Sandite Baseball's successful season comes to a close in Regional upset

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Trailing 13-12 in the bottom of the eighth, the Sandites loaded the bases with two outs and Nathan Gibson stepped up to the plate. 

The senior first-baseman grounded a 2-0 pitch to second for the fielder’s choice, and just like that, Sand Springs’ best season in a decade came to a close.

Charles Page High School (31-8) earned its highest win tally since 2012 this season and got to host a Regional playoff, but came up a run short to Enid (25-9) in a high-scoring elimination game.

“We won 31 games this year,” said head coach Matt Brown. “You always want to win the last one, but only one team gets to win the last one. These guys fought and battled hard - that’s what people are going to remember about them.”

The Sandites had to battle through every inch of the tournament, and barely won their first game 4-3 against Booker T. Washington (9-29) after trailing 3-1 till the bottom of the fifth.

Kayden Campbell (5-0) won that game on the mound with four strikeouts and only one hit in 3.1 innings.

In their first winner’s bracket game against Enid, the Plainsmen won 3-1 despite being out-hit eight to six. Jabe Schlehuber (6-2) went the distance on the mound with three strikeouts.

On day two the Sandite bats were on fire in an 8-0 loser’s bracket shutout of Washington. Gage Elliott got his first win of the season, throwing eight strikeouts in a seven-inning two-hitter. 

Gabe Glenn hit his fifth home run of the season and Brody Rutledge went 3-of-4 with a double and a triple.

The Sandites had to come from behind three times to force extra innings against the Plainsmen on Saturday and amassed 12 hits but surrendered 19 in the afternoon nail-biter. 

“These guys are the best Sand Springs team that’s played here in a long time,” said Brown. “They were never going to quit - that was never an option.”

Enid scored four in the top of the second, but Glenn hit his sixth homer of the year to get the home team on the board, then Brooks Dudley scored on an RBI single from Gibson in the bottom of the inning. 

Dom Ornelas added an RBI double and Rutledge scored on a flyout from Glenn to tie it in the third.

Back-to-back homers from Garrett Shull and McCage Hartling put the visitors right back on top, 7-4, in the fourth, but the Sandites soon flipped the script.

A bases-loaded walk, a sacrifice fly from Keaton Campbell, and a three-run homer from Ornelas put Sand Springs up 9-7.

Once again, the Plainsmen responded with four hits and two walks in the fifth to go up 11-9. Once again, the Sandites responded with a two-run homer from Glenn in the bottom of the seventh to keep the season alive.

But a win was not in the cards for the Sandites, who stranded loaded bases in the seventh and eighth innings. Enid added two more runs in the eighth and Ornelas’s tenth homer of the year was only able to cut it to 13-12.

Carson Seabolt (3-1) got the start and surrendered 13 hits with three strikeouts in 4.1 innings, but Eli Buxton (3-2) took the loss with six hits and four strikeouts in 3.2 innings.

“You’ve got to give credit to Enid,” said Brown. “Those guys played freaking good. Sometimes it be like that.”

The Sandites went on to graduate 11 seniors that night at the Mabee Center. Each of which helped elevate the program to one of its most successful seasons in school history.

“These guys set the bar,” said Brown. “It’s up to those guys that are coming behind them to keep it there.”

Track and Field

The Sand Springs track teams qualified for the State meet in five events, with both the boys and girls placing seventh at the 6A-East Regional Saturday at Jenks. 

Layne Kirkendoll qualified in both long and high jump, placing second in high jump at 5 ft. 4 in. and second in long jump at 18 ft. 2 in. 

The girls 4x800 relay team of Josie Myers, Gracie Gifford, Jazmin Lopez, and Kelsi Hilton qualified for State by placing third with a time of 10:45.32. 

Jestin Rawlins placed fifth in discus with a distance of 148 ft. 5 in. to qualify for State and Matthew Shelton placed sixth in shot put with a distance of 46 ft. 11 in. to qualify.

