CPHS Softball: Lady Sandites win back-to-back shutouts at RSU festival

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The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (4-1 overall, 1-0 district) won back-to-back shutouts Friday in Claremore, defeating Wyandotte (6-3) and Purcell (1-3) by a combined 14-0 at Rogers State University. 

Madelyn Blair (1-1 season, 14-3 career) pitched the 6-0 shutout against Wyandotte, recording five strikeouts against three hits and three walks. 

The Sandites averted a hazardous first inning after giving up a walk and a single. Blair picked up two strikeouts and Kimi Presnell caught a pop up strand the runners. Felicity Horn was first to score, reaching first with a walk, second on a sacrifice from Makenna Skaggs, and scoring on a ground ball from Jacie Taber.

The scoreboard took a nap till the bottom of the fourth when Rachel Jones came in on an error and Elizabeth Luttrell singled in Presnell. In the next inning Taber scored on a sacrifice fly from Jensen Arnold, Presnell scored on a single from Cameron Clemons, and Clemons scored on a single from Madison Lee.

Sand Springs jumped out to a quick lead against Purcell. Taber (3-0, 16-7) pitched two strikeouts in the first inning and stranded two in the second with a third strikeout. In the bottom of the second Presnell doubled to bring in Sabrina Usher, then scored on a groundball from Clemons. In the third inning Blair doubled to score Horn

The Sandites put the game away in the fourth inning. Usher scored on an error, Presnell scored on a passed ball, and Jones scored on a single from Luttrell. Horn hit a double, Luttrell scored on an error, then Horn came home on a single from Taber.

Taber struck out the side in the top of the fifth to wrap things up with eight strikeouts against only two hits and two walks. The University of Northern Iowa committed junior remains undefeated on the mound this season. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action Tuesday with a double-header against Putnam City North in their home stadium at 5:00 p.m.

Oklahoma Dual Team places 7th at Greco-Roman Nationals

Incoming Charles Page High School freshman Carter Young (22-2 FS, 21-1 GR) competed on Team Oklahoma at the 2017 USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Cadet National Duals this week in York, Pennsylvania and was only one win shy of attaining All-American status.

While the team as a whole went 4-3 for seventh place in the nation, Young went 6-1 for the second-best record on Team Oklahoma. Young’s six wins were the most of any wrestler on the team, and Reece Witcraft was the only Okie to go undefeated at 4-0. Micah Lugafet (0-1), Gage Hockett (3-1), Talon Borror (4-1), Cabe Dickerson (5-1), and Josh Heindselman (4-1) were the other one-loss members of Team Oklahoma.

Twenty-four states participated in the National Championship with thirty total teams. Minnesota defended their National Championship from last year with a close 40-38 finals victory over Illinois, who placed third last year, but won it in 2015. Oklahoma slipped two spots from their previous performance when they placed fifth in 2016, but still made it to the Gold Pool for the second year in a row.

To qualify for the Cadet Dual Teams, wrestlers must be born in either 2001 or 2002. Selections are then based upon five levels of qualification. Young qualified as an Oklahoma USAW Freestyle State Champion and returning Dual Team member. He was a two-style All-American at the Schoolboy classification after going undefeated in last year’s Dual Nationals.

Oklahoma got off to a great start Thursday, going undefeated in the D Pool. They dominated Virginia 63-18 and Georgia Red 63-19, then topped Michigan Red 42-32 to earn their way to the Gold Pool on Friday.

On day one, Young defeated Georgia two-style State Champion Tucker Kinsaul via 12-0 technical fall, then topped Michigan Freestyle State Champion and U.S. Open Runner-Up Sam Freeman 12-2.

Day two was far tougher, however, as the Okies lost their opening dual 45-28 to Iowa Gold, who would go on to finish fourth. Young suffered his first defeat of the year to Cullan Schriever, an undefeated freshman State Champion from Mason City, who won the USAW National Titles in all three styles last year.

Oklahoma lost their next two duals as well, 41-33 to Ohio, who would place fifth, and 52-24 to Illinois.

