Class of 2019 signs 23 college letters of intent

Nine more athletes from the Charles Page High School Class of 2019 signed collegiate letters of intent recently, bringing the school’s grand total to 23 thus far. Six baseball players, five softball players, four track and field athletes, three basketball players, two football players, one wrestler, one cheerleader, and one tennis player are headed to the next level.

Riley Weir signed to wrestle with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in Miami. The community college competes in the NJCAA and owns three team National Titles. They finished last season second in the National Tournament under Head Coach Joe Renfro (174-34-3).

Weir missed the post-season of his senior year due to injury, but finished his high school career as a two-time State Champion with a 108-34 record, 49 pins, 10 technical falls, and 16 major decisions. He also holds the school record for fastest technical fall at 1:48.

Aden Baughman signed with the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and will compete at the NCAA Division I level in track and field and cross country in the Mountain West Conference. The Falcons placed fourth at their recent Conference meet

Baughman holds twenty individual titles, including two 6A State Championships in the 800-meter run. He holds personal records of 49.12 in the 300 hurdles, 50.13 in the 400 dash, 1:53.16 in the 800, 4:30.42 in the 1600, and 10:48.89 in the 3200.

Mitchell Mefford signed with the Oral Roberts University Track and Field Team and will be throwing Discus and Shot Put. Mefford ended his high school career with four Discus titles, including the 6A State Championship, and a personal best mark of 159’01.00”. In Shot Put his PR is 41’10.50.”

ORU is a private university in Tulsa, competing at the NCAA Division I level in the Summit League conference. The men’s team placed fourth in this season’s Conference Meet. They are led by Joe Dial in 24th year as Head Coach.

Jacob Smith signed with Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. Smith will run track and cross country with the Bees, competing in the NAIA Sun Conference. Smith holds a 3200 meter PR of 10:22.07 and a 1600 PR of 4:39.94. He holds two individual track titles.

Sara Abbet signed with the track and cross country teams at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma. Abbet holds personal records of 3:12.32 in the 800, 6:28.9 in the 1600, 13:49.23 in the 3200, and 23:21.6 in the 5K. SNU is led by 15th-year Head Coach Billy Miller and competes at the NCAA Division 2 level in the Great American Conference.

Ben Banker signed with the Eastern Oklahoma State College baseball team, joining teammates John Miller and Tyler Ash, who signed earlier this year. Banker finished his high school pitching career with a 2.03 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, and 7-2 record in 51.2 innings.

EOSC is a public community college in Wilburton competing in the NJCAA. Matt Parker (349-133) took the reigns this year after seven winning seasons at Oklahoma Wesleyan. The Mountaineers just finished the season with a 24-22 record, falling in the first round of the Region Two playoffs.

Abbie White signed with the Northern Oklahoma College Cheer team. NOC is a public community college in Tonkawa. The Mavericks are coached by Karri Morrill in her twelfth season. In February they won the Small Two-Year College Co-Ed Title at the United Spirit Association Collegiate Championships in Anaheim, California.

JT Bristow recently signed to play football at Lyon College. Lyon is a private Presbyterian college in Batesville, Arkansas, competing in the NAIA and American Midwest Conference. The Scots went 4-7 last season under first-year head coach Casey Creehan. Primarily an offensive lineman, Bristow also recorded 22 tackles and one offensive fumble recovery last season.

Logan Bateman recently signed with the Oklahoma Baptist University tennis team. Bateman is a #1 Singles State Qualifier, with a season-best performance of second place at the Bartlesville Invitational. OBU is a private NCAA Division Two university in Shawnee, competing in the Great American Conference. The Bison went 6-13 this season in duals, led by first-year head coach Jason Proctor.

SEE RELATED:
CPHS Baseball: Kyler Copeland signs with College of the Ozarks
CPHS Baseball: Cal Watkins signs with Seminole State College
CPHS Baseball: Cale Savage signs with Northern Oklahoma College
CPHS Baseball: Tyler Ash & John Miller sign with Eastern Oklahoma State College
CPHS Softball: Madelyn Blair signs with University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
CPHS Softball: Cameron Clemons signs with Northeastern State University
CPHS Softball: Elizabeth Luttrell signs with Cowley County College
CPHS Softball: Kimi Presnell signs with Rogers State University
CPHS Softball: Jacie Taber signs with Missouri State University
CPHS Basketball: Destiny Johnson signs with University of Tulsa
CPHS Basketball: Holly Kersgieter signs with University of Kansas
CPHS Basketball: Isabella Regalado signs with Northeastern State University
CPHS Football: Caden Pennington commits to Northeastern State University

CPHS grad Nick Tate wins NAIA National Championship in 100-99 OT upset

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Photo by: Brian Beard, Creative Images Photography

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School Class of 2011 graduate Nick Tate is a basketball National Champion after scoring 14 points for No.4 Mid-American Christian University in a 100-99 overtime nail-biter upset against No.1 Georgetown, Kentucky.

