Weekly sports roundup: Sandites win OBN fishing tournament at Lake Texoma

/

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Two teams of Sandites won first place in their divisions at the Oklahoma Bass Nation trail event on Lake Texoma, Sunday, April 3rd. 

Eli Rogers and Carrick Cooke won the high school division with five fish weighing 12.45 pounds for a $656 payout. 

Caden Strawn and Drew Turner won the youth division with four fish weighing 9.8 pounds. 

Softball

The No. 14 Sandite Slow Pitch team (5-7) went 0-3 this week, falling 13-10 to No. 4 Moore (11-5), 18-0 to No. 1 Southmoore (15-2), and 14-12 to Kellyville (5-12).

Soccer

District leader Jenks (6-1, 3-0) spoiled the Lady Sandites’ five-match win streak 4-0 on Tuesday but Sand Springs bounced back on Friday with a 9-0 road win against Choctaw (1-7, 0-3).

Freshman Lainey Stanfill scored five goals in the rout, and has 18 on the season. Ava Watts scored two, and Alyssa Cunningham and Karsen Lynch scored one each.

The Sandites (9-3, 2-1) are having their best season since 2016 and don’t show any signs of slowing down. They will host Putnam City (3-8, 0-3) on Tuesday before traveling to Stillwater (4-6, 1-1) on Friday.

The boys (0-8, 0-3) are still looking for their first win after falling 10-0 to Jenks and 3-1 to Choctaw. 

Track and Field

The Sandite track teams competed at the Jim Thorpe Invitational in Shawnee on Friday and crowned two champions. The boys took seventh place and the girls finished sixth.

Briona Searcy won the long jump with a mark of 14 ft. 11.5 in. and Jestin Rawlins won the discus throw with a distance of 147 ft. 

Gracie Gifford placed third in the 3200-meter run in 13:15.45 and sixth in the 1600 in 6:38.99.

Hannah George was fifth in the long jump at 13 ft. 3 in. Kelsi Hilton was fourth in the 3200 13:56.44. Brynley Smith finished fifth in the 400 in 1:12.05.

Dalton Wilcox placed second in the 800-meter run in 2:19.19. Noah Hanlon placed sixth in the 3200 in 11:45.99. 

Matthew Shelton placed third in shot put with a distance of 41 ft. 6 in. Alex Turner was fourth in discus with a distance of 105 ft. 1 in. 

The girls placed third in the 4x800 relay and fourth in the 4x100. The boys placed fifth in the 4x100 and fifth in the 4x800.

Layne Kirkendoll competed solo at the Jenks meet that morning and won the high jump at 5 ft. 6 in. She also placed second in long jump at 18 ft. 1 in.

Sandite Volleyball coach Derek Jackson moving on to Claremore

/

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The winningest volleyball coach in Sand Springs history, percentage-wise, is moving on to greener pastures.

After a three-year stint as Charles Page High School’s head coach, Derek Jackson is moving to Claremore to take over one of the top programs in Class 5A. 

While Jackson has nothing but good things to say about his time in Sand Springs, the Claremore opportunity was too good to resist.

“The biggest thing was just the teaching opportunity that I got,” said Jackson, who has been teaching eighth-grade science at Clyde Boyd Middle School. 

“I went to college for fitness and physical education, and that’s kind of what I’m going to be able to get to teach at Claremore. So I’m excited to get to teach what I actually went to college for, what I think I can do a better job at.”

On top of that, Jackson and his wife Skylar, a Broken Arrow assistant coach, are expecting their first child.

“I think it’s going to be a little less stressful, especially with a kid on the way.”

The two currently live in Broken Arrow, so the commute to Claremore won’t be any worse than his previous drive to Sand Springs. 

The Red Zebras are coming off a 24-17 season and State Tournament appearance under Kimberly Mabbott, who went 30-41 in her two year tenure as head coach.

Jackson came to Sand Springs by way of Clinton, where he was head coach for two years. A Kellyville native, the Sand Springs job brought him closer to home while giving him the opportunity to coach in Oklahoma’s largest classification.

Jackson went 51-49 overall during his three years in Sand Springs. His 19-15 run in 2020 and 18-14 first season rank as the second and third-best seasons in school history.

“I think early on it was just trying to change their identity and how they saw themselves,” said Jackson. 

“They had a couple of years where it was pretty rough there. I don’t think they were excited to take on big challenges like big teams like Broken Arrow and Bixby. So just getting them to the point where they thought they were winners, I think that was our first step.”