Young rebounded from his loss and finished the day with three-straight wins, all by tech fall, and Oklahoma won a rematch with Michigan Red for seventh place.

The Cadet teams will return to action Friday for the Freestyle tournament. The event is being held at Memorial Hall on the York County Fairgrounds.

Illinois has won four-straight National Titles in freestyle and has made the finals every year since 2009. Team Oklahoma placed tenth last year and hasn’t won a Cadet Freestyle Title since 2008 when they defeated Pennsylvania 35-33.

Sandites send eleven wrestlers to semifinals at 6A-East Regional

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Current Team Standings:

1. Sand Springs (120.5)
2. Broken Arrow (108.5)
3. Ponca City (71)
4. Stillwater (63)
5. Owasso (54.5)
6. Norman North (47.5)
7. Sapulpa (38.5)
8. Union (38)
9. Bixby (31)
10. Jenks (31)
11. Bartlesville (27)
12. Enid (17.5)
13. Southmoore (14)
14. Muskogee (9.5)
15. Booker T. Washington (4)
16. Capitol Hill (0)

The No. 1 ranked Charles Page High School wrestling team is off to a good start at the 6A-East Regional Tournament. Eleven of the Sandites fourteen wrestlers went undefeated in the first two rounds Friday morning at the Ed Dubie Field House, and all fourteen are still in contention. The top-four placers in each weight class will qualify for the State Tournament next weekend in Oklahoma City. The Sandites are the defending Regional Champions, defeating Broken Arrow last year on the Tigers' home court. This year the Sandites are in first place thus far, but the Tigers are nipping at their heels, looking to avenge last week's Dual State Championship loss.

The semifinals and second round of consolation will be held at 6:00 PM.

If you blinked, you might have missed Riley Weir (36-6 season, 57-18 career)'s first match. The 106 pound sophomore and returning State Qualifier pinned Chrisma Collins (Capitol Hill) in only twelve seconds. His quarterfinal opponent didn't fare much better. Stillwater's Henry Warren fell in 1:36. Weir will face Broken Arrow's Jackson Cockrell in the semis. He is 3-0 against Cockrell this season.

3A East Regional Champion Tanner Ward (31-9, 107-21) received a bye in the first round of 113, and excelled over Jared Miller (Jenks) in the quarterfinals with multiple sets of nearfall points before securing the fall at 1:52. Ward will face Norman North's Yves Worou in the semis.

Defending Regional Champion Michael Ritchey (34-9, 63-33) took a 4-1 lead over Ainsley Lane (Bixby) into the second period, quickly reversed, and got his pin at 2:21 in the first round of 120. In the quarterfinals he worked up a 6-0 lead against Hunter McGee (Enid) before pinning the plainsman in 1:25. Ritchey will face Laif Jones (Bartlesville) in the semis. He previously defeated Jones 3-1 in last year's Sand Springs Invitational.

Defending Regional Champion Blake Sargent (34-8, 86-22) dominated Logan Herrell (Enid) at 126 for a 7-0 lead with back points before pinning him in 1:23. In the quarterfinals he pinned Elijah Harrigan (Booker T. Washington) in 1:18. Sargent will face Bixby's Easton Hudson in the semis. He previously defeated Hudson 11-0 in the regular season finale.

Three-time Regional and State Champion Daton Fix (42-0, 160-0) had a typical first round match at 132, leading John Ritchey (Stillwater) 14-5 before pinning him at 2:14. In his quarterfinal he scored a 22-7 technical fall against Joe Reynolds (Southmoore) in 2:38. Fix will face Owasso's Baylor Smith in the semis. The last time the two met was in last year's season opener when Fix got the pin.

Defending Regional Champion Jack Karstetter (27-1, 100-16) received a first round bye at 138 and picked up his 100th career win in the quarterfinals, working up an 11-0 lead against Conner Mares-Ballrd (Norman North) before pinning him in 3:45. He will face Dawson Hunt of Ponca City in tonight's semifinal. He just came out on top of a 12-10 decision against Hunt last week at Dual State.

