Sports Roundup: Layne Kirkendoll places second in State Championship Long Jump

Courtesy of Tommy Dial.

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School track and field team ended its season Saturday afternoon in Edmond, and three Sandites made the trip. 

Junior Layne Kirkendoll repeated her freshman performance in the Long Jump by finishing as Runner-Up. Her 18 ft. 1.75 in. jump was her third-best mark of the season. She also placed fifth in the High Jump with a height of 5 ft. 4 in. The top five jumpers all cleared the same height, but Kirkendoll took fifth on criteria. 

Senior Joseph Mattison signed a letter of intent to run for Coffeyville Community College last Tuesday, and at State he competed in two events. His 22.51-second 200-meter dash earned 10th place and his 20 ft. 1.5 in. long jump placed 11th. 

“JoJo (Mattison) is the definition of hard work and determination,” said Head Coach Tim Dial. “He is the type of kid that every coach wishes they had a team full of.”

Greg Reed also competed in the long jump and placed 16th at State with a distance of 14 ft. 11.25 in.

Baseball

Brock Swanson, Brycen Peterman, and Kaden Young all signed letters of intent to play at Oklahoma Wesleyan University next season. 

Basketball

Former Sandite Colt Savage signed to play at Cameron University after spending two seasons at the University of Central Oklahoma. “Colt is an extremely poised guy that brings our team a lot of versatility at the small forward position,” said CU Head Coach Andrew Brown. “He has great touch shooting on the perimeter along with a strong build to take advantage of size matchups. We are excited about how he fits in our system.” 

Marlo Fox signed a letter of intent to play at Rogers State University after decommitting from Seward County Community College.

Savage is the second-highest scoring player in Sand Springs history with 1,697 points, and Fox ranks sixth with 1,065.

Cheer

Claire Smith signed a letter of intent to cheer for the University of Central Arkansas Bears. 

Football

Zach Heinen signed a letter of intent to kick for Concordia University Wisconsin. The future Falcon was a perfect 32-of-32 kicking PATs this past season and 51-of-52 in his career, and he was 3-of-4 on field goals with a career long of 39 yards. 

Daren Hawkins signed to play at Abilene Christian University in Texas. Hawkins played three years at receiver and totaled 546 yards on 37 catches, with nine touchdowns before switching to defense. He totaled 22 tackles and one fumble recovery his senior year. 

Soccer

Xander Quiroga signed a letter of intent to play goalie at Murray State College in Tishomingo. Teagan Smith signed with Southwestern College in Kansas. Smith led her team in scoring this season with five goals.

Sports Roundup: Layne Kirkendoll and Greg Reed win Regional Championships

Courtesy of Tommy Dial.

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School baseball team ended the season 19-21 in their first full year under Head Coach Matt Brown, falling 6-4 in the Regional Championship against Bixby (28-12). They went 3-2 in their final week of the season and battled back through the losers’ bracket at Stillwater’s Couch Park to force a tie-breaker game against the Spartans.

Bixby rallied from a 5-0 deficit to win game one of the tournament on Thursday. Blake Nichols hit a three-run blast to tie it in the seventh, and the Spartans won on a walk off in the eighth. 

Carson Seabolt tossed five strikeouts as the Sandites rolled Booker T. Washington 11-3 in the next game, then Brycen Peterman pitched a 5-3 upset win against host Stillwater. Cason Savage went 3-for-3 at the plate with 2 RBI and a run as the Sandites earned a rematch with Bixby.

Wes Strand gave Bixby a 1-0 lead with a solo homer Friday evening, but the Spartans left nine runners stranded and Sand Springs scored four runs on five hits in the fifth. Keaton Campbell hit a two-run double for the final score and Jace Arnold got the win on the mound.

The Sandites out-hit the Spartans 9-7 in Saturday’s Championship game, but the Spartans blasted three homers in the 6-4 win. 

On Monday, May 3, the Sandites ended the regular season with a 6-4 win over Meeker after scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth. 

Fishing

Three Sandite high school fishing teams qualified for the Oklahoma Bass Nation State Championship. Mack Taylor and Reese David, Cruz Norris and Gunnar Casey, and Kyle and Kale Hilligoss will all fish Lake Eufala on June 13th. Nate Griffin and Jaxon Trotter qualified for the junior high tournament on June 12th. 

Golf

The boys team ended their season with a 12th place finish at Regionals, while the girls qualified two to the State Championship. Meghan Charles shot 162 to tie for 16th while Alyx Edwards shot 240 for 73rd. 

