May 12, 2019

Class of 2019 signs 23 college letters of intent

May 12, 2019/ Scott Emigh

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.

March 23, 2016

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

March 23, 2016/ Scott Emigh

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.

February 26, 2016

9 Sandites remain at State, only slightly behind Broken Arrow and Choctaw

February 26, 2016/ Scott Emigh

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The remaining Sandites have about an hour long break before the next round begins at the 6A State Championship in Oklahoma City.

Charles Page wrestling qualified eleven for the tournament with seven Regional Champions, more than either Broken Arrow or the Dual State Champions from Choctaw. Unfortunately 220 pound junior and Regional Champion Delvin Jordan was unable to participate dropping the number to nine.

106 freshman Riley Weir (20-12) came in third at Regionals and was pitted against Choctaw's Colt Newton (40-3) in the first round and was pinned in 0:41. From there he was majored 14-4 by Yukon's Braden Fowler and eliminated.

113 Regional Champion Michael Ritchey (22-16) was defeated in round one by Westmoore's Wes Hardin (31-11) by a narrow 5-2 decision but managed to hold the lead in the next match for a 5-3 victory over Spencer Schickram (14-9) of Ponca City.

120 Regional Champion Blake Sargent (36-10) went into overtime with Zackery Bibb (24-5) of Capitol Hill and lost 4-2 in the tie breaker round. He fell in an early hole to Justin Gundlach (29-11) of Moore and trailed 3-2 going into the final period, but rallied for a takedown and pin at 5:14 to stay alive in the consolation bracket.

126 two-time undefeated State Champion Daton Fix (44-0) pinned Bobby Robinson (30-13) of Deer Creek in 1:37.

132 Regional Champion Jack Karstetter (38-7) breezed through his first match with a 17-2 tech fall over Norman's Jeffrey Adams (23-12) in 5:42.

138 Regional Champion Beau Bratcher (40-6) pinned Choctaw's Jeff Speer (23-10) in 4:48.

145 Regional Champion Payton Scott (18-4) pinned Westmoore's Trey Painter (32-10) in 3:52.

160 Regional Runner-Up Zane Basma (32-11) scored an 8-3 decision over Sam Hensley (31-13) of Edmond Memorial.

170 Trace Fleischman (10-4) placed fourth at Regionals but rebounded big time at State with a 3-1 upset of West Regional Champion Jacob Schimmels (23-6) of Edmond.

The top three teams are as close now as they have been all season with Broken Arrow at 25.5, Choctaw at 25, and Sand Springs at 23.5.

The semi finals will begin at 7:15.

December 19, 2015

World Champion Kyle Snyder visits Sand Springs Wrestling Tournament

December 19, 2015/ Scott Emigh

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Sand Springs has more than its fair share of great wrestlers right here in town. Saturday, however, we were blessed with the opportunity to host the youngest FILA junior world champion from America in more than 20 years.

Sand Springs' Team BIG hosted Kyle Snyder as their weekly technician and the champ put on a technique clinic before the Team Big tournament at Ed Dubie Field House Saturday morning.

Snyder is only 20 years old, and last year he won his title in Las Vegas at only 19. In his first three years of high school he amassed a staggering 179-0 record to win 3 state championships in Maryland. His senior year he decided to forgo high school wrestling and compete internationally as a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

As an Ohio State Buckeye freshman Snyder became the NCAA runner-up. Now Snyder is taking an Olympic red shirt to prepare for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Pictured is Snyder signing autographs for the young people at Saturday's event. The novice portion of the tournament just began at 12:30 so it's not too late to go cheer on Sand Springs's Team Big and meet Snyder.

November 09, 2015

Stella Millican officially signs with MACU Softball

November 09, 2015/ Scott Emigh

By Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page Senior Katelyn Stella Millican put pen to paper today to officially join the 2016 Mid-American Christian University softball team. The outstanding right-fielder verbally committed to playing for the Evangels early this September after fielding offers from several other colleges, before settling on MACU.

Stella settled on the Oklahoma City-based college due to its Christian beliefs and their softball program. The senior's goals are to one day teach English and coach softball.

The 2015 CPHS Fast Pitch Softball team went 31-9 this season and lost by one run to Choctaw in the State Championship game.