Defending Regional Champion Beau Bratcher (41-6, 132-29) pinned Jeremy Wingate (Bartlesville) in 0:33 at 145 pounds, then topped Colton Konell (Sapulpa) in 1:32. He will face Broken Arrow's Brady Mattioda in the semis. Bratcher is 3-0 against Mattioda this season with two pins and a 4-2 decision at last week's Dual State Championship.

Defending Regional Champion Payton Scott (36-2, 57-10) took a 4-1 lead against Parker Nicholas (Stillwater) before pinning him at 0:32 in the 152 pound weight class. In the quarterfinals he pinned Colt Freeman (Jenks) in 0:55. He will face Owasso's Richie Lee in the semis.

Sophomore Noah Almy (23-16) pinned Owen Dewoody (Bixby) in 0:37 at 160 pounds. He took an 8-0 lead into the second period of his quarterfinal match against Austin Manley (Bartlesville), reversed, and got the fall at 2:39. He will face Broken Arrow's Caleb Wise in the semis. The last time they met Wise pinned Almy in 1:07 at the Dual State Championship.

Zane Basma (25-2, 87-27) pinned Christian Shubert (Bixby) in 0:49 at 170. In the quarterfinals he pinned Owasso's Brandon Dugan in 1:37. He will take on Darius Boone of Union in the semis.

Sophomore Luke Bratcher (5-3) pinned Naimul Islam (Jenks) in 1:48 at 182 and was putting up a tough fight in the quarterfinals before briefly blacking out and forfeiting to Broken Arrow's Gavin Potter. He will take on Muskogee's Cliff Pouncil in the consolations.

Junior Gage Fain (26-14, 39-36) received a first round bye at 195. He was nearly pinned in the second period of his quarterfinal bout with Jordan Reel (Southmoore), but came out of a nearfall for a reverse and entered the third period trailing 4-2. The Pioneer started on bottom and Fain cut him loose to look for a takedown. He nearly got one at 0:45 but was ruled out of bounds. He scored two with 25 seconds left, cut his foe loose, and added another with a second left to force overtime. In the sudden victory period the Pioneer score the takedown and prevailed 8-6. Fain will wrestle Stillwater's Aaron Veselak in the consolations.

Defending Regional Champion Delvin Jordan (40-2, 71-14) pinned Cameron Douglass (Booker T. Washington) in 1:21 at 220, then pinned Brock Anderson (Enid) in 0:42. He will face Ponca City's Austin Fry in the semis. He is 4-0 against Fry this season with three falls and a 5-1 decision. Most recently he pinned Fry in a mere ten seconds at Dual State.

Kris Edwards (4-5) was the only Sandite to lose his first round match, and he was heavily outsized, wrestling up at heavyweight as a true 220 or 195. He was pinned in 3:56 by Jakob Wood of Muskogee. Edwards will take on Southmoore's Jose Ruiz in the consolations. 

Sandites upset No. 18 Bartlesville 52-51 behind Keener's 18 points

(Photo: Morgan Miller)

CPHS 52 BHS 51

1Q Bartlesville 19-12
2Q All 22-22
3Q Sand Springs 7-5
4Q Sand Springs 11-5

Scoring: (CPHS) Keener 18, Colt Savage 16, Cale Savage 8, Taber 5, Garbey 3, Wash 2. (BHS) Tanner 21, Gronigan 19, Dina 9, Bilger 2.

(Sand Springs only) 
Offensive Rebounds: Colt Savage 2, Keener 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Colt Savage 6, Keener 4, Price 2, Wash 2, Cale Savage 1.
Assists: Colt Savage 3, Taber 3, Keener 2, Garbey 2, Durkee 1.
Steals: Taber 5, Cale Savage 2, Keener 1, Colt Savage 1.
Blocks: Keener 3, Cale Savage 1, Garbey 1.
Fouls: Colt Savage 4, Keener 2, Taber 2, Cale Savage 1, Garbey 1.