Boys Regionals: Drew Paden 162, Mason Ward 164, Cole Hight 178, Cameron Villines 189, Seth Benton 191. Girls Regionals: Charles 74, Edwards 97, Gina Foster 108, Madison Chambers 117.

Soccer

The boys’ soccer team (8-8) ended their season in a 3-2 first-round playoff loss at Stillwater, Tuesday, May 4. Jack Bratcher and Cameron Summerton scored the Sandites’ two goals. Fernando Saldana ended the season as the team’s leading scorer with 15 goals, followed by Bratcher with 13 and Summerton with 6. 

Track and Field

Sand Springs crowned two Champions and qualified three athletes for State, Saturday at the 6A Regional Track Meet in Sapulpa. Greg Reed and Layne Kirkendoll both won Regional titles in the Long Jump, and Joseph Mattison also qualified in that event.

Kirkendoll remains undefeated in the long jump this year, leaping 17 ft. 11 in. to win her eighth gold medal in that event and her 13th overall. She also came in runner-up in the high jump with a mark of 5 ft. 2 in. 

Reed crushed his previous personal best with a leap of 21 ft. 4.5 in., which ranks eighth in school history. Mattison recorded a jump of 20 ft. 9 in. for third place, and he placed fourth in the 200-meter dash in 22.4 seconds. 

The boys’ 4x800 relay team placed fourth with a time of 8:56.5 and Jazmin Lopez placed fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:28.07. 

Layne Kirkendoll sets school long jump record, wins Frontier Valley Conference

Photo courtesy of Tommy Dial.

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

The Sandite track teams had a successful week, competing at the Jenks Invitational last Monday and the Frontier Valley Conference meet on Saturday. The team won five first-place medals between the two meets, including three conference championships.

Junior star Layne Kirkendoll won the high jump and long jump at both events, and at the FVC meet she broke her own school record in long jump with a mark of 18 ft. 8 in. She has now won 12 events this season and is undefeated in long jump. Joseph Mattison won the 200-meter FVC title in 22.37 seconds and placed fourth at Jenks. 

The team will take a reduced roster to the Sapulpa meet on Friday, and some will take the week off to rest for the Regional meet Saturday, May 8th, also at Sapulpa.

Baseball

Sandite Baseball (11-18 overall, 5-9 district) split a district double-header with Putnam City Monday, April 19th, beating the Pirates 9-1 in game one before falling 4-3 in the sequel. 

Cason Savage hit a triple and a home run, scoring three runs and two RBI, and Keaton Campbell hit two doubles for two runs and two RBI in the first game. Jabe Schlehuber got the win on the mound, throwing nine strikeouts, no walks, and only one hit in five innings. 

Sand Springs out-hit the Pirates ten to six in game two, but stranded eight runners in the loss. The Sandites led 3-1 till the seventh inning when Putnam loaded the bases on two hits and a walk, and scored all three runners on an error.

They lost another close one 11-9 against Oologah on Thursday, leading 9-8 till the top of the seventh. Savage and Brooks Dudley were both 3-of-4 at the plate. 

The Sandites will host Guthrie Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Glenpool Friday at 6 p.m. 

Soccer

The varsity girls (7-5, 1-4) fell 1-0 to Bixby last Tuesday in an overtime shootout. The girls made it through regulation and both OT periods without giving up a goal, despite playing shorthanded after two players fouled out. Alyssa Perry and Katie Webb made their PKs, but the Spartans won the shootout.

The Sandite boys (7-4, 3-1) won their district match with Bixby 3-0 behind goals from Jack Bratcher, Fernando Saldana, and Cameron Summerton. 

The girls started their game against Booker T. Washington last Friday, but it was rained out before either team scored. That match will be made up Friday, with girls at 6 p.m. and boys at 8 p.m. The boys will also play a make-up match Thursday at Moore at 7 p.m.

Slow Pitch Softball

Raegan Rector and Jaden Jordan hit home runs, and Lauren Hammock hit a grand slam against Broken Arrow Thursday, but the No. 2 ranked Tigers rolled to a 20-11 win after scoring eight runs in the top of the seventh. No. 15 Sand Springs (7-15) will travel to No. 3 Moore Thursday for the Regional tournament, starting with Putnam City at 11 a.m.

Wrestling

Former two-time State Champion Sandite Riley Weir went 4-3 at the NJCAA National Championships for eighth place at 125 pounds. Weir is in his freshman year at Labette Community College.

