Oklahoma dominates Georgia 68-2 in Dual Nationals round one

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Team Oklahoma got off to a fast start against Team Georgia Blue in the first round of the Junior Greco-Roman Dual Nationals Wednesday morning, building up a massive lead before the wrestling even started.

Jet Taylor, Jacob Butler, and Jaxen Gilmore received forfeits for 126 to 138. Tuttle's Brik Filippo wasted no time in putting points on the board with a 10-0 tech fall over Khyree Alexander, then Sand Springs's Payton Scott took down Dustin Berry 10-0 in thirty seconds flat. Ezequiel Rubio pinned Cole White in a quick twenty then Nick Mahan teched Chandler Miele 13-2.

Bear Hughes continued the winning streak with an 11-0 tech over Devyn Villafane. Zach Marcheselli received a forfeit, Tanner Hawkins picked up a 16-6 tech fall over Richard Walker, then Trenton Lieutance, Alex Fields, and Wyatt Adams all received forfeits.  Alec McDoulett teched Brandon Foster 11-0 and Westmoore's Dalton Duffield wrapped things up with a 12-0 tech of Alex Cain for a final score of 68-2 with no matches lost.

Up next for Oklahoma is Team Pennsylvania who solidly defeated Team Kansas Red 49-12 in round one. 

Carson Griggs finishes 20th at State Championship, Garrett Griggs places 38th

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Brothers Carson and Garrett Griggs were the lone Sandite golfers to qualify for the State Tournament this year, and both fared well at Karsten Creek in Stillwater earlier this week. 

The State Tournament started Monday morning with 18 holes and concluded Tuesday with 36 holes. Garrett and Carson were neck and neck in the first round with scores of 86 and 87 respectively. Garrett was tied for 28th place and Carson was tied for 35th place.

The two went opposite directions in round two, however, and Carson shot 155, the 11th best score of the day, bumping him up to 20th overall. Garrett shot a 170 and dropped to 38th, still a solid performance in a field of 78. 

Carson shot 242 against an average score of 255, while Garrett shot 256. Carson was a mere thirteen strokes behind the State Champion. He placed 30th last year, so 20th as a sophomore puts his career on a good track. Garrett is a senior and finished his career in style with his first State Championship appearance.

Four Sandites qualify for State Championship Track Meet

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School girls track team qualified four for the State Tournament at the 6A East Regional Track Meet in Claremore Saturday morning. Alexis Davis, Nia Byrd, Elizabeth Watts, and Cheyenne Walden placed fourth in the 4x800 meter relay with their best performance of the season in 10:18.1. Walden also qualified individually in the 800, 1600, and 3200 races with first place finishes in the later two. 

Walden is undefeated in the 3200, having won seven first place medals this season. She finished the 3200 at Regionals in 11:00.78 and picked up her fourth win of the season in the 1600 with a time of 5:17.06. She also qualified in the 800 with a third place finish in 2:21.30. Last year Walden won a State Championship in the 3200 with a time of 11:08.366, beating the runner-up by an 18-second margin. She also came in runner-up in the 1600 behind teammate Morgan Long. As a freshman she placed third in 3200, and she's a three-time Cross Country State Champion.

Elizabeth Watts placed 8th in High Jump at 4'06.00" and 9th in the 300 hurdles with a time of 56.19. Lauren Barkdull placed 16th in the 1600 with a season-best time of 6:39.91. Sara Abbet placed 17th in the 1600 with a season-best time of 6:44.22.

Overall, the girls placed seventh as a team and the boys came in eighth. Landin Green, Jacob Garby, Ian Baustert, and Aden Baughman ran the 4x800 relay and placed 6th with a season-best 8:42.1.

Freshman Aden Baughman set a personal record with a 6th place finish in the 1600 in 4:45.49. Colton Washington placed 10th in long jump with a distance of 19'09.5". 