Lopez also placed fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:32.16, and Hilton was sixth in the 3200 in 13:15.24. 

Dalton Wilcox placed fourth in the 800 in 2:05.31, Noah Hanlon placed fourth in the 3200 in 10:52.37, and Caleb Goodman placed sixth in 300 Hurdles in 43 seconds. 

The boys 4x200 relay team placed fifth in 1:39.99. 

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

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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.

Weekly Roundup: Armstead Gets All-State, Track Crowns Five Champions

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Baseball

Following its tournament championship at Peoria, Arizona, the Sandite baseball team (11-3, 2-2) pushed its winning streak to eight before taking a loss on Thursday at the Bartlesville Tournament. 

The Sandites started the week with a Monday district rainout at Ponca City (5-6, 2-2), but run-ruled the Wildcats on Tuesday, 12-2, in five innings.

Sand Springs talled ten hits, led by Carson Seabolt with a 3-of-3, four RBI performance at the plate. Keaton Campbell, Ty Pennington, and Miller Tavaglione all hit triples in the game. Jabe Schlehuber (3-0) tossed eleven strikeouts to remain undefeated on the mound.

On Thursday the Sandites met the Wildcats again in the first round of the Bartlesville tournament and used it as a makeup for the district rainout. 

This time they won 8-0 behind a four-hit, four strikeout performance from Seabolt (1-1) who pitched all seven innings. Nathan Gibson and Brody Rutledge both went 3-of-4 at the plate and the team tallied 14 hits.

The success streak came to an end in a six-inning 8-0 loss to Highway 97 rival Sapulpa (8-5). Sand Springs managed five hits while only surrendering seven, but left seven runners stranded on base and committed four errors.

They got back in the win column on Friday with a 6-1 win over Bartlesville (8-4) behind a seven-hit, two-strikeout performance from Kayden Campbell (2-0).

Dom Ornelas went 2-of-3 with a double and an RBI and Gabe Glenn was 2-of-4 with a double, a run, and two RBIs.

The Sandites will return to action Monday at Broken Arrow (9-5, 4-0) in district action, with home games against Broken Arrow on Tuesday, Midwest City on Friday, and Bishop Kelley on Saturday.

Friday will be Teacher Appreciation Night at the Sandite Baseball Complex, and all Sand Springs teachers will get free entry with their school ID.

Girls Basketball

Senior star Journey Armstead was selected to the Large East All-State basketball team by the OGBCA, and Sandites coach Josh Berry was selected to lead the team. The All-State game will be played June 4th at Mustang High School at 2:00 p.m.

Berry holds a 50-21 record after three years with the Lady Sandites and took them to the State semifinals this season. Armstead wrapped up her four-year starting career with 1,525 points and is still deciding on a college 

Boys Golf

The Sandites took third place at their home tournament Tuesday at the Canyons at Blackjack Ridge. 

Seth Benton shot an 85 for sixth place, followed by Drew Paden in seventh. Mason Ward shot 89, Zane Downey shot 95, and Cameron Villines shot 98 with an ace on hole nine.

Boys Soccer

The boys’ soccer team is still searching for its first win after falling 4-0 to Bixby on Tuesday. They picked up a program win on Friday however in the form of a successful first Boys Soccer Night at Memorial Stadium. The Sandites hosted dozens of local junior high club players who will be the future of the program in a night filled with games, activities, and giveaways.

Softball

The No. 16 ranked Sand Springs slow-pitch softball team is off to a 2-2 start on the season, losing 7-6 to No. 13 Union and 14-2 to No. 2 Broken Arrow, but picking up wins of 9-7 against Bartlesville and 17-5 against No. 10 Bixby.

The Sandites will return to action Tuesday at Berryhill at 5:00 p.m. before competing at the Haskell Tournament on Thursday.

Girls Tennis

The girls tennis team had a successful event at the Edison Tournament on Wednesday. Kira Shipley placed seventh in #1 Singles, Catilin Shipman and Daffaney Snyder placed sixth in #1 Doubles, and Abbie Dunn and Macie Willits placed seventh in #2 Doubles.

