Sandite Baseball Goes 2-1 at Bartlesville Tournament

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The Charles Page High School baseball team went 2-1 at the Bartlesville Bruins Classic last week, winning 9-2 against Ponca City (2-12) and 5-2 against Enid (12-9) on Thursday before falling 6-4 to Sapulpa (16-2) on Friday.

Sand Springs out-hit the Wildcats 13 to 6 with Miller Tavaglione (3-1) earning the win on the mound. Tavaglione struck out six while surrendering five hits and six walks in 4 and 1/3 inning. Gatlin Gunn allowed only one hit with one strikeout in 2 and 2/3 innings of relief.

Wyatt Rutledge, Jace Arnold, Eli Buxton, and Alex Dudley recorded two hits apiece. Easton Webb and Sutton Cook had two RBIs each while Buxton and Jackson Stewart had two runs apiece.

Arnold (2-0) got the win against Enid with six hits, two walks, and six strikeouts in six innings on the mound. Rutledge recorded a save with two hits and one strikeout in the seventh.

The Plainsmen scored two runs in the top of the first and led till the fifth. Kayden Campbell got one back after singling in the third and scoring on a passed ball.

Gunn scored on a passed ball in the fifth to tie it, then Campbell, Isaac Sensintaffar, and Rutledge all scored on a passed ball as well. Campbell went 3-for-3 at the plate, scoring two runs.

Campbell (3-1) took the loss to Sapulpa despite surrendering only three hits and four walks with five strikeouts in 4 and 2/3 innings.

Sapulpa scored two in the first but a three-run third inning put the Sandites on top after a bases-loaded walk and RBI singles from Dudley and Gunn.

The Chieftains tied it with a solo homer in the fifth then took the lead on an error and a single. Buxton scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the inning but that would be the last run for the Sandites.

A Monday district trip to Muskogee was canceled due to inclement weather but the Sandites (13-5, 4-2) will host a double-header against the Roughers (5-11, 0-6) Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.

Lady Sandites Rout Ponca City in Regional Playoffs, Will Play Broken Arrow Friday

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The No. 6 ranked Charles Page High School girls basketball team (18-6) easily handled its first round playoff game against Ponca City (7-17) Tuesday at the Broken Arrow regional tournament, 45-28.

It was the Sandites’ third win in a row, sixth consecutive win against the Wildcats, and marked the fourth year in a row that the Sandites have won a playoff game.

Southwestern Oklahoma State commit Sakauri Wilson led Sand Springs to victory with her first double-double of the season, scoring 11 points with 10 steals.

“It was just a good job by a senior, stepping up on that end of it, but you’ve got to have a total team effort come Friday and be ready to go,” said head coach Josh Berry.

The first half was total domination as the Sandites held Ponca to a single field goal in each of the first two quarters.

Hope Bump took a steal coast to coast on the Wildcats’ first possession for a 2-0 Sandite lead, though Kyra Allison responded with a bucket of her own and briefly gave Ponca its only lead on a free throw soon after.

A three-pointer from Wilson kicked off a 15-0 run before Kaytum Lively broke up the run. Sand Springs closed on an 8-0 streak to make it 25-5 at the buzzer.

“I thought we actually didn’t play that well,” said Berry. “Defense, we did okay. We didn’t play the way and with the energy that we’re used to playing with. I think if we would have played that way it would have been an even bigger first half for us.”

Ponca’s offense came alive in the third quarter as Allison scored 8 points and the Wildcats trimmed their deficit to 36-19, but Sand Springs got the edge in a wild turnover-ridden fourth quarter.

“They did some things to kind of slow us down,” said Berry. “We’ve got to go back and fix some things and we’ve got to be better come Friday because that’s not going to get the job done.”

“They were able to take advantage of us not being locked in and being in the right defensive positions.”

The Sandites had their biggest lead at 41-19 early in the fourth before running the bench.

Sand Springs will return to action Friday at 3:30 p.m. against host No. 8 Broken Arrow (17-7) who defeated Enid 75-33 in their first round game. The Sandites are in pursuit of their first Regional title since 2022 and eighth overall.

CPHS 45 POHI 28

1Q: CPHS 12-3.
2Q: CPHS 13-2.
3Q: POHI 14-11.
4Q: Tied 9-9.
Free Throws: CPHS 6-of-7, POHI 8-of-12.
Field Goals: CPHS 18-of-52, POHI 10-of-37.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 8, POHI 8.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 18, POHI 20.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 26, POHI 28.
Steals: CPHS 22, POHI 14.
Blocks: CPHS 3, POHI 4.
Fouls: CPHS 11, POHI 12.

