, where she placed 24th in the 5000 meter run Saturday at the Gorillas’ home invitational. The junior ran the event in 19:19.54 for eighth place in her heat.

She also ran in the recent Rumble in the Jungle Invitational on January 19th and placed 28th in the 3000 meter run with a time of 11:18.55.

Layne Kirkendoll is in her sophomore season at South Dakota State and is already seeing major success.

The 2022 alum won the high jump event at the Jim Emmerich Alumni meet on January 20th with a mark of 5 ft. 5 in. and was seventh in long jump at 17 ft. 7.5 in. as the team placed second overall.

Men’s Track and Field

2019 alum Aden Baughman made his Pittsburg State University debut at the Rumble in the Jungle Invitational on the 19th.

The junior ORU transfer placed fourth in the 600-meter finals with a time of 1:12.81, just 0.6 seconds behind the champion. He also ran the second leg of the 1600-meter relay, helping the Gorillas to a sixth place finish. Pitt State won the invitational overall.

At the Pittsburg State Invitational on the 27th he took third place in the 800-meter finals in 1:53.13. He also ran the 1600-meter relay on the Pitt State B-team that placed 10th.

Volleyball

2020 alum Gloria Mutiri is playing professional volleyball with USC Muenster in Germany. Muenster is 5-12 on the season and will return to action on Saturday against the Vilsbiburg Red Ravens.

Muenster won its latest match 3-0 against VC Neuwied, 25-11, 25-21, and 25-16. Mutiri scored 7 points in the match as the No. 3 scorer for USC.

Sandite Volleyballers Continue as Teammates in College

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PAyton Robbins

Three former Sand Springs volleyball players are still teammates even after moving up to the college level.

Teyha Johnson (Class of 2022), Charley Fahland (2022), and Payton Robbins (2023) are all continuing their volleyball careers together at Friends University and recently wrapped up an 8-25 season.

Johnson played in 10 matches this season, recording 32 assists, 5 aces, and 9 digs.

Fahland appeared in 3 matches, recording 1 assist and 4 digs.

Robbins earned a starting role as a freshman and played in 17 matches, recording 120 kills, 1 assist, 17 digs, and 14 blocks.

In addition to their on-court success, they’re also having success in the classroom. Johnson and Fahland both earned the 2023 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete award for maintaining a 3.5 GPA. Robbins was ineligible because she’s still a true freshman.

Gloria Mutiri (2020) is in her first season with the USC Münster professional team in Germany. She also played pro ball in Puerto Rico last season after graduating from the University of Oregon.

USC Münster is 1-6 on the season and sitting eighth in the Bundesliga but will have a big opportunity for a win on December 2nd at VC Neuwied (0-7).

Charley Fahland

Teyha Johnson

Former Sand Springs athletes cash in on NIL ruling

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Several former Charles Page High School athletes have been cashing in on the new Name-Image-Likeness opportunities over the past two months.

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Lady Sandites fall in straight sets to Broken Arrow despite being matched offensively

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Photo: Morgan Miller

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 15 ranked Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (21-12) hosted the No. 6 Broken Arrow Tigers (18-5) Tuesday night and battled valiantly through the match, dropping three close sets of 23-25, 23-25, and 21-25. Offensively the Sandites actually had the edge with 45 kills to the Tigers' 44, but the Broken Arrow team was more disciplined defensively and committed far less errors.

Sand Springs: 45 kills, 31 errors
Broken Arrow: 44 kills, 22 errors

SS Kills: Mutiri 22, Kersgieter 7, Youngblood 5, Leslie 3, Burris 3, Mudd 1, Cypert 1.
BA Kills: Bledsoe 19, Wratten 9, Smith 9, Blackburn 2, Bercher 2, Cowan 1. 

SS Assists: Burris 16, Ward 6, Cypert 2, Leslie 1.
BA Assists: Blackburn 31

SS Digs: Leslie 14, Taylor 11, Kersgieter 6, Mutiri 5, Burris 2, Mudd 2, Ward 2, Ward 2, Cypert 1. 

All three sets were back-and-forth affairs with the scoring being tied for nearly a quarter of the match. Broken Arrow led for the majority of the first and second sets, but the Sandites actually had the edge in game three before the Tigers came from behind to spoil it.