“These girls are all brand new to tennis and are playing opponents who have been playing for years and are juniors and/or seniors,” said head coach Dana Peacock. “Pretty proud of them!”

Track and Field 

The Sand Springs boys placed ninth and the girls took fifth at the Okmulgee Bulldog Invitational on Friday, winning five total events. 

Kelsi Hilton won the 1600-meter run in 6:23.25 and the 3200-meter run in 11:39.50. She also placed second in the 800 behind fellow Sandite Jazmin Lopez. Lopez won with a time of 2:32.64.

Sam English won the 1600 boys' run in 5:16.69 and Lucy Beckner won the girls’ long jump at 14 ft. 9 in.

Gracie Gifford placed third in the 3200, Briona Searcy placed third in the long jump, and Hannah George placed sixth in the 100-meter hurdles.

Dalton Wilcox placed second and Alex Lopez took fourth in the 800. Alex Turner placed second in the discus throw and Matthew Shelton placed third in the shot put. Michael Lopez placed fifth and Michael Johnson took sixth in the 1600. 

Noah Hanlon placed third in the 1600 and fifth in the 3200. Preston Kennedy placed fifth in both the high jump and the long jump. 

The boys relay teams placed second in the 4x800, fifth in the 4x100, and fifth in the 4x200. The girls relay teams placed third in the 4x200 and fifth in the 4x100.

Sandite alum and Oral Roberts University sophomore Aden Baughman took first place in two events at the ORU Invite. He won the 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.54 and the 400-meter dash in 48.56 seconds.

5th Annual Monster Ball raises $3,000 for Special Olympics; weekly sports roundup

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A version of this story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Monsters, inmates, and movie characters came together for a good cause Thursday evening at the Sandite Sports Complex. The fifth-annual Monster Ball softball game raised over $3,000 for Sandite Special Olympics, and featured more Halloween-themed festivities than ever before.

The event began in 2016 when Jessica Collins, then a senior softball player and Special Olympics partner at Charles Page High School, came up with the idea. 

“She was the brainchild of this whole thing,” said Carrie Schlehuber, Director of Special Education for Sand Springs Public Schools. “Since then it’s really just been a cooperative effort between softball coaches, baseball coaches, and the Special Olympics coaches.”

This was the fifth event in six years, with a rainout in 2019. In the past it’s always been just a softball game, with dizzy bat races and the occasional home-run derby. This year, however, it was bigger than ever with a trunk-or-treat and hayrides to increase attendance and raise extra money. 

“This year Megan Elliott and Tamera Ornelas were the big organizers,” said Schlehuber. “They came up with the trunk-or-treat, the hayride, the costumed run on the bases, all those extra things we did for the kids in the community.”

The add-ons made it the most profitable fundraiser yet, but the highlight of the evening remained the slow-pitch softball game.

The game pits the Sandite softball team versus the baseball team, with all players fully costumed. The baseball team bats with their non-dominant hands, but even with that disadvantage the boys prevailed 3-0.

In the bottom of the third inning, Nathan Gibson, dressed as Mario, got the boys on the board with an RBI single to score Jacob Shields, dressed as Buzz Lightyear. Gibson came in on a single from Gage Elliott, dressed as Alan from The Hangover, then Elliott scored on a triple from Jace Arnold in a deer onesie. 

The game was the lowest-scoring in the history of the event, and the first without any home runs.

The series is now tied at 2-2 with the softball team winning the first and third years, and the baseball team winning the second year. Last year the game saw mixed rosters due to a shortage of softball players while many were quarantined.

“It’s just so huge for us,” said Schlehuber, about the community involvement. “We’re always blown away by the fact that our athletic teams, our student body, our parents, everybody is so willing to be helpful, donate money, donate time. By far, this is the biggest crowd we’ve ever had. I would say probably triple the amount of people that we’ve had in the past.”