Sand Springs Statistics

Points: Wilson 11, Simon 9, Bump 8, Ti. Butler 8, Morris 6, Pearce 2, Ta. Butler 1.
Offensive Rebounds: Bump 2, Wilson 1, Morris 1, Simon 1, Ti. Butler 1, Ta. Butler 1, Pearce 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Morris 5, Bump 4, Simone 3, Ta. Butler 2, Wilson 1, Ti. Butler 1, Pearce 1, Gilton 1.
Total Rebounds: Bump 6, Morris 6, Simone 4, Wilson 2, Ta. Butler 3, Ti. Butler 2, Pearce 2, Crain 1.
Steals: Wilson 10, Bump 3, Morris 3, Simone 2, Ti. Butler 2, Ta. Butler 2.
Assists: Ta. Butler 2, Wilson 2, Bump 1, Morris 1.
Blocks: Ti. Butler 1, Young 1, Gilton 1.
Fouls: Bump 2, Morris 2, Simone 2, Ta. Butler 2, Wilson 1, Young 1, Pearce 1.

Ponca City Statistics

Points: Allison 13, Lively 4, Northcutt 4, Collins 2, Good 2, Miner 2, Pool 1.
Fouls: Allison 3, Collins 2, Good 2, Carlisle 2, Lively 1, Northcutt 1, Miner 1.

Lady Sandites Rout Bartlesville, Will Travel to Broken Arrow for Regionals

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Bartlesville didn’t contest the tip off and didn’t bring any pressure on the opening possession as Sakauri Wilson took the ball down the court and passed it off to Kiaryn Taylor.

The senior Ranger College commit tapped in the easy bucket and immediately burst into tears after making her final appearance in black and gold.

Taylor tore her ACL in a December 8th matchup with Bishop Kelley but got to suit up one last time in Tuesday’s 55-39 Senior Night rout of Bartlesville (11-11) at the Ed Dubie Field House.

It was the regular season finale for both teams, but for the Sandites it was a tune-up game with nothing to win or lose after already clinching the three-seed in the district.

“I think we did a fair job tonight, we kind of executed against the zone,” said head coach Josh Berry. “We’ve got to do a better job of finishing some plays that we’re leaving out there, but we can figure that out going forward and defensively we need to get some things tied up.”

After giving Kennedy Nubel an uncontested basket to tie it at 2-2, the Sandites went on an 8-0 run and ended the first quarter up 22-6.

Bartlesville actually won the second quarter 6-4 after the Sandites only went 2-of-14 from the field, but the lid on the basket was lifted for both teams in the third quarter, which Sand Springs won 15-13.

The Bruins never got back within 11 points of the home team after the first quarter, with Sand Springs taking its biggest lead at 37-17 late in the third.

It was the Sandites’ tenth consecutive win against Bartlesville in a streak dating back to 2018.

Sand Springs is now 17-6 overall for its tenth consecutive regular season with a winning record. The girls went undefeated at home for the first time since the 2018-2019 season.

“Great season for the seniors,” said Berry. “The seniors have been a great group for me - they’ve been here four years, been a part of a lot of winning and I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Sand Springs celebrated Taylor, Wilson, Taiona Morris, and Patience Pearce in between the boys and girls games. Taylor, Wilson, and Morris will each continue their basketball careers at the next level.

Wilson led all scorers with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 8 assists. Hope Bump added 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals while Morris had 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals.

Mikka Chambers was the only Bruin in double digits with 10 points.

Last week the No. 6 ranked Lady Sandites went 2-1, falling 59-44 on the road to No. 4 Edmond Memorial (20-3) in Thursday’s district championship game.

The girls previously defeated Memorial 41-33 in the season opener and 58-54 at the Carl Albert tournament, but couldn’t pull off the threepeat despite leading 28-26 at halftime.

Bump scored 12 points in the first half but was held scoreless in the second as the Sandites were outscored 33-16. Wilson also scored 12 and Morris had 9 in the loss.

They bounced back on Friday with a trip to U.S. Grant (4-17) where they easily won 64-25 behind 20 points from Bump, 19 from Morris, and 10 from Tianna Butler.

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Broken Arrow Regional against Ponca City (7-16). On the other side of the bracket is No. 9 Broken Arrow (16-7) against Enid (8-14).