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School boys basketball team (10-11 overall, 4-8 conference) isn't ranked, but they probably should be. The polls are closed for the season since the playoff pairings were released last week, but since they were last released the Sandites gave No. 8 Broken Arrow (15-6, 9-3) a run for their money, then topped No. 18 Bartlesville (9-11, 4-7) 52-51 to avenge a pair of losses earlier this season. 

Bartlesvile defeated Sand Springs 53-39 in the season opener and 63-53 at the Coffeyville Interstate Classic. However, the Bruins have lost their last four-straight games, while the Sandites have won three of their last four including 5A No. 18 Bishop Kelley (7-13, 3-9), and only lost by three points at No. 15 Owasso (13-8, 6-6). 

Friday night at the Ed Dubie Field House the Sandites came back from a fourteen-point deficit and outscored the Bruins 18-10 in the second half. The Bruins' Barron Tanner led all scorers with 21 points, followed by Andrew Gronigan with 19, but the Sandites were right behind them led by Kyle Keener with 18 and Colt Savage with 16. Six Sandites got on the scoreboard while only four posted points for Bartlesville.

The Sandites hit back-to-back threes from brothers Cale and Colt Savage to start the game, but Bartlesville scored nine-straight before Keener broke things up with a dunk. Keener is a senior signed with the University of Central Oklahoma for next season. The visiting team continued to rack on the points for a 19-12 advantage to end the quarter. 

The second quarter was a shootout with both teams scoring 22 apiece. Keener scored twelve of those points, Colt Savage added four, and Cale and Jacob Garbey hit threes to cut things to 41-34. The worst the Sandites trailed was 38-24, but they made five of the final six baskets.

Tanner came out of halftime fired up for the Bruins and sank two from the charity stripe before hitting a layup. Colt Savage hit two field goals and two free throws for seven-straight points to close the third quarter 46-41. Josh Taber scored five in the fourth quarter, and the Sandites held their visitors to five points for the second-straight period to clinch the win. 

Sand Springs has two games left in the regular season. They will host No. 10 Muskogee (15-5, 8-4) Tuesday for senior night, then will travel to Bixby (9-12, 4-8) on Friday. The Bruins will host Bixby Tuesday, then will play back-to-back games against No. 12 Sapulpa (14-5, 8-3). 

Sand Springs is currently seventh in conference standings, while Bartlesville is sixth. Undefeated No. 1 Union (21-0, 12-0) has the Frontier Valley title on lock with only two games left. 

CPHS junior Colt Savage scores 1,000th career point at Broken Arrow

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School added another member to its 1000-point club Tuesday night at Broken Arrow High School, as junior Colt Savage scored a game-high 24 points in a close 63-57 loss to the eighth-ranked Tigers. 

SEE RELATED: Savage and Keener combine for 46 in close loss at No. 8 Broken Arrow

The 6'3" uncommitted guard has led his team in sixteen of the nineteen games he's played this season, and is currently averaging 22.42 points-per-game. Not only is he the leading scorer for Sand Springs, he's the leading scorer for the entire Frontier Valley Conference by a 1.2 margin over Sapulpa's Keenan Balance. 

Savage is the elder son of fourth-year Head Coach Eric Savage, previously of Tulsa Memorial. Coach Savage coached the Chargers to three State Championships in twelve seasons and holds a career record of 348-144. Clearly basketball runs in Colt's DNA. 

Colt was the number-two scorer on the team as a freshman, averaging 10.29 points-per-game with a season-best 18 points against the Wichita Defenders. He led his team in six games that year and finished with 247 points. He was second on the team again last year, averaging 14.46 points with a season-best 25 against Nathan Hale. He led the team eight times and finished with 347 points as the Sandites celebrated their first winning season in sixteen years. 

As impressive as those first two years were, he has already dwarfed those performances and is at 426 points, bringing his career total to 1020. He set a new career-high of 34 points against Bixby, then scored 30 against Owasso. He is also averaging 6.6 rebounds per game and has recorded two double-doubles this year.

As a sophomore, Colt was named to the Ardmore Invitational All-Tournament Team, and he was named to the Interstate Classic All-Tournament team the past two years. 