Senior Class Wins Powerpuff and Weekly Sports Roundup

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

After a three-year hiatus, powderpuff football returned to Memorial Stadium Saturday night. The Charles Page High School seniors dominated the lower classmen in the Senior Celebration fundraiser event, not giving up a single score. The event raised nearly $1800 for the all-night lock-in event that will be held after graduation.

The 21 Puff Street senior team defeated the Hoosier Daddies underclassmen 34-0 in the first game and 19-0 in the second. Cameron Clemons, Raegan Padilla, Drew Hawkins, and Madison Lee all scored touchdown runs. Kali Baker threw a dime to Lee for a TD and ran in three PATs. Lee and Ali Day both scored pick sixes, and Day took hers 79 yards before also catching the PAT toss from Baker. 

Baseball

Sandite Baseball is in a six-game slump after dropping two district games to Enid and a non-district game against Tulsa NOAH last week.

Monday’s game against Enid went fourteen innings before the Plainsmen won 6-5 on a walkoff single. The bullpen combined for 12 strikeouts in the loss, and Cason Savage hit a triple. Tuesday’s rematch was an 8-3 decision, 

Jace Arnold threw six strikeouts and Savage hit a home run in the loss to NOAH on Thursday, but six walks, two singles, and two errors in the top of the sixth gave the Jags the comeback.

Sand Springs will host Oologah-Talala Thursday at 5:00 p.m. and Sapulpa Friday at 6:00 p.m. in non-district action.

Cheer

Senior Sandite cheerleader Claire Smith has signed to join the University of Central Arkansas cheer team next season.

Dance

Sandite Dance traveled to the Dance Team Union Nationals in Orlando, and placed seventh in Hip Hop.

Golf

Meghan Charles has been bringing home some medals for the Sandite golf team this season. The Oklahoma City University-bound senior placed second at the Jenks Invitational and won the Frontier Valley Conference title with a round of 74. 

Slow Pitch Softball

Sandite Slow Pitch is 7-14 on the season after going 0-4 this past week against a tough slate of ranked teams. The girls dropped losses of 18-17 to Jenks, 13-7 to Pryor, 16-8 to Kellyville, and 10-7 to Union. 

The girls led 17-10 going into the bottom of the seventh Monday against Jenks, but the Trojans rallied with six hits and won on a walkoff fly. Avery Tanner was 4-of-5 at the plate, scoring three runs and two RBI, and Raegan Rector hit a homer.

Jaden Jordan hit a home run against Pryor, then Jordan, Kelsi Hilton, and Taylor Skipper all went yard against Kellyville. Jordan and Hilton repeated against Union, and Avery Tanner also smacked one over the right field fence.

Sandite Softball will host No. 3 Broken Arrow Thursday at 4:30 p.m. 

Track and Field

The Sandites’ trip to Jenks was postponed due to weather, giving the athletes an off week. Joseph Mattison recently signed a letter of intent to run track at Coffeyville Community College on scholarship next season, and junior Layne Kirkendoll has received scholarship offers from Oral Roberts University and South Dakota State University. 

Fernando Saldana sparks Sandites in district soccer opener

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Baseball

Sandite Baseball picked up a key 7-3 district win at Broken Arrow Monday, March 29th. The team recorded 11 hits with four doubles, and got it done on the mound as well. Jabe Schlehuber tossed five strikeouts for the win, and Eli Buxton recorded the save. Broken Arrow won the rematch on Tuesday, 8-7. Dom Ornelas hit a three-run homer for the 6-3 lead in the third, but the Tigers rallied with four runs in the fifth.

The Sandites headed to Jenks Friday for a non-district game and lost 2-1 on a walkoff error. They returned to form Saturday, however, with a 13-1 run-rule victory against Midwest City. Keaton Campbell went 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, two runs, and four RBI, while Kayden Campbell got the win on the mound with six strikeouts and only one hit.

Sand Springs is 10-10 overall and 4-4 in district play. They will play Friday at Bixby at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at Union. 

Soccer

The Sand Springs boys’ soccer team (5-4) kicked off district play with a 3-2 win against Edmond Memorial Friday night. Fernando Saldana scored two goals, Jack Bratcher added one, and Xander Quiroga made five saves. Bratcher leads the team with nine goals this season, followed by Saldana with eight.

Lady Sandite Soccer (6-2) suffered a 1-0 loss in their district debut, snapping a four-match win streak. Both teams will travel to Union Friday for a district match. Girls will play at 6:00 p.m., followed by boys at 8:00 p.m.

