Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Kelsi Hilton wins Diamond State Tournament

The Sand Springs girls varsity wrestling team took 25th place at the Inola tournament over the weekend with two medalists. Kelsi Hilton took second place at 130 pounds with three pins while Kreedence Behnke placed sixth at 100.

The junior varsity boys placed 10th at Inola with two medalists. Ayreson Reiss scored two pins and a technical fall in a runner-up performance at 106. Preston Callis was runner-up at 165 with four pins.

Hilton took first place at the Diamond State Lady Invitational over winter break, pinning three opponents for her first regular season title.

Laila Mirza and Madison Chambers placed third, Gracie Young was fourth, and Addilly Shotwell and Kreedence Behnke were sixth in Springdale.

The Keystone Kids crowned seven champions and 10 runners-up at the Bedlam Battle in Stillwater.

Brackton Upton, Maddix Spencer, Bryson Pope, Kasen McAffrey, and Trey Tunnell all won their divisions while Kydon Harness won in two divisions.

Jett Galloway, Na’Kya Canady, Caemon Young, Ryker Dawes, Jayce Parks, Eric Foust, Hudson Waag, Carsten Reiss, Wes Wilson, and Samuel Moore all took second place.

Boys Basketball

The Sand Springs varsity boys (6-3) have already matched last season’s win total with a third-place performance at the East Central Classic in Ada over the weekend.

On Thursday the Sandites won 51-42 against Ardmore (4-7) behind a 13-point performance from Michael Foster and 11 points from Blake Johnson.

They slipped against host Ada (8-3) on Friday, however, in a close 46-43 battle after leading 26-18 at halftime and 34-29 to start the fourth. Kooper Kelly scored 11 to lead the Sandites.

In the placement round Kelly was once against the team leader with 11 points in a 53-45 win over 3A No. 8 Hugo (10-4). Kelly was named to the All-Tournament team.

Girls Basketball

Hailey Jackson became the second player under Josh Berry to join the 1,000 point club at Sand Springs as the Lady Sandites (8-4) placed sixth at the Putnam City Invitational.

The senior star scored 28 in a 50-46 loss to No. 17 Norman North (6-5) on Thursday and added 17 in a 49-34 win over Muskogee (2-6).

In Saturday’s placement match with 4A No. 7 Harding Prep (12-2) Jackson scored 25 and put herself over the 1,000 mark with a third-quarter free throw. The Sandites lost that game 57-47.

Sakauri Wilson scored 13 and Kiaryn Taylor added 12 in the win over Muskogee, and Wilson added 17 against Harding.

Sandite basketball will return to action with conference road games at Union on Tuesday and will host Owasso on Thursday.

Football

Several Sandite football players are receiving college offers. Jacob Blevins, Kyle Morrall, and Ryley Kester have all been recruited by Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

Former Sandite offensive line coach Jason Medrano has been hired as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at NWOSU.

Mitchell Smith wins Cushing Tournament, Sandites undefeated in duals

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School wrestling team (3-0) is off to a hot start in 2022, winning duals against Jenks and Perry in dominant fashion. 

The Sandites steamrolled Jenks 67-9 with nine pins on Tuesday, January 4th, then sabotaged 3A No. 11 Perry’s homecoming 60-12 on Thursday before competing at the Cushing Tiger Invitational over the weekend.

Junior standout Mitchell Smith secured his second tournament title of the season, three other Sandites medaled, and the team earned 11th place out of 31 teams.

Smith (16-2) has won 13 matches in a row since a fourth-place finish in the season-opening Perry tournament, including taking first place and the Outstanding Wrestler accolade at the Cabot tournament last month.

“I think he’s going to surprise somebody at the end of the year,” said fourth-year head coach Jarrod Patterson. “There’s a lot of really tough wrestlers around his weight, but he’ll surprise one of those guys. He’s a beast on top. He’s got a little work to do on bottom, but overall he’s gotten a whole lot better over the last year.”

With the postseason only a month away, Smith has his eyes set on the State tournament. 

“I’ve qualified two years in a row and I haven’t placed yet, so I really just hope to place this year,” said Smith. 

For the first time since 1998, the Sandites didn’t have anyone medal at last year’s State tournament, despite qualifying four. “We’re definitely all motivated to go get it this year,” Smith said.

At Cushing, Smith pinned his first two foes in the first period, then built a 7-0 lead against Skiatook State Runner-Up Isaac Long before pinning him in the 145-pound semifinals. He wrapped up the tournament with a 5-4 decision over Sperry State Champion Brady Benham.

