Sandite Baseball falls 13-3 at Moore

Senior Mack Thompson recorded a run and an RBI in a Monday night loss at Moore. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School Varsity Baseball team (4-6 overall, 0-3 district) is still looking for their first district win after suffering a 13-3 defeat at Moore High School (4-3, 1-2). The Sandites took a two run lead to start the Monday evening game, but the home team took advantage of a series of errors and walks to score eleven runs in the first inning.

Seniors Josh Taber and Mack Thompson got the Sandites off to a good start offensively with a pair of singles. Taber scored first on a wild pitch with Treyce Tolbert at bat, then Tolbert brought Thompson home on a sacrifice fly to left field.

Their solid offense was undone, however, as the Sandites struggled defensively in the beginning. Josh Detweiler singled and scored on a single from Joe Balak. Matt Reeves walked and scored with Balak on a home run from Casey Cooper. Drew White walked, Grant Reeves reached on catcher's interference, and Blake Girard reached on an error at shortstop to load the bases.

AJ Moore walked in White, Bryce Mosier singled to score Grant Reeves, Detweiler singled to score Girard, and Matt Reeves reached on an error at first that allowed Moore and Mosier to score for a 9-2 lead. Cooper made yet another big plate appearance with a sacrifice fly to score Detweiler and Matt Reeves before the inning ended.

Sand Springs scored one run in the top of the second as Braden Millican walked, and courtesy runner Garrett McCallie came home on a single from Thompson. That would be their last run of the game, however.

Once again Cooper was a thorn in the Sandites' side, scoring Matt Reeves with yet another home run for the final score of the game, 13-3. 

The Sandites stranded two in the fourth and one in the fifth, but they were unable to find home plate and Moore secured the victory by run-rule. 

Greathouse (2-2) got the start and the loss on the mound, giving up nine runs, six earned runs, four hits, and three walks. Millican (0-0) pitched three innings and gave up four runs, two earned runs, four hits, and one walk. Steelman (0-0) pitched one inning and recorded one strikeout with no hits or runs. 

The Sandites and Lions will get a rematch Tuesday evening in Sand Springs at 6:00 p.m.

Lady Sandites drop straight sets to Bartlesville at BA Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 18 ranked Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (11-8) is 1-3 at the Broken Arrow Tournament after dropping their first match of the silver bracket Saturday morning. 

The Lady Sandites got off to a great start in the first set against the No. 20 Bartlesville Bruins (3-7) with a 7-0 lead. MaKenzie Ward set up Devree Youngblood for the opening kill and Holly Kersgieter scored an ace on the side out. Lee Leslie scored a pair of kills and Gloria Mutiri added one as well.

The Sandites gave up a pair of points on errors, but Madison Burris and Mutiri scored on a pair of blocks to make it 10-2. Mutiri followed up with a pair of solo blocks soon after, but the Bruins finally started to compete. 

Sand Springs gave up a point on an illegal block and the Bruins capitalized with an ace. That gave them the momentum they needed to surge towards a 25-19 finish. 

The second set was competitive from the get-go, though the Sandites did lead for much of it. The Bruins took the lead at 10-9, but Mutiri and Leslie combined for a block to tie it up. Bartlesville regained the lead right after on a consecutive touch call and never relinquished it from then-on. They won that set 25-21. 

The third set was marred by communication errors, but the Sandites still managed to hang tight. Bartlesville won that one 25-20 to sweep the match. 

Mutiri led in scoring with eleven kills and give blocks, followed by Kersgieter with six kills and two aces. Ward registered eight assists and Burris had seven. 

The Sandites will return to action at noon against the winner of Moore (1-11) vs No. 15 Southmoore (3-4). 

Cheyenne Walden wins sixth State Championship

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Cheyenne Walden is quickly becoming one of the most heavily decorated athletes in school memory. The Charles Page High School junior is already a three-time State Champion in Cross Country, and she now holds three State Championship medals in Track as well. 

The 2016 season came to a close Saturday afternoon at Moore High School with Walden standing high atop the podium hand in hand with her fellow medalists, a place quite familiar for the extraordinary runner.

This past fall Walden went undefeated for the entirety of the Cross Country season with nine first-place finishes. At the Regional Championship she smashed her personal record with a 17:35.02 finish and went on to win her third-straight State Championship. 

Walden also went undefeated in the 3200 all season long in Track and only failed to win the 1600 once. She won fourteen events and expanded her resume to include the 800 and the 4x800 relay. At the Regional track meet she won the 1600 and 3200 and placed 3rd in the 800 while also helping her teammates to a fourth-place finish in the relay. She became the first Lady Sandite ever to qualify for State in four different events in the same year, and also became a member of the first ever 4x800 relay team to qualify for State from Sand Springs.

Friday afternoon the relay team, which included Nia Byrd, Alexis Davis, and Elizabeth Watts, placed thirteenth with a time of 10:28.63. Walden defended her 3200 State Championship with a 10:55.99 finish and an incredible thirty-eight second lead on her closest competitor. 