Things never came together for Tate's class in high school. The Sandites went 14-46 over the three years that Tate was at Charles Page, but that didn't stop the talented player from averaging 22.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game his senior year. He was the leading 6A scorer on the East side of the state and made the Frontier Valley All-Conference First Team, Tulsa All-Metro Second Team, and was an honorable mention on the Oklahoma All-State Team. 

In April of 2011, Tate signed to play with Oklahoma Christian University and was one of the top outside shooters in the entire Heartland Conference. He played in 28 games as a true freshman, started two, and averaged 8.6 points per game. He had the second-best shooting percentage on the team at 48.6% and scored a season-high 22 points with 13 rebounds in a win over Crowley's Ridge. He recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in a NAIA playoff loss to eventual National Champion Concordia, California. 

His sophomore year he scored 13 points in a single period in a season-opening win over Central Bible College and went on to play in all 31 games and averaged 10.2 points and 4.3 rebounds with a 41.9% three-point shooting percentage. He hit a game-winning 18-foot turnaround buzzer-beater jump shot in overtime for a win over Arkansas-Ft. Smith and scored a career-high 23 points in a loss at St. Mary's, Texas, then led his team with 17 points in a win over Spring Arbor, Michigan in the NCCAA Championship quarterfinals in his team's first year in the league. That year he played in his first National Championship Title game, but lost to Shorter, Georgia in overtime. 

In his junior year he started 24 games and increased his scoring average to 14.4 points per game and was the second-leading scorer on the team. From there he transferred to Southwestern Oklahoma State University and redshirted due to NCAA Division II transfer rules. Instead of playing his senior year at SWOSU, he transferred again to Mid-American Christian University for his final year of eligibility.

This season he started 32 games and played in 35 for the Evangels and averaged 26 points and 6.7 rebounds per game to help his team post a 28-9 record. In January he was named the Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Week and in February he scored a career-high 33 against Southwestern Christian University.

The Evangels worked their way through the NAIA Division I Championship bracket this past week. Tate scored 10 points against Park and Biola, 3 in the quarterfinals against Cumberlands, 11 in the semis against Campbellsville, and 14 in the Championship game against Georgetown. 

Georgetown led for the entire game, once by as much as 14, till MACU ran 19-5 to tie the game up at 60 with 13:11 left. From there Georgetown was fighting to keep minor leads as the two teams exchanged baskets for the next 11 minutes. 

With 0:21 left, Chris Runnels hit a field goal to force overtime at 82-82. Georgetown hit four from the charity stripe to start the extra period, but MACU responded quickly, taking an 87-86 lead. The two teams exchanged the lead three more times before the Evangels finally won it. Trent Gilbert hit a three from the corner with less than five seconds to play for the Georgetown advantage, but Malcom Mann drove the distance and got off the buzzer-beater with a tenth-second left and the Evangels took home the first NAIA National Title in school history. Not only that, but it was the team's first ever National Title appearance in school history. 

Tate was a valuable piece of the puzzle in his team's Championship game, grabbing 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block, in addition to his 14 points. He was also named NAIA Player of the Year. Not a half-bad senior year, if you ask me.

Stella Millican commits to MACU

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior Katelyn Stella Millican verbally committed to Mid-America Christian University Friday night, though it won't come time to sign until November.

She considered offers from Bacone College in Muskogee, Bethany College in Lindsborg, KS, Hannibal-LaGrange University, and Neosho County Community College before settling on MACU Friday.

"I decided on MACU because the campus was absolutely amazing, I loved everything about the school, their beliefs, the way they do things, I also loved the Softball program. It was the perfect fit for me," she said.

"Mid-America Christian University prepares students through a Wesleyan perspective to create, collaborate, and innovate to solve local and global problems for the glory of God through Jesus Christ and the good of society," is the school's Mission Statement.

MACU is known athletically as the Evangels and are members of the NAIA and NCCAA, and compete in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC). They've gone 58-51 over the last two seasons and have been on the up-and-up over the last several seasons. 

Senior Stella Millican hits a 2RBI Single in a 9-6 district win over Jenks at home. 8/27/2015.

Senior Stella Millican hits a 2RBI Single in a 9-6 district win over Jenks at home. 8/27/2015.