Sand Springs committed fourteen kills in the first set with eight of them coming from junior Ohio State University commit Gloria Mutiri. Madison Burris registered five assists in the first game. The most the Sandites ever trailed by was 17-13 before going on a four-point run to tie it up thanks to a kill from Mutiri, an ace from Holly Kersgieter, and a tipped ball from freshman Devree Youngblood. 

It was a back-and-forth game from there until an error by Makina Wratten tied it up at 20-20 and the Sandites took the lead on an ace from Burris. Kamryn Smith tied it back up at 21-21, but Mutiri scored back-to-back kills off sets from Burris and Makenna Cypert for the 23-21 advantage.

Those would be the last points the Sandites would score, however, as Mackenzie Backburn set up Mia Bledsoe for back-to-back kills, followed by back-to-back aces from Julia Bercher to win the game 25-23. Both teams committed nine errors apiece in the first set, but the Tigers had 16 kills to the Sandites' 14. 

Sand Springs scored the first kill of game two thanks to Youngblood, but the Tigers won the next four with a pair of kills from Wratten and an ace from Smith. Sand Springs one-upped the Tigers with five-straight rallies off two kills from Mutiri and a combined block by Mutiri and Cypert to lead 6-4. They held that lead till 7-7 when Blackburn set up Bledsoe for back-to-back kills. The Sandites struggled to keep the lead from there and by 11-10, it was the Tigers with the advantage.

The Sandites didn't lead again for the duration of the game, but they tied it up six more times before Broken Arrow took the penultimate lead at 17-16. Sand Springs got close at 24-23 off a Mutiri kill and Burris assist, but Blackburn scored on a fake set tipped ball to secure another 25-23 victory. Once again it was Mutiri who led the scoring for the Sandites with nine points, and Burris registered seven assists.

Sand Springs got off to another great start in the final set and lead for 45% of the game. Wratten scored the first kill of the set, but Lee Leslie tied it up, Mutiri took the lead on a kill, Burris served an ace, and Mutiri registered a solo block for the 4-1 advantage. Broken Arrow didn't manage to tie it till 10-10 off a Sandite error.

From there the game was back-and-forth. Burris, Cypert, and Bledsoe all hit aces. The game tied at 19-19 off a Tiger error, but once they regained the lead, they held it till the end and won 25-21.

Errors have been the defining factor in nearly every Sandite loss this season as the high-powered Sandite offense led by Mutiri, Kersgieter, and Youngblood has little difficulty in keeping up in a shootout. Any time the communication is good, the Sandites win with incredible numbers. But when they start building campfires and colliding, that's when it falls apart. Lately, however, they've done far more destroying than falling apart.

The Sandites upset No. 14 Bixby 3-2, went 6-2 at the Catoosa Tournament, upset 4A No. 1 Metro Christian 2-0, and upset No. 10 Union 3-2 as well. Since the month began, their only losses have been 3-0 to No. 5 Owasso, 2-0 to 4A No. 3 Victory Christian, and 2-0 to 4A No. 1 Metro Christian, who they split with. The errors that plagued the beginning of the season are becoming fewer, the defense is getting tighter, and the offense is continuing to give it 100% all the way till the end. 

The Sandites have only two matches left before the Regional tournament and both are away games. They will travel to 5A No. 5 Collinsville (19-9) this Thursday at 6:00 p.m., and will take on their Highway 97 rivals from Sapulpa (2-11) next Monday at 6:30 p.m.

Gloria Mutiri commits to Ohio State University for volleyball

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior Gloria Mutiri is the first Sandite of the Class of 2018 to officially declare her college intentions. The 6'2" left handed outside hitter announced her commitment to NCAA Division One Ohio State University this past weekend.

Mutiri has been the leading scorer all three years at Sand Springs, which is remarkable considering she only began playing volleyball in the eighth grade. In her time as team captain she has helped guide the ladies to their first winning season in years and has also been a major factor as a two-year starter on the girls' basketball team. 

She has been named Sandite of the Week twice in the last year, once for volleyball and once for basketball. She averages more than 4 kills and 3 digs per set this season and has recorded 55 solo blocks and 41 aces. Her season-best is 31 kills against Tulsa NOAH, though she also scored 30 against Bixby and 29 against Union in 5-set shootouts. 