Saturday she competed in the 800 and took fourth place, a mere six seconds behind the Champion with a career-best 2:17.58 time. She later competed in the 1600 and won her first State Title in that event with a career-best 5:02.46.

Walden now holds six State Championship medals as a junior. This past November she traveled to The Woodlands, Texas South Regional and improved to a sixth place finish, earning her way to the Nike Nationals in Portland, Oregon where she placed 59th with a time of 18:19. 

Walden quickly made her mark on the field her Freshman year when she won her first two-mile run and went on to rack up seven more by the end of the season, including Conference, Regional, and State Championships and a post-season win at the Meet of Champions. Not only did she win State by an eleven-second margin, but she did it with a nineteen second improvement over her personal best. 

As the Spring Track season came around Walden didn't slow down a bit, coming in runner-up in her first two 3200 meter runs and winning the next four. She also began competing in the 1600 and placed top-five in three meets. She won Conference and Regional Championships and qualified for State in both events, placing third in the 3200 and eleventh in the 1600.

Her sophomore Cross Country season saw five first place medals and Walden defended her Conference, Regional, and State Championship titles. After beating teammate and University of Oklahoma-bound Morgan Long by fifteen seconds for an incredible 11:19.5 5K State Title, Walden traveled to The Woodlands, Texas for the Nike South Regional where she placed 22nd. 

Walden went undefeated in the 3200 during her Sophomore Track season, winning eight meets and setting a new career best of 10:54.63. She also picked up a win in the 1600 and qualified for State in both events. She won her first State Championship in the 3200 and came in Runner-Up in the 1600.

CPHS junior Cheyenne Walden wins fifth State Championship by wide margin

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Cheyenne Walden picked up her fifth State Championship medal Friday afternoon at Moore High School, and she's not done yet. The State Championship Track Meet will continue Saturday morning where the Sandite of the Week will compete in the 800 meter and 1600 meter races. 

Walden won her first state championship in cross country as a freshman, then came in third in the 3200 meter run at the State Track Meet in Yukon after being edged out by less than three seconds. Last year she defended her cross country state title and picked up her first gold medal in track after beating the runner-up by a full 18 seconds in the 3200. 

Now a junior, Walden has set her sites on even bigger fish. She won yet another cross country championship this past fall with a remarkable 52.3 second lead over her closest competitor. Friday the 13th in Moore, she won her 13th competition of the season--and it was the most important one of all. 

Beating her closest competitor by an incredible 37.34 seconds, Walden defended her 3200 title for her fourth state championship with a time of 10:55.99. 

Earlier in the day Walden competed in the 4x800 relay with Nia Byrd, Alexis Davis, and Elizabeth Watts. The four were the first team ever from Sand Springs to qualify in the 3200 relay and placed 13th with a time of 10:28.63. 

The incredible athlete will get the chance to win two more medals Saturday when she competes in the 800 meter run at 12:20 and the 1600 meter run at 2:35. Last year she came in runner-up in the 1600 behind fellow Lady Sandite Morgan Long, who is now a freshman at the University of Oklahoma.

It's worth noting that Walden is the first Lady Sandite in school history to qualify for State in four different categories in the same year. The Awards Presentation will be held at 4:00 PM. 

Sandite of the Week: Cheyenne Walden

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

This week Sandite Pride News would like to recognize Charles Page High School junior Cheyenne Walden as Sandite of the Week for her outstanding performance at the Regional Track Meet Saturday at Claremore High School.

Walden is the first Lady Sandite ever to qualify for State in four different categories. She placed first in the 1600 meter run with a time of 5:17.06, first in the 3200 with a time of 11:00.78, and third in the 800 with a time of 2:21.30. 

Additionally, Walden carried the baton on the last leg of the two mile relay and helped her teammates become the first squad to ever qualify from Sand Springs in that category. Nia Byrd, Alexis Davis, and Elizabeth Watts will be joining her at the State Championship this weekend at Moore High School. 

Walden is quite possibly the greatest runner in school history and already holds four State Championship medals. She claimed her third-consecutive Cross Country State Championship this fall and she also won the 3600 at last year's State Track Meet.

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Sandite of the Week is a weekly recognition given to any one person with significant ties to the Sand Springs community who accomplishes remarkable achievements during the Sunday through Saturday week preceding the award. Prior achievements may be noted in the article, but do not bear direct influence on the selection committee which only considers prior week accomplishments. Candidates may be nominated by anyone by emailing SanditePrideNews@gmail.com. Bylaws prevent the giving of the award to anyone for two consecutive weeks, but any recipient may be nominated and awarded again in the future, so long as the weeks are not consecutive. Final selection is made by a majority vote of a three-person staff committee. 

Businesses or organizations seeking to sponsor the Sandite of the Week award may contact the above email for inquiries.