“Every dollar that we can raise as a fundraiser is money that our Special Olympics athletes and their families don’t have to pay to go towards the State Games when we go to Stillwater in May.”

Cross Country 

The cross country season came to a close for Sand Springs, as neither the boys nor the girls teams qualified for State. 

The girls placed 14th and the boys took 13th at the OSSAA 6A-East Regional Championship at Mohawk Park, Saturday in Tulsa.

Jazmin Lopez led the girls team with a 45th place finish, running the 5K in 22:01. Freshman Gracie Gifford finished in 25:51, and Lauren Foster ran it in 26:42. The entire girls team will be back next year, with no graduating seniors. 

Senior Noah Hanlon led the boys in 45h place with a time of 18:15, followed by Alejandro Lopez in 18:43, and Dalton Wilcox in 19:07. The boys team will graduate four of their top six, opening the door for new stars in the coming season.

The State Championship will be held at Edmond Santa Fe High School on Saturday.

Softball

Six members of the Sandite fast-pitch softball team received district accolades this past week. Raegan Rector was named Defensive Player of the Year, Jolee McNally was named an All-District outfielder, and Kelsi Hilton and Lauren Hammock got nods as All-District utility players. Avery Tanner and Nataley Crawford both received honorable mentions.

Sand Springs Sports Roundup: Mack Taylor and Parker Haling take fourth at Skiatook tournament

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A version of this story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Cross Country

The Sandites got their first taste of the postseason Tuesday at the Frontier Valley Conference Meet in Bartlesville. The girls didn’t have a full lineup, but the varsity boys played eighth and the junior high boys placed seventh.

Jazmin Lopez led the varsity girls with a 5K time of 24:32 for 37th place. Alejandro Lopez led the varsity boys in 19:15 for 30th place, closely followed by Noah Hanlon in 19:22 for 33rd. 

Chloe Grona led the junior high girls with an 11:57 two-mile run for fourth place. Taigh Wright led the junior high boys with a time of 11:39 for 13th. 

The varsity teams will return to action Saturday, October 23rd at Mohawk Park in the 6A-East Regional.

Fishing

Sandite duo Mack Taylor and Parker Haling placed fourth at the Oklahoma BASS Nation trail event on Lake Skiatook Saturday, catching three fish totaling 6.29 pounds. On Sunday they caught one fish weighing 1.19 pounds for 37th place. 

Standings have not been updated with this weekend’s results yet, but the duo should rank among the top 10 in the state. The OBN season will take a winter break and return to action April 2nd at Lake Tenkiller.

Softball

The Charles Page High School softball team recently ended the season with an 18-15 record as Regional runners-up. 

Despite not advancing to the State tournament, the Sandites showed flashes of brilliance this year, including wins over Edmond Memorial and El Reno, who did go to State. They pitched three shutouts and won seven games by run rule.

Lauren Hammock led the team in batting average (.446), on-base percentage (.532), and hits (41). Kelsi Hilton batted .413 and led the team in slugging (.543) with a team-best four triples and 30 RBI. Raegan Rector led the team in doubles (11) and Jolee McNally led in runs (36).

Rector led the team in put-outs with 183, and Avery Tanner led in assists with 66. Rector turned 14 double plays and Tanner had 12. Rector was also among the most efficient fielders, holding a .995 fielding percentage on 204 opportunities.

Hilton was the team’s ace pitcher this season, collecting a 10-6 record with a 4.5 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, and a team-high 46 strikeouts. Nataley Crawford went 5-6 in the circle with a 4.2 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, and 42 strikeouts.

The Sandites will graduate five seniors this year: Tanner, McNally, Hammock, Rector, and Taylor Skipper.

Volleyball

Sandite Volleyball wrapped up its season with a 14-20 record, going 2-6 in Frontier Valley Conference action, and winning its home tournament.

The girls played a tougher schedule than they have in the past few years, competing at several A-league tournaments, and 12 of their 20 losses came at the hands of eventual State Qualifiers. 