Bartlesville will play No. 8 Bixby (17-6) in the first round of the Owasso Regional.

Unlike past years, the loser of the first-round matchups will not be eliminated from the postseason and will instead advance to a Regional consolation bracket.

CPHS 55 BHS 39

1Q: CPHS 22-6.
2Q: BHS 6-4.
3Q: CPHS 15-13.
4Q: Tied 14-14.
Free Throws: CPHS 9-of-12, BHS 9-of-15.
Field Goals: CPHS 21-of-54, BHS 13-of-42.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 9, BHS 7.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 20, BHS 14.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 29, BHS 21.
Steals: CPHS 12, BHS 4.
Blocks: CPHS 3, BHS 2.
Fouls: CPHS 15, BHS 12.

Sand Springs Stats

Points: Wilson 14, Bump 13, Morris 11, Simone 7, Pearce 4, Ti. Butler 4, Taylor 2.
Offensive Rebounds: Bump 3, Morris 2, Ti. Butler 2, Wilson 1, Simone 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Wilson 5, Morris 5, Ti. Butler 5, Bump 2, Crain 2, Pearce 1.
Total Rebounds: Morris 7, Ti. Butler 7, Wilson 6, Bump 5, Crain 2, Pearce 1, Simone 1.
Steals: Bump 4, Wilson 3, Morris 3, Ti. Butler 1, Simone 1.
Assists: Wilson 8, Ti. Butler 1.
Blocks: Bump 1, Pearce 1, Simone 1.
Fouls: Bump 4, Simone 4, Wilson 3, Ti. Butler 2, Morris 1, Ta. Butler 1.

Laila Mirza Crowned Homecoming Queen, Lady Sandites split with Ponca City & Westmoore

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For the first time in Sandite history, the wrestling Homecoming queen was an actual wrestler. Laila Mirza was crowned in between a pair of victories as the Sandites hosted Westmoore and Ponca City on Thursday.

No. 9 ranked Sand Springs (4-2) won 42-36 against No. 13 Ponca City (0-4) before falling 54-30 to No. 6 Westmoore (3-0).

“We’ve been trying to take one dual at a time and handle Ponca City first, but we knew Westmoore was going to be tough,” said head girls coach Trent Cleveland.

“They battled us tough and ended up getting the better of us. We did have a couple of girls out of the lineup tonight. That probably played a factor but it is what it is, just got to roll with the punches.”

Sand Springs never trailed against the Wildcats, though the visitors tied things up twice and held close till the end.

Bailey Copeland took an 8-2 lead on Camila Bohon before pinning her at the 5:17 mark. Caryss Upton received a forfeit at 105 to take a 12-0 lead.

Ponca City tied things up with pins from Marli Arbona against Ambrielle Chambers and Toutie Bales against Trinity Owens.

Mirza responded by pinning Oakly Hunt and Gracie Gifford pinned Kaylie Thomas to make it 24-12, but Porscha Kreger pinned Audree Robinson and State placer Adisyn Ivers pinned Mia Bruns at 135 to tie it once again.

Kelsi Hilton gave her team its final lead by pinning Caitlin Cooper in 3:38, then Kayla Arnold and Tessa Urrey received forfeits to clinch the dual.

Fiona Schalk pinned Kadence Grant at 170 and the Wildcats received a forfeit at 190, but neither team had a heavyweight, resulting in a double forfeit.

In the second dual the Sandites never led but clawed back from a 24-0 deficit to keep things close before the Jaguars ran away with the final three weight classes.

Returning State qualifiers Kyrain and Krystan Perez pinned Copeland and Chambers, the Sandites forfeited 110, and Michaela Pinley pinned Owens to start the dual.

Mirza snapped the Jaguars’ streak by pinning Paula Galindo in just 42 seconds, then Gifford and Robinson received forfeits. The teams traded pins from there.

Zusette Arellano pinned Bruns at 135, Hilton pinned Ashlyn Hyde in 2:49, Izzy Galindo pinned Arnold, Urrey pinned Kaysie Gallope in 4:48, and Pearl Galindo pinned Grant to make it 42-30. Sand Springs forfeited 190 and 235.

Sand Springs came into the night with momentum, ranked the highest in school history after winning the Diamond State Invitational last weekend.

“We’re definitely coming off a high, going a state over and representing Oklahoma wrestling,” said Cleveland.

“It’s all kind of coming together at the right time. I couldn’t be luckier to have such a great coaching staff, support group, and wrestlers. The girls are really just coming out of the hallways just to try it out. We’ve officially got a full lineup.”