“If it weren’t for (Coach Patterson) I don’t think I’d be where I am right now on my feet,” said Smith. “He’s probably the best technician coach in the state in my opinion.”

Smith also credits his training partner Ethan Norton with pushing him to the next level, as well as his dad, Kelly Smith, for helping him on the mat.

Eli Kirk, a two-time State-placer from Guthrie, put an end to Zander Grigsby’s undefeated start to the season. The sophomore bounced back in the 120-pound consolation bracket, however, and pinned Cushing’s Daniel Herndandez for third place.

Jaxon “Scout” Trotter took fourth place at 138 and Mason Harris placed fifth at 285, pinning Blackwell State qualifier JD McCleary in only 39 seconds.

The Sandites have been leaning heavily on their underclassmen this season. 

“It’s a good group of kids,” says Patterson. “I enjoy coaching them. They all come in and work hard, and you can already see the improvement throughout the year. I’m excited for that group.”

Next week will prove even tougher for the Sandites, who host No. 3 Bixby (1-1) on Thursday before hosting the 57th annual Bobby Lyons Invitational Friday and Saturday.

“Our tournament’s real tough. We’ll have Bixby, Owasso, Stillwater, and district duals coming up, so we’ve got a tough road ahead of us,” said Patterson. 

“They’re working hard and wrestling good, so we’ll see. A couple of the kids were out sick, so if we can get them back on the mat and get everybody healthy, we should be alright.”

The Junior Varsity team placed 22nd at the Inola Tournament, led by Jesse Moore in fourth place and Ayreson Reiss in sixth place.

For the Keystone Kids wrestling club: Hudson Waag, Jase Morgan, Maddix Spencer, Ty Galloway, Mylum Ache V, Ryder Black, and Ryley Kester all won their divisions at the Bedlam Battle in Stillwater. 

CPHS Basketball: Boys beat Inola 56-44, Marlo Fox scores 28

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The Class 6A No. 15 ranked Charles Page High School boys’ basketball team is 2-0 for the fourth straight year after escaping Inola (0-2) in the first round of the Jerry O’Quin Tournament Monday night. The Sandites beat the home team 56-44 after holding the Longhorns to only three points in the third quarter.

Inola played a close, streaky game against the Sandites and led 24-22 at halftime. The Sandites needed back-to-back threes from Marlo Fox to take their first lead at 8-4, and the senior star added two free throws and a layup to tie it at 12-12 before the first buzzer. He added five more points in the second quarter, aided by a layup from Daren Hawkins and a free throw from Trevor Stone to lead 20-12 before Caden Thomas and the home team stormed back to take the lead.

The game tied again at 26-26 before a putback from Ethan Oakley gave the visitors the lead for good. Sand Springs scored 16-straight points and had their biggest advantage at 47-29 before the Longhorns rattled off ten in a row to try and battle back.

Fox finished the game with a career-high 28 points, including five three-pointers, along with six rebounds and three steals. Jason Clark was the only other Sandite in double digits, with 11 points. Inola had three players in double digits. Norman led his team with 11 points, followed by Thomas and Garrett Cummins with ten each.

Sandite Basketball will open up Frontier Valley Conference play Tuesday evening at Bartlesville (0-1, 0-1). The boys will return to Inola Thursday at 5:30 p.m. for the tournament semifinals. Inola will play in the consolation semifinals Friday at 8:30 p.m.

CPHS 56 Inola 44
1Q: All 12-12.
2Q: Inola 12-10.
3Q: CPHS 12-3.
4Q: CPHS 22-19.
Free Throws: CPHS 17-of-26, Inola 7-of-11.
Field Goals: CPHS 17-of-42, Inola 16-of-37.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 7, Inola 4.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 17, Inola 16.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 24, Inola 20.
Steals: CPHS 9, Inola 5.
Blocks: CPHS 1, Inola 1.
Fouls: CPHS 13, Inola 20.

(Sand Springs)
Scoring: Fox 28, Clark 11, Savage 6, Oakley 4, Hawkins 3, Shoemaker 2, Stone 1, Corona 1.
Offensive Rebounds: Hawkins 2, Fox 1, Oakley 1, Corona 1, Stone 1, Shoemaker 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Hawkins 6, Fox 5, Savage 2, Oakley 2, Corona 1, Shoemaker 1.
Total Rebounds: Hawkins 8, Fox 6, Oakley 3, Savage 2, Corona 2, Shoemaker 2, Stone 1.
Steals: Fox 3, Hawkins 2, Savage 2, Oakley 1, Brockman 1.
Assists: Clark 2, Savage 2, Brockman 1.
Blocks: Oakley 1.
Fouls: Hawkins 4, Clark 3, Oakley 2, Corona 1, Brockman 1, Stone 1, Shoemaker 1.

