Sandite Volleyballers Continue as Teammates in College

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PAyton Robbins

Three former Sand Springs volleyball players are still teammates even after moving up to the college level.

Teyha Johnson (Class of 2022), Charley Fahland (2022), and Payton Robbins (2023) are all continuing their volleyball careers together at Friends University and recently wrapped up an 8-25 season.

Johnson played in 10 matches this season, recording 32 assists, 5 aces, and 9 digs.

Fahland appeared in 3 matches, recording 1 assist and 4 digs.

Robbins earned a starting role as a freshman and played in 17 matches, recording 120 kills, 1 assist, 17 digs, and 14 blocks.

In addition to their on-court success, they’re also having success in the classroom. Johnson and Fahland both earned the 2023 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete award for maintaining a 3.5 GPA. Robbins was ineligible because she’s still a true freshman.

Gloria Mutiri (2020) is in her first season with the USC Münster professional team in Germany. She also played pro ball in Puerto Rico last season after graduating from the University of Oregon.

USC Münster is 1-6 on the season and sitting eighth in the Bundesliga but will have a big opportunity for a win on December 2nd at VC Neuwied (0-7).

Charley Fahland

Teyha Johnson

Sports Roundup: Layne Kirkendoll wins State Championship in High Jump

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Layne Kirkendoll came up an inch short of her 5-ft. 7-in. school-record high-jump mark Saturday afternoon in Ardmore, but she was still two inches higher than the rest of the crowd.

Five girls made it past the 5-ft. 4-in. mark, but only the Sandites’ senior leaper was able to clear the next notch up, securing her first State title and first high jump title in program history for the Sand Springs girls. 

The jump made Kirkendoll only the fifth Lady Sandite in school history to win a gold medal, and it was the 13th overall for the Lady Sandites.

Kirkendoll also placed fourth in the long jump with a mark of 18 ft. 3 in. 

Kelsi Hilton, Josie Myers, Gracie Gifford, and Jazmin Lopez placed 15th in the 4x800 relay with a time of 10:55.27.

Jestin Rawlins placed fifth in discus with a distance of 148 ft. 2 in. and Matthew Shelton placed 15th in shot put with a mark of 44 ft. 3 in.

Overall, the girls placed 15th and the boys were 22nd in their first season under head coach Gloria Avey - notable improvements over the prior season’s 19th place finish for the girls and zero points scored for the boys.

Cheyenne Walden’s 1600-meter State Meet record from 2017 was finally broken, as champion Payton Hinkle and runner-up Caden Dawson both broke her 4:57.07 mark.

Several Sandites participated in the Summit League Championship at Oral Roberts University this past week.

Aden Baughman ran the second leg of ORU’s 4x400 relay team that placed second and also placed ninth in the 800-meter run.

Joel Mackey ran the first leg of the 4x100 relay team that placed fourth and also placed 15th in the 100-meter dash and 10th in the 200.

Mitchell Mefford placed 12th in discus throw and 15th in hammer throw, Victoria Baker placed 21st in the 800-meter run, and Erika Baker placed 24th in the 5K run.

Wrestling

Charles Page High School alumnus Daton Fix won gold at the Pan American freestyle wrestling championship in Acapulco, Mexico on Monday, May 9th.

The Oklahoma State redshirt junior rolled to a 3-0 sweep of the 61 kg bracket for his second Senior continental championship. 

In the first round he scored an 11-0 technical fall against Puerto Rico’s Joseph Silva in 2:20, then he won 10-0 against Mexico’s Pedro Flores Salazar in 59 seconds. In the final round he took a 10-0 lead against Canada’s Logan Sloan before pinning him in 40 seconds.

Fix will return to the mat on June 3rd at the Final X competition in Stillwater where he will aim to retain his spot on the US World Team. 

Volleyball

CPHS senior Kasidy Holland signed to play collegiate volleyball at Friends University, an NAIA school in Wichita, Kansas, competing in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The team captain and outside hitter was a Frontier Valley All-Conference honorable mention this season and helped lead the team to their second and third winningest seasons in school history over the course of her career.

Holland will join teammates Teyha Johnson and Charley Fahland, who previously signed with Friends in February.

Softball

Three Charles Page High School alumnae won titles in their respective softball divisions on Saturday, May 14th.

Sydney Pennington scored the go-ahead run in an upset of No. 1 Oklahoma Saturday afternoon at USA Hall of Fame Stadium. The redshirt senior scored on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the eighth inning to propel Oklahoma State University to its first Big 12 Tournament Championship. 

Rogers State sophomore Kimi Presnell helped lift her team to an NCAA Division II Regional Championship Saturday in Claremore. 

The Hillcats had to battle back from the losers bracket after a Friday loss to Minnesota State, but won their first rematch 8-2 in a 15-inning showdown. 

Presnell hit an RBI double in the final inning and Rogers went on to win 4-0 in the “if” game.

Missouri State University redshirt sophomore Jacie Taber didn’t come out of the bullpen on Saturday, but her team won a 10-4 battle with Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. 

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.

Bishop Kelley Volleyball wins 36th consecutive Regional Championship

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A version of this story was originally written for the Tulsa World.