This year the Sandites finished 14-20, winning their home tournament for the second time in the past three years. Those are the team’s only two titles since 2010. 

Jackson is the only Sand Springs coach to leave the school with a winning record. Sydney Bond went 7-18 in 2018, Janna Green went 65-78 from 2014 to 2017, and Caleb Horton went 37-93 from 2010 to 2013. Records from before 2009 are hard to come by.

Whoever is next up to the plate will have a solid foundation to work from. 

“I think Rod (Sitton), hat’s off to him,” Jackson said of the Sand Springs Athletic Director. “He really trusted me from the get-go of really everything. I mean fundraising to scheduling to player management.”

“He really trusted me to do just about everything and kind of backed me rather well. So I really appreciate that, and I think it allowed me to be me and helped get those kids and the program where we wanted it.”

“I think I’ve set a lot of groundwork for the next person to come in because of not just focusing on varsity, but you know, really doing a lot of little kids camps and pushing to start that seventh grade program. Just kind of trying to set up long-term success. I think they’ve got a good base under themselves.”

The program has been trending upwards over the past decade, despite the occasional downward swings due to large graduating classes or brutal schedules. 

Claremore, meanwhile, will be getting its new coach sooner rather than later. After closing out the semester at Sand Springs, Jackson will be taking over at Claremore following Christmas Break. 

“He did a great job for us,” said Sitton. “We hate to see him go, but nobody’s going to fault somebody for bettering themselves and going to better opportunities.”

CPHS Softball: Sandites shut out Sapulpa 19-0 in three innings

/

Fifteen runs in a single inning were all the Sandites needed to completely shut down their Highway 97 rivals. The Class 6A No. 10 ranked Charles Page High School girls softball team (12-7) rolled to a lopsided 19-0 run-rule victory against Sapulpa (1-13) Monday afternoon, but the game was book-ended by a pair of losses.

On Thursday the Sandites fell 16-10 to No. 15 Owasso (10-10). The Rams took a 2-0 lead right out of the gate. Mackenzie Bechtold and Rachael Jones scored runs in the second inning to tie it, but Owasso scored four more in the third and seven in the fourth for a 13-4 advantage and never looked back.

The Rams hit six home runs to the Sandites’ two. Elizabeth Luttrell hit a two-run dinger in the fifth and Madison Lee had a lead-off solo shot in the bottom of the seventh for the final run of the game. Owasso only outhit Sand Springs 19 to 17 but the Sandites stranded thirteen runners in the game.

Sand Springs didn’t need a single homer in their 19-0 win against Sapulpa. They outhit the Chieftains 16 to 1 and received five walks in the outing. Makenna Skaggs led the Sandites offensively with three hits, three runs, and four RBI, with two doubles. Six players were perfect at the plate, including Lee, who scored four RBI and hit a triple.

Monday didn’t end on a high note, however. After thumping Sapulpa the girls were bested 19-7 by 5A No. 2 Kellyville (25-4). Luttrell scored a team-best three RBI on a homer and Avery Tanner went two-for-two at the plate with one homer. Sabrina Usher also had a perfect hitting performance with three singles. Seven Ponies hit homers, including a grand slam from Madison Neighbors.

Batting Average
(Minimum 30 at-bats)
.638 Usher
.563 Horn
.562 Luttrell
.533 Rector
.524 Bechtold
.522 Skaggs
.481 Tanner
.426 Hawkins
.424 Jones
.387 Lee
.289 Taff

.400 Smith
.333 Burks

Slugging Average
1.29 Usher
1.27 Luttrell
.855 Skaggs
.853 Rector
.803 Horn
.788 Jones
.667 Bechtold
.648 Tanner
.468 Lee
.352 Hawkins
.333 Taff

.400 Smith
.333 Burks

On Base %
.716 Usher
.600 Horn
.578 Rector
.571 Luttrell
.557 Bechtold
.553 Skaggs
.548 Tanner
.530 Hawkins
.433 Lee
.423 Jones
.333 Taff

.400 Smith
.333 Burks

Runs
37 Horn
35 Rector
33 Usher
24 Luttrell
24 Skaggs
22 Tanner
22 Lee
20 Jones
18 Hawkins
17 Bechtold
11 Taff
10 Burks
2 Smith
1 Harper