(Inola)
Scoring: Norman 11, Cummins 10, Thomas 10, Parsons 6, Biggs 3, Spurlock 2, Sherrod 2.
Fouls: Spurlock 4, Sherrod 4, Norman 3, Cummins 3, Biggs 2, Thomas 2, Parsons 1, Brown 1.

CPHS Wrestling: Sandites place 13th at Inola Tournament

The Charles Page High School junior varsity team sent eight wrestlers to the Inola Tournament this past weekend and placed 13th out of 19 teams in a mostly varsity tournament. The Broken Arrow JV team won the tournament.

Colton Luker placed third at 126 pounds with a 4-1 record. He beat Bradley Saucedo (Broken Arrow) 6-5, then pinned Dakota Briggs (Vian) in 5:54 before falling to runner-up Connor Newell (Bentonville). In consolation he pinned Blain Jones (Tahlequah) and received a forfeit in the finals.

Harley Newberry placed sixth at 113 with a 3-2 record. He pinned Levi Garrett (Skiatook) in 1:47, majored Riley Lord (Locust Grove) 11-1, and beat Landon Shell (Pawnee) 10-5. He was beaten twice by Bentonville freshman Zander Payne, who finished third, and forfeited the placement round.

Sammy Naugle placed sixth at 120 with a 3-2 record. He majored Colin Young (Broken Arrow) 12-3, pinned Mackenzie Owens (Barnsdall) in 3:20, and beat Jaxon Ward (Skiatook) 3-2. His only losses were to State Qualifier Kavan Meyers (Perkins-Tryon) and Carter Henderson (Inola), who placed second and third. Naugle forfeited the placement round.

Abe Hernandez placed sixth at 132 with a 2-2 record. He beat Jake Cash (Tecumseh) 9-4 and Dax Edwards (Perkins-Tryon) 5-2 before falling 9-3 to State Qualifier Carson Ferguson (Tahlequah). In consolation he injury defaulted in the semifinals and forfeited placement.

Tegen Campbell placed sixth at 182 with a 3-2 record. He pinned Jacob Hunnicutt (Morrison) in 2:31 before falling to tournament champ Ramses Soto (Broken Arrow). In consolation he pinned Andre Caldera (Bentonville) in 0:52 and Ayden Arnold (Pryor) in 1:30 before falling to third-place winner Dil’n Murchinson. He forfeited the placement round.

Cody Crawford went 1-2 at 160. He won a 6-3 decision over Ryan Reese (Tahlequah), but was pinned by Dakota Monk (Locust Grove) and Zack Lawley (Broken Arrow).

Santana Naugle was 1-2 at 195. He pinned Kadin Culver (Pryor) in 1:49, but fell 6-5 to Demetrius Macon (McLain) and 2-1 to Blair Chancellor (Locust Grove).

Hunter Hilger went 1-2 at 132, falling to Kasey Griffin (Skiatook) and Dylan Naveck (Pryor). He received an injury forfeit from Andy Cerda (Bentonville).

Team Scores
239.5 Broken Arrow JV
167.5 3A No. 13 Inola
124.0 3A No. 14 Pawnee
122.0 Morris
117.0 Tonkawa
107.0 Locust Grove
107.0 Tecumseh
97.5 Tahlequah
96.0 3A No. 14 Perkins-Tryon
90.5 McLain
83.0 Barnsdall
71.0 Vian
67.0 Sand Springs JV
63.0 Bentonville JV
61.0 Pryor JV
49.0 Union JV
40.0 Salina JV
37.0 Skiatook JV
18.5 Davenport

Champions
106: Ethan Rodriguez (Broken Arrow).
113: Grant Floyd (Inola).
120: Jake Coffee (Vian).
126: Carson Robinson (Tonkawa).
132: Jaxen Wright (Morris).
138: Cale Crawford (Broken Arrow).
145: Braden Anderson (Broken Arrow).
152: Dayton Hill (Broken Arrow).
160: Blake Skidgel (Broken Arrow).
170: Jedd Barrett (Inola).
182: Ramses Soto (Broken Arrow).
195: Dalton Diacon (Inola).
220: Torrance Ingram (Broken Arrow).
285: Alton Allen (Perkins-Tryon).