Jacob Fortune placed 12th in the 100 in 11.97, 15th in the long jump at 17'04.5", and 16th in the discus throw with a personal best of 98'10". Austin McCaskey came in 12th in the 800 with a season-best 2:12.79.

Jacob Smith placed 16th in the 3200 with a season-best 11:48.26, closely followed by Danny Murray who placed 17th with a season-best 11:50.25. Kobe Chin placed 19th in discus with a distance of 77'05". 

The State Tournament Track Meet will be held at Moore High School on Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th. Events will begin Friday at 10:00 AM. 

The photo gallery from the Regional Track Meet can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/20152016-Track-and-Field/5716-Regional-Track-Meet-at/

Sand Springs qualifies two for Golf State Championship

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School golf teams failed to qualify for the State Championship as a whole, but two boys placed high enough as individuals to earn their ticket to Stillwater. Not just two boys, but two brothers. 

The 6A East Regional was held at Ponca City this year and Carson and Garrett Griggs were among the seven players to qualify as individuals. Carson had the best round of the seven, scoring rounds of 81 and 73. Garrett came in third with rounds of 77 and 82. 

Sand Springs has never had a State Champion in Golf, so if one of the Griggs brothers pull it off, they'll notch a special place in the history book.

Carson qualified as a freshman (he's a sophomore now) and placed 30th of 73 last year, coming in right in the middle of the pack with a total score of 161, fourteen strokes behind the Champion.

Weather permitting, the State Tournament will be held at Karsten Creek in Stillwater May 9-10. The girls team did not qualify anyone this year.

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

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.  

Sandite Freshman Riley Weir headed to State Championship

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Sandite freshman Riley Weir puts up a fight against Choctaw's Colt Newton

Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School freshman Riley Weir (21-10) came in Third Place at the 6A East Regional Tournament at Broken Arrow Saturday night, pinning Dominic Fitzpatrick (Moore) in 0:52 in the first round, but falling 11-2 to #4 Brandon Blose (Sapulpa) in round two. In the consolation bracket he pinned Brady Bristow (Ponca City) in 1:53, then defeated #9 Cameron Picklo (Mustang) by 6-3 decision.

Weir has been a force to be reckoned with all season since he inherited the varsity 106 spot from Cody Randall who graduated last year. He made his debut in the Owasso dual where he recorded a 10-0 major decision over Eric Merida.

Since then he's ran up an 8-2 dual record and a 13-8 tournament record against some of the toughest opponents in the state. He placed 4th at the Perry Tournament of Champions and 9th at the prestigious Kansas City Stampede and won a crucial major decision during the Dual State Quarterfinal dual against Westmoore. Oklahoma Wrestling currently has him ranked 7th in 6A.

Weir drew a tough opponent for the first round of State. Friday morning he'll have to take on fellow freshman #3 Colt Newton (39-3) of Choctaw. Newton dealt Weir a 3:19 pin at the Perry tournament, a 1:12 pin at the Geary Invitational, and a 0:55 pin at the Dual State Finals.

After Newton, he'll have to take on either #1 Mason Naifeh (26-4) of Union, or #6 Braden Fowler (23-11) of Yukon. Naifeh and Fowler have spent much of the season wrestling at 113 so the Sandite has yet to meet either of them. 

In fact, of his seven potential opponents, he's only met three thus far. He hasn't met #2 Canon Randall (28-4) or #4 Jakob Houston (36-4) either. #5 Brandon Blose (22-4) of Sapulpa defeated Weir 11-2 in the first round of Regionals, then Weir defeated #8 Cameron Picklo (25-8) of Mustang by 6-3 decision. 

Despite the toughness of his class, only a fool would count the freshman out. He's more than proven his ability to overcome the odds, most notably when he was injured at Geary and came from behind to pin Union's Caron Watson in a dual later that week with his arm in a brace. He's spent the last half of the season wrestling with his injury, demonstrating the severe toughness and dedication that only a homegrown Sandite can display.