October 15, 2015

The Path to State: Part 5: Regional Champions

October 15, 2015/ Scott Emigh

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

It was the final game of the Regional Championship, and stakes were high. The Sand Springs Lady Sandites had just fought their way up through the losers’ bracket after being upset in game one by Skiatook. In the last game, Union was dealt their first loss of the tournament in a 3-0 shutout by the Sandites. For the Lady Sandites, it was a triple header.

Goose Salyers (15-1) had pitched the last three wins of the tournament, so Oklahoma State University-commit Sydney Pennington (11-6) stepped to the mound for this game. For the Redskins it was Mikael Willard replacing Paige Boyle after the last game.

The first inning was a no-hitter for both teams.

In the top of inning 2, Makenie Addis got on first base for the Redskins with a groundball and up stepped Brylee Dickensen with a groundball to Cody Cheatham at third. Cheatham threw out Dickensen at first and Jessica Schuler tried for a double play back to Cheatham to out Addis, but instead connected with the base runner’s ribs and the game was delayed while Addis decided if she could continue. The Union girl was tough and shrugged it off, but was left stranded on the next play.

It would be a rough game for the Redskins.

Jessica Schuler was first at bat for the Sandites and set loose a centerfield fly for a single and was replaced on base by Caley Thompson. Kali Mallory hit a single and Kimi Presnell was walked, but Jessica Collins and Cameron Clemons were both put out. The pressure was on Madelyn Blair to bring the girls home, and she did not disappoint. Had she put just a little more on it and it would have cleared the fence for a grand slam. Unfortunately, it fell just a tad short, hitting the fence for a 3RBI Triple.

Salyers was next at bat for an RBI double and just like that, Blair had outscored the entire last game.

The Sandite defense also had all pistons firing and didn’t allow a single hit in the third inning either, though Dickensen did draw a walk. With one out and Dickensen on first, Sammi Ibison hit a line drive straight to Salyers in left field who sent it in to Schuler for the double play.

Union was restraining themselves from the errors of the last game, however, and Willard struck out Pennington and Collins to end the inning. The lone Redskin error of the game came in the bottom of the fourth as Cameron Clemons stole second on a catcher’s error.

Finally, in the bottom of the fifth, Sand Springs started swinging for the fence again. Pennington and Collins hit homeruns for the 6-0 lead and Willard was replaced on the mound by Boyle.

It was the top of the sixth and the Redskins needed a big rally to stay alive. Sammi Dutton bunted for a single and Lexi Dobson nailed a double into the centerfield fence. After a brief Sandite timeout, however, the girls were left stranded. Their only chance would be for a major come-back in the top of the seventh.

Unfortunately for them, they would never make it to the seventh.

Clemons and Salyers both hit singles and Stella Millican drew a walk. Sydney Pennington batted in Clemons on a single and the bases were still loaded when Schuler, a Northeastern State University-commit, connected on a grand slam to finish the game 11-0 by run-rule.

After four unimpressive games, the Lady Sandites had found their mojo from earlier in the season and registered three straight shut outs for the Regional Title.

At this moment, the girls (29-8) are in Oklahoma City preparing for the first game of the State Championship tournament against the defending State Champion from Mustang (33-8). The battle will begin at 6:30 PM, and it will be a rematch for the two teams.

Early in the season, the Sandites defeated the Broncos 3-1 at the Broken Arrow tournament, dealing them their second loss of the season. At that point Mustang was 5-2 and Sand Springs was 9-1.

When it comes to mutual opponents, Sand Springs has a 6-2 record and Mustang has a 10-1 record. Sand Springs outscored mutual opponents by an average of 7.62 to 2.625, while Mustang outscored them an average of 5.81 to 3.27.

Sand Springs has pitched eight shutouts and won nine games by run-rule. Mustang has pitched ten shut outs and won seven games by run rule.

On paper, Sand Springs is the better team, but unlike Football and other Oklahoma sports, Softball is a lot less top-heavy and has a lot more talent across the state. All eight teams at this tournament have a legitimate shot at winning, and anything can happen in a playoff game.

The Sandite spirits are high across the town and everyone is rooting for our girls to bring home their first state title. The team left town at 11:00 this morning and were given a large send-off at the Sandite Sporting Complex and a police/fire escort from town.