The Ohio State Buckeyes are currently ranked seventeenth in the nation with a 10-2 ranking, having lost 3-2 to No. 13 BYU and unranked Missouri State. They finished last season 25-10 overall, 12-8 in the Big Ten, and 11-3 at home. Head Coach Geoff Carlston is in his ninth season at the Buckeye program and has gone 171-104 in his career there. Their last season came to a close at the NCAA Regional Semifinal with a 3-2 loss to Wisconsin.

Edit: This article previously identified Mutiri as a senior in the Class of 2017, which was incorrect.

 

Gloria Mutiri scores 22 kills in 3-2 loss to Victory Christian

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (10-5) gave the 4A No. 4 Victory Christian Conquerors (9-3) a run for their money Thursday night at Victory. The Conquerors likely thought the match would be a breeze after winning the first set 25-14, but Sand Springs surged to victory in the next two games.

The Lady Sandites managed a mere six kills in the first game. Gloria Mutiri got the girls on the board with an assist from MaKenzie Ward, but Victory held the lead at 3-1. Senior Lee Leslie picked up a point on a solo block, but Senior Andrea Redmond responded with a tipped ball for the kill. Mutiri scored one of her signature spikes, but Redmond got in another tipped ball and the Conquerors gained a point from a Mutiri error for the 8-3 advantage. 

The Lady Sandites briefly closed the gap to 16-13 thanks to a pair of Victory errors and a kill from Mutiri off MaKenzie Ward, but the Conquerors surged ahead with four straight rally wins and an ace from Redmond. Mutiri added one more kill before Victory won the next five rallies to end things 25-14.

In the second game the Conquerors started 2-0 once again with an error from Leslie and a blocked shot by Redmond, but the Sandites battled neck-and-neck and tied things up at 3-3 with a block from Makenna Cypert, and 4-4 as Mutiri blocked a spike from Redmond. Redmond committed an error to give the Sandites the lead and Cypert added an ace to push it to 6-4. 

Sand Springs held the lead for seventeen-straight rallies before committing three straight faults to tie it at 13-13. Redmond scored a pair of kills to make it 16-14, but another Cypert ace gave Sand Springs the upper hand at 18-17. The game tied twice more at 23-23 and 24-24 before Lee Leslie got the go-ahead kill and Mutiri added a block for the 26-24 win. 

In game three the two teams exchanged errors till Mutiri scored the first kill for the Sandites to make it 3-2. The teams traded the lead three more times before Victory finally started to build ground on the Sandites and push the advantage to 17-12. A timeout for the Sandites made for a scoring catalyst and the girls won four straight rallies to force the Conquerors to use a timeout of their own. 

Freshman Devree Youngblood scored a pair of back-to-back kills and Mutiri tied things up at 22-22. A consecutive touching call gave Sand Springs the lead, Madison Ward served up an ace, and Holly Kersgieter scored the winning kill off an assist from Madison Burris. The Sandites led the match 2-1.

The fourth game was decidedly Victory's from the get-go. Youngblood scored an early kill to make it 1-1, but Victory won the next eight straight rallies. Mutiri and Redmond exchanged kills, but Redmond managed to block a pair of Mutiri's spikes and the Conquerors furthered their lead to 14-3. 

Mutiri picked up a solo block and the Sandites added another point on a waffle. Kersgieter added a block and MaKenzie Ward scored an ace, then Mutiri tipped a kill into a campfire. Ultimately the early errors were insurmountable and the Sandites lost the set 25-13.

It came down to the final set. Sand Springs scored first on an error, but gave the point right back and allowed an ace. Redmond added three more kills for an 8-5 advantage, but Sand Springs won three straight rallies with kills from Kersgieter and Youngblood to tie it up. 

Victory used a timeout to break up the Sandite momentum and the girls were unable to score again for the duration, save for a service error by the Conquerors. Victory narrowly grabbed the 15-9 win for the match.

Mutiri led her team in scoring by a landslide with 22 kills, including five blocks. MaKenzie Ward registered fifteen assists as well as two aces. Redmond led the scoring for both teams with 23 total kills including three blocks and an ace. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. in round one of the Broken Arrow Tournament against Tulsa NOAH Home School. Immediately after that match they will play No. 3 Norman North (7-2) and at 3:00 p.m. they will take on Moore (1-8).