Payton Robbins led the offense with 259 kills, followed by Kasidy Holland with 204, Layla Lenex with 192, and Jacelyn Smith with 147. Robbins also led the team in aces with 49, followed by Charley Fahland with 36 and Smith with 34. 

Lenex led the team in blocks with 64, Robbins had 31, and Smith had 29. Fahland had a team-high 353 digs, Robbins had 265, and Teyha Johnson had 217. Johnson handled most of the setting, recording 689 assists.

Sand Springs will graduate Smith, Holland, Fahland, and Johnson this year.

Sports Roundup: Daton Fix wins World Freestyle Silver

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A version of this story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Sand Springs fast-pitch softball team (16-13) has received its Regional assignment. The Sandites will be traveling to Owasso on Tuesday and Wednesday October 5-6th. 

In the first round they will play Muskogee (17-16) Tuesday at 12:30 in the first meeting of the season between the two teams. On the other side of the bracket is Owasso (27-5) vs. the combined Tulsa Memorial / Booker T. Washington team (2-21). 

Sand Springs previously lost 8-0 to Owasso in the second game of the season while it was short five starters due to injuries and COVID protocols. They beat the Tulsa Public Schools team 16-0 twice in district play.

Sand Springs has won ten Regional Championships in its 25 years under head coach Shelli Brown, including five in a row from 2015 to 2019 before coming up one game short last season. The team will look for its 18th in school history. 

Sand Springs finished the regular season with a 7-2 senior night win over Sperry, Monday, September 27th. 

After giving up two runs in the top of the first inning, the Sandites tied it up in the bottom of the fourth. Lauren Hammock hit a double and scored on an error, then Kelsi Hilton hit an RBI double to score Nataley Crawford.

Avery Tanner’s RBI single gave her team the lead in the fifth, then Crawford added a two-run double. Hammock scored on a passed ball and Crawford made it 7-2 on a ground out for the final run of the game.

Hilton picked up the win in the pitcher’s circle with no hits, no runs, no walks, and three strikeouts in four innings. 

The final game of the regular season, scheduled for Thursday at Oologah, was canceled due to rain.

Cross Country

The Sand Springs Varsity Boys Cross Country team placed seventh and the girls took ninth at Claremore, Friday, October 1st. 

Jazmin Lopez placed 13th in the 5K run, finishing in 21:57 to lead the girls. Alejandro Lopez led the boys in 18:01 for 28th place, closely followed by Noah Hanlon in 18:03 for 31st. 

The junior high boys placed ninth in the two-mile run, led by Taigh Wright in 12:05 for 20th. 

Volleyball

The Class 6A No. 16 Sandite Volleyball team (13-18) lost a 3-0 set to No. 3 Jenks on Tuesday, September 28th. The Sandites are 2-5 in Frontier Valley Conference action.

Senior setter Tehya Johnson surpassed the 1,000 assist career milestone in the match, and Layla Lenex set the school record in career blocks.

The Sandites were supposed to host Booker T. Washington on Thursday, but that match was canceled due to a leak in the roof of the Ed Dubie Field House, and will not be rescheduled. 

Sand Springs will host 5A No. 12 Glenpool (13-16) for senior night Tuesday, October 5th at 6:00 p.m. and will wrap up regular season action at No. 9 Union (21-9, 4-3) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Wrestling

Charles Page High School graduate Daton Fix placed second at the Senior Freestyle World Championship finals Sunday in Oslo, Norway. 

The Oklahoma State University redshirt junior won his first four matches by technical superiority, outscoring his opponents 41-0. 

In the finals he fell 4-1 to Russia’s Abasgadzhi Magomedov in a rematch of their 2015 Cadet World Championship finals match, which Madomedov won 3-2. 

The tournament earned Fix his first Senior-level World medal, and his sixth World Championship medal at any age level. He has won one World Championship, earning Junior gold in 2017 in Finland. He currently holds a 37-10 record in Senior Freestyle.