Slow Pitch Softball

The Sand Springs slow pitch softball team (6-5) won a rivalry double-header against Sapulpa in dominant fashion, Monday, March 29th, beating the Chieftains 28-5 and 23-0, but hit a rough patch later in the week.

Raegan Rector hit two home runs in the first game, scoring three runs and six RBI. Lauren Hammock got the win, only giving up two hits with one strikeout in the three-inning game. 

Rector hit a triple in game two, and scored two runs and five RBI. Kaden Barnes pitched the three inning shutout, tossing one hit, one strikeout, and no walks.

On Tuesday Rector hit two more homers, scoring six RBI in a 21-13 loss to Berryhill. Taylor Skipper also had a homer and was 3-for-3 at the plate. They also fell 20-3 to Broken Arrow, with yet another homer from Rector. 

On Thursday they went 2-3 at the Haskell Tournament, beating Fort Gibson 9-4 and Bristow 9-1, but they fell 17-5 to Haskell, 13-2 to Oktaha, and 7-6 to Bixby.

Sandite Softball will travel to Jenks Thursday at 5:00 p.m. to play the Trojans and Owasso.

Track and Field

The Sand Springs boys and girls track teams both placed sixth at the Broken Arrow Track Classic Saturday. Joseph Mattison was the star of the show, running the 200-meter dash in 22.18 seconds for third place. He also jumped 20’06.5” for third place in the long jump.

Wrestling

The Keystone Kids hosted an OK USA tournament Saturday at Clyde Boyd Middle School and seven Sand Springs wrestlers won their brackets. Colton Lambert, Kason Wolfe, Ethan Norton, and Parker Ingram placed first in freestyle, Jesse Moore won in Greco, and Samuel Moore won his bracket in both styles. 

Sandites' Layne Kirkendoll, Joseph Mattison claim gold at Broken Arrow Relays

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Track and Field

Layne Kirkendoll and Joseph Mattison were leaps and bounds ahead of their competition Friday at the Broken Arrow Relays, and both took home first place medals in the long jump. 

Kirkendoll has already secured her position as the second-best long jumper in Sand Springs history behind two-time State Champion Shawn Gilton, and she just keeps getting better. Her 17’08.5” leap marked a career-high and her second win of the season. She also won the high jump with a career mark of 5’06.00”.

Mattison earned his first varsity gold with a career distance of 20’02.5” in his first jumping event of the season. 

There were no individual running events in the dual-style meet, which pitted the Sand Springs relay teams against Broken Arrow’s varsity and JV squads. The Sandite runners didn’t win any events, but the girls’ 1600 team lost by less than a second.

Baseball

Sandite Baseball (5-6) went 0-4 at the Edmond Festival, but their Saturday double-header featured a pair of close shootouts. On Thursday they lost 5-1 to Norman North and 7-4 to Mustang.

On Saturday they lost 10-9 to both Edmond North and Edmond Santa Fe. In the first game against Edmond North they were down 4-0 to start the sixth and scored eight runs to take the lead, including a 2RBI triple from Rhen Rutledge and a 3RBI double from Jacob Shields. 

The Huskies tied it 8-8 with an RBI double in the seventh to force an extra inning. Shields reclaimed the lead on a ground out by Rutledge, but Toby Simpson hit a 2RBI single to win the game. 

Santa Fe took a 3-0 lead into the fourth in the next game, but Pennington tied it up with a 2RBI triple and Kaden Young scored in the fifth for the lead. The Wolves used four walks and a hit to make it 6-4, but Sand Springs wouldn’t stay down for long.

Keaton Campbell and Jabe Schlehuber hit a pair of solo home runs, then the Wolves walked four Sandites in a row to tie it in the seventh. Cason Savage and Rutledge tagged up on a pair of pop flies to make it 9-7, but Jase White hit a two-run double to tie it and Caleb Moore was walked on loaded bases for the win. 

Sand Springs Baseball will return to action Thursday and Friday at the Bartlesville Bruin Classic, which will feature a Highway 97 Rivalry game against Sapulpa Thursday at 4:00 p.m.

Slow Pitch Softball will host Owasso Thursday at 4:30 p.m., Boys’ Soccer will play in the Holland Hall Invitational Thursday, Track and Field will compete at Muskogee Friday at 4:00 p.m., and the Fishing teams will take to the waters at Ft. Gibson Saturday and Sunday.