The last Sand Springs player to cross the 1,000 mark was Sydney Pennington, who did so last year as a junior. 

SEE RELATED: Sandite Junior Sydney Pennington scores 1000 career points

Savage and Keener combine for 46 in close loss at No. 8 Broken Arrow

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

BAHS 63 CPHS 57

1Q Broken Arrow 21-16
2Q Broken Arrow 15-5
3Q Sand Springs 16-7
4Q All 20-20

Free Throws: CPHS 15-of-22 BAHS 12-of-24
Field Goals: CPHS 19-of-45 BAHS 21-of-43
Fouls: CPHS 18, BAHS 20

Scoring: (CPHS) Colt Savage 24, Keener 22, Garbey 9, Taber 2. (BAHS) Huffman 14, Dennis 13, Hall 9, Lane 8, Smith 6, Everette 4, Boyer 4, Ensminger 3, Gonzales 2.

(Sand Springs only)
Offensive Rebounds: Keener 6, Colt Savage 1, Price 1, Garbey 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Keener 8, Colt Savage 2, Price 2, Cale Savage 1, Garbey 1, Golightly 1.
Steals: Keener 3, Taber 1, Cale Savage 1.
Assists: Taber 1.
Blocks: Keener 3. 
Fouls: Price 5, Keener 4, Taber 3, Colt Savage 2, Garbey 2, Wash 1, Golightly 1.

Sand Springs won the second half, but they couldn't win the war. No. 8 ranked Broken Arrow (15-5) hosted the unranked Sandites (9-11) Tuesday afternoon, and were nearly caught sleeping. After rolling to a 36-21 halftime advantage, they barely stayed above water in the final stretch.

The Sandites tried to hang tight with their foes throughout the first quarter, but trailed by seven multiple times before a two-point shot from Josh Taber cut it to 21-16 at the end of the period.

Broken Arrow brought the rain to start the second quarter, as Braden Boyer, Camryn Dennis, Cory Lane, and Taylor Gonzales all hit field goals to make it 30-16 before Colt Savage broke the streak with a pair of free throws. Jacob Garbey scored the only other Sandite points of the quarter on a three pointer, and the Tigers took a 36-22 advantage into the locker room.

Whatever Coach Savage said to his boys at halftime worked and they came out to score the first seven points of the second half. Tony Hall regained the double digit lead with a three-pointer, Keener hit a two, Boyer hit a pair from the free throw line, then the Sandites went on another seven-point run. Caleb Huffman hit a pair of free throws to end the quarter, but Sand Springs won the third 16-7.

Huffman started off the final stanza with a three, but Savage scored six-straight to make it 46-43. Huffman posted another three, followed by a pair of free throws from Garbey, then Dennis hit a two. Keener scored five-straight and the Sandites were officially within a point.

Then came the foul war. Keener committed two fouls in a row. Dennis sank both of his. Boyer missed his fortunately, but the Tigers went right back to the line on a foul from Savage. Dennis missed his 1-1, but Huffman rebounded for two. Keener was next to go to the line but missed his second shot, rebounded, and missed the field goal.

Dennis hit a layup on the next possession, then Taber sent Major Smith to the line for two.

With 48.6 left, Savage scored a layup to cut it to 59-53, then Keener blocked a shot on the Tigers' corresponding possession and returned it for two. Price fouled Smith, who made one, then Huffman rebounded the second and sent it to Lane for a bucket.

By this point both teams were in the double and Huffman was next to the line and made one. Savage rebounded the second, but it was too late in the game, and his deep three fell short and the home team prevailed 63-57 after tying 20-20 in the fourth.

Savage led all scorers with 26, followed by Keener with 22. Keener's 22 tied his career-high, and he also pulled in 14 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Huffman and Dennis were the only Tigers in double digits, but nine players got on the board for Broken Arrow, as compared to four for Sand Springs.

The Sandites will return to action Friday when they host No. 18 Bartlesville (9-9), who has already beaten them 53-39 and 63-53 this season. The Tigers will host No. 1 Union (20-0), who defeated them 60-56 in December.