RBI
47 Luttrell
38 Usher
29 Lee
26 Horn
25 Rector
24 Tanner
24 Jones
23 Skaggs
18 Bechtold
11 Taff
7 Hawkins
2 Burks
1 Smith

Hits
41 Luttrell
40 Horn
40 Rector
37 Usher
36 Skaggs
33 Bechtold
28 Jones
26 Tanner
24 Lee
23 Hawkins
13 Taff
2 Smith
2 Burks

Singles
29 Horn
28 Bechtold
26 Rector
23 Skaggs
21 Luttrell
21 Hawkins
20 Usher
18 Lee
16 Jones
16 Tanner
11 Taff
2 Smith
2 Burks

Doubles
7 Skaggs
6 Horn
6 Jones
5 Tanner
4 Rector
2 Lee
2 Luttrell
2 Taff
2 Usher
1 Bechtold

Triples
2 Horn
2 Skaggs
2 Rector
1 Tanner
1 Usher
1 Lee

Home Runs
17 Luttrell
14 Usher
6 Rector
6 Jones
4 Skaggs
3 Bechtold
3 Horn
2 Tanner
2 Lee

Grand Slams
3 Luttrell
1 Usher

ERA
7.44 Taff
10.33 Luttrell

W-L Record
3-0 Taff
11-9 Luttrell

WHIP
2.50 Taff
2.99 Luttrell

K%
58.5% Luttrell
50.8% Taff

K
27 Luttrell
3 Taff

Average Box Score

CPHS
Runs: 12
Hits: 15
Walks: 3
Strikeouts: 1
Errors: 0
Batting: .481
Slugging: .763
ERA: 10.24
WHIP: 2.95
K: 58%

Opponent
Runs: 9
Hits: 12
Walks: 3
Strikeouts: 1
Errors: 2
Batting: .440
Slugging: .723
ERA: 14.26
WHIP: 3.57
K: 58%

Lady Sandite Softball scores 13-0 run-rule shutout over Kellyville

/

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

After a disappointing loss to 5A No. 4 Morris (23-4) in the opening round of the Haskell Tournament, the No. 17 ranked Charles Page High School slow pitch softball team (7-5) rebounded with a 13-0 shutout of 5A No. 10 Kellyville (11-6) in only three and a half innings.

The Lady Sandites put up a consistent and evenly spread offense over the three innings, taking a 4-0 lead in the first. Jessica Schuler doubled to score Kennedy "Goose" Salyers to start things off, then Jessica Collins hit a homer to score Sydney Pennington and Kellie Johnson. 

In the second inning Pennington singled to score Jacie Taber, Schuler walked in Salyers on loaded bases, and Collins sacrificed to score Kimi Presnell.

The biggest inning came in the third as Salyers sacrificed to score Stella Millican, Presnell singled to score Cameron Clemons, Pennington doubled to score Taber, and Schuler put the nail in the coffin with a 3RBI homer.

Millican (2-3), who is signed to Mid American Christian University, got the win on the mound after giving up only two hits and two walks.

Pennington and Schuler hit home runs in 14-9 loss to No. 4 Morris Lady Eagles

/

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No.17 ranked Charles Page High School slow pitch softball team (7-5) dropped the Haskell Tournament opener to 5A No.4 Morris (23-4) in a close 14-9, but swept the rest of the competition aside with ease, needing just twelve innings to defeat three opponents by a combined score of 46-12. 

Morris took the lead right off the bat, outscoring Sand Springs 3-1 in the first inning on runs from Justice Frazier, Kyzia Whisenhunt, and Desirae Tecumseh. Freshman Kimi Presnell drew a walk for the Lady Sandites and scored on a single by Jessica Collins.

In the second inning was more balanced with Frazier hitting a homer for the Eagles and Kellie Johnson scoring a run for Sand Springs. The Lady Sandites tied it up in the third inning on runs from Presnell and Sydney Pennington but Morris scored Maddie James and Lyric Ward for the edge in the fourth.

The Lady Eagles further pushed the advantage with eight runs in the fifth. Sand Springs made a good run at it with Pennington and Schuler hitting back-to-back homers scoring themselves and Presnell. Cameron Clemons scored Collins and Jacie Taber scored Rachel Blair, but they were unable to equalize it and the sixty-minute time limit expired with Sand Springs trailing 14-9. Northeastern State University-signee Jessica Schuler (3-2) got the loss on the mound.