“It’s the first team title. There’s a lot of firsts going on this year and so now we’re really searching for that first State qualifier and that first State placer.”

Sand Springs also competed at the Supergirl 64 tournament at Union High School over the weekend, taking 15th place out of 46 schools.

Hilton took second place at 140 pounds, winning her pool with three pins. In the gold bracket she won two more pins, beating Bixby State qualifier Jay’la Ford in the semifinals before dropping a 5-1 decision to Yukon State qualifier Trysten Rittberger.

She was the only Lady Sandite to place in the loaded tournament.

“We try to give our girls a tough schedule so Regionals is not a shock when they go in there,” said Cleveland.

Sandites Top Westmoore and Ponca City on Homecoming

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The Charles Page High School boys wrestling team is 7-0 for the second straight year after picking up a pair of ranked wins Thursday night on Homecoming.

The No. 7 ranked Sandites won 57-13 against No. 15 Ponca City (0-4) and 48-19 against No. 6 Westmoore (1-1) and crowned Homecoming Queen Laila Mirza between the duals.

“Ponca City’s always a good tough opponents, they’ve got good tough kids,” said head coach Ty Bowling.

“Westmoore, they’re top (six) in the state right now. Will Evans does a good job over there. So it was two good wins tonight.”

In the first dual the Sandites trailed through the first four matches against Ponca City who was stronger at the light weights.

Dawsen Briscoe (1-2) suffered a third-period fall against Garrett Short and Caden Rodriguez (1-3) fell 9-0 to Blake Parker before David Ritchey (1-0) got the home team on the board with a 7-5 decision against returning State qualifier Jimmy Swenson in his first match of the season.

Jaxon Grigsby (11-3) pinned Connor Cox in 59 seconds and Matthew Moore (9-4) won a 9-7 decision against State qualifier Cameron Kiser in sudden victory overtime to give the Sandites their first lead at 12-10.

Ethan Pappan put the Wildcats back on top one last time with an 8-3 decision against Jayden Pait (6-1) but the Sandites responded with eight consecutive wins to close out the dual.

Jesse Moore (7-0) took a 7-0 lead against Braden Perciful before pinning him in 4:20 to continue his undefeated season and Isaac Sensintaffar (7-3) pinned Axel Tucker in 1:16.

Brody Ensten (9-4) won a 9-6 decision against Anderson Bivins and Zander Grigsby (12-0) pinned Lance Arbona in 50 seconds to remain undefeated on the season.

Jaxon Trotter (13-2) took an 8-0 lead on Jaxon Goodard before pinning him in 3:14 to clinch the dual and the remaining Sandites all pinned their foes in the first period.

Peyton Callis (12-3) pinned Jose Herrera in 34 seconds, Ali McCoy (6-7) pinned Cesar Jiminez in 37 seconds, and Ryley Kester (1-0) made his varsity debut by pinning Blaze McGehee in 1:21.

Sand Springs only trailed for one match against Westmoore after returning State placer Eric Casula pinned Briscoe at 106. Rodriguez picked up his first varsity victory by pinning Eli Archer in 3:22 to tie it.

Kase Skaggs (11-1) pinned State qualifier Brayden Kelly in 1:11, Jaxon Grigsby won a 5-0 decision against Jackson Yeatman, and Matthew Moore pinned Woodley Johnson in 4:46 after opening the third period on top of a 4-4 tie to make it 21-6.

Undefeated freshman Kasen McAffrey (4-0) earned a 7-4 decision against State qualifier Gannon Morales at 138 and Jesse Moore pinned Artak Khachatryan in 2:36.

State qualifier Trae Rios pinned Sensintaffar at 150 and Sam Gibson eked out a 3-1 decision against Ensten to cut it to 30-15.

Zander Grigsby got the Sandites back on track by pinning Chris Steele in 2:11 and Trotter clinched the dual with a 5-2 decision over Cole Olguin at 175.

The teams traded wins from there. Callis added a 10-5 decision against Jordan Cox, McCoy fell 13-4 to Devin Lacroix, and Mason Harris (12-1) wrapped things up by pinning Gavin Gagnon in 1:11.

“Seven duals in and seven different lineups,” said Bowling. “That’s good depth and that tells you we’ve got good youth, a good junior high that helps push those guys up, so next man up.”

“We got to kind of showcase junior high, girls, and boys all at the same time. It’s probably the first time we’ve ever done that up here. I wish it wasn’t so late but it was good to get a couple of matches in.”

Sand Springs will get some rematches with both teams at this weekend’s Larry Wilkey Invitational in Jenks.

“That’s kind of why we put this together was everybody was going to the Jenks tournament,” said Bowling.

It will be the Sandites’ first appearance at the Jenks tournament since winning it in 2015. The Sandites have won the tournament ten times in school history.

Postseason Preview: Sandites Host Lawton Friday

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Charles Page High School is four-for-four in qualifying for the playoffs in the Bobby Klinck era and under the new playoff expansion implemented in 2022, they’ll get to host a first-round game for the second season in a row.

6A-II No. 5 Sand Springs (7-3) is set to host Lawton (3-7) Friday in only their second meeting ever. The first and only meeting was a 5A semifinal playoff game that Lawton won 14-10 in 1987.

The Bracket

The winner of Sand Springs vs. Lawton will advance to play No. 3 Choctaw (7-2), who gets a first-round bye. On the same side of the bracket is No. 8 Tahlequah (3-7) at Putnam City (4-6), with the winner playing No. 1 Stillwater (8-2).

On the other side of the bracket is No. 10 Putnam City North (4-6) at No. 6 Bartlesville (4-6), with the winner playing No. 2 Edmond Deer Creek (8-2), and No. 9 Putnam City West (5-5) at No. 7 Ponca City (5-5), with the winner playing No. 4 Muskogee (8-2).

The Contenders

Stillwater is the defending State Champion, though they’ve spent most of the season at the No. 4 spot after a head coach change and the graduation of many starters resulted in an 0-2 start. Since then, the Pioneers are 8-0 with a statement 30-20 win over Muskogee in the district title game. Last year was their second championship overall and their third finals appearance in the past five years.

Deer Creek is looking for its first State title since 2000 when the Antlers were still 3A. They made the finals in 2021 but were outmatched 63-14 by juggernaut Bixby. Deer Creek started the season 1-2, playing up a division against a trio of 6A-I schools. They closed the season on a 7-0 streak with a signature 25-20 win against Choctaw in Week 6.

Choctaw finished the year with four wins in a row after the close loss at Deer Creek. The Yellowjackets have made the finals in two of the past three years but are still looking for their first title since a Class B championship in 1960. They outscored fellow playoff teams Lawton, Putnam City, and Ponca City by a combined 171 to 39 in the final three games.

Muskogee has returned to its blue blood form the past two years in pursuit of its first title since 1986 and fifth overall. The Roughers are 4-0 in championship games but 0-6 in the semis since their last gold ball and looking to take that next step forward after getting stopped in the semis last year.

Sand Springs is in pursuit of its first State title since 1966 and first finals appearance since 2015. The Sandites have been turned away in the semis twice since then. The Sandites’ only losses this season have come to 6A-I No. 1 Bixby, then-No. 1 Muskogee, and current No. 1 Stillwater.

The Dark Horse

Bartlesville is undoubtedly the best team in the playoffs with a losing record. In three consecutive losses to Stillwater, Muskogee, and Sand Springs, the combined score was only 64 to 54. There was also a season-opening one-point loss to 5A No. 6 Claremore (9-1). The Bruins got back in the win column with a 51-20 domination of Tahlequah to close the regular season.

The Bruins have never made it to a State finals game and they haven’t made it past the quarterfinals since 2015.

The Hopefuls

Ponca City won a first-round playoff game last year for the first time since 1986 and is looking to take another step forward this season. The Wildcats have never won the gold ball and last played for it in 1965.

Tahlequah has qualified for the playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons, but they haven’t gotten past the first round since 2020 when they were still 5A. They have never won a State title, falling in the 4A finals in 1989.

Putnam City West is making its first postseason appearance since 2016 and looking for its first win since 1994. The Patriots won their lone title in 1981 in Class 4A and haven’t made it to the finals since then.

Putnam City North won a playoff game as recently as 2020 but missed out on the postseason last year. The Panthers won their only gold ball in 1991 in Class 5A and made their last finals appearance in 2001 in 6A.

Putnam City is looking to win its first playoff game since 2007. The Pirates won three titles in four years from 1974 to 1977 but haven’t made the finals since that 4A run.

Lawton was an early 6A-II power, making finals appearances in 2014 and 2016 after the 6A split. They lost both of those games to Bixby. They haven’t won a playoff game since 2017, however. The Wolverines own two gold balls, last winning a 5A title in 1987.