It’s hard to stop a freight train, and it’s hard to stop Bishop Kelley from reaching the State Tournament. The Class 6A No. 1 Comets (28-5) streaked their way to a 36th consecutive Regional Championship Tuesday night at the Eusebius S. Beltran Activities Center.

Moving up from 5A in 2020 has done little to slow down the powerhouse volleyball program, which won its 19th gold ball last year and appears to be on a collision course for another State Finals appearance.

The Comets swept past Ponca City (5-13) and Booker T. Washington (15-21) in straight sets, winning 25-4, 25-10, and 25-7 against the Wildcats, and 25-15, 25-11, and 25-14 against the Hornets. 

“We’re really proud to get to play Booker T.,” said head coach Jerri Berna. “They’re a fine team and we really enjoyed competing with them and the way they pushed us to have to overcome. We couldn’t be more excited to go to State.”

Bishop Kelley was led offensively by sophomore star Curry Kendall, who racked up 12 kills and two aces against the Hornets, with seven kills in the first set alone. 

“Curry is absolutely one of the best outside hitters in the state,” said Berna. “We’re really proud of the work that she does and the balls she puts away, but I know she would also give a big shoutout to her team.”

There was no shortage of offensive firepower from the team. Brooke Goen scored nine kills, and Madeline Barton added six. Kate Schneeberg recorded 30 assists, while Milee Jackson and Jessica Shildt led the team on defense. 

“This is probably the most parity there’s ever been in 6A,” said Berna. “We’re really proud of the way we played tonight. We’re really quite honored to be part of such a legacy of 36 years in a row and we’re just going to do the best we can to keep working up until the State Tournament, see what the draw looks like and give it our best shot.”

Joining the Comets at State will be Edmond Santa Fe, Jenks, Edmond Deer Creek, Norman North, Edmond Memorial, Broken Arrow, and Owasso.

The Hornets defeated No. 16 Sand Springs (14-20) in straight sets to reach the finals, with sets of 25-12, 25-18, and 26-24. Taryn McIntosh scored eight kills, Makenzie Johns had seven kills, and Sydney Thompson scored six. Brenna Weaver and Bridget Johnson recorded 11 kills apiece.

Leading the Sandites was Kasidy Holland with seven kills, Teyha Johnson with 18 assists, and Charley Fahland with 15 digs. 

Sandite Athletics Weekly Roundup: Softball upsets Bixby

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

Cross Country

The Sand Springs elementary cross country team competed at Bishop Kelley Tuesday, September 21st and took third place in a combined boys and girls run. Chloe Grona led the team with a second-place finish, running a 5:48 mile. Josie Grona placed seventh in 6:11 and Jacob Lovins placed eighth in 6:12.

Fast Pitch Softball

Sandite Softball (15-13) wrapped up district action with a 3-2 upset of Bixby Thursday, holding the Spartans scoreless after the first inning. 

JoLee McNally scored on a double from Lauren Hammock in the first inning, then hit a triple in the third inning and tied it up on a double from Avery Tanner. Kelsi Hilton scored the go-ahead run on a single from Morgan Rector in the sixth. 

Bixby put two runners on in the seventh, but Tanner scooped a groundball and made the throw to first to end the game. Hilton got the win in the pitcher’s circle with seven hits, two strikeouts, and three walks. 

Sand Springs then competed at the Tahlequah-NSU festival and went 1-3. 

Raegan Rector pitched a 10-5 win against Jay on Saturday, giving up only four hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Hilton led the offense, batting 2-of-3 for two runs, two RBI, and a double. 

The Sandites lost games of 11-4 to Tuttle, 6-0 to Moore, and 10-2 to Edmond Deer Creek. 

They will wrap up the regular season Thursday on the road at Oologah-Talala. Regional Assignments will be released Friday. 

Fishing 

The Charles Page High School fishing club competed at the Oklahoma Bass Nation trail events on Broken Bow Lake September 18th and 19th. 

Mack Taylor and Parker Haling placed ninth on Saturday, catching five fish weighing 8.77 pounds. Then on Sunday they caught five fish weighing 8.06 pounds for tenth place. They are currently sixth overall in this season’s standings. 

Nate Griffin and Jaxon Trotter caught two fish weighing 3.31 pounds on Saturday for 33rd place. 

The next OBN trail event will be October 16th on Skiatook Lake. 

Volleyball

Class 6A No. 16 Sand Springs (13-17 overall, 2-4 conference) went 3-3 last week, winning a 3-0 conference sweep of Muskogee on Tuesday before competing at the Bishop McGuinness tournament over the weekend.

In Tuesday’s match against Muskogee Payton Robbins scored 10 kills and five aces, Teyha Johnson recorded 19 assists, Jacelyn Smith scored eight kills, Charley Fahland made nine digs and scored four aces, and Layla Lenex had four blocks. All five of Robbins’s aces came in a 9-0 run during set two. The Sandites easily dismantled the Roughers 25-13, 25-9, and 25-11. 

In Oklahoma City the Sandites won 2-0 against Choctaw and Yukon, but fell 2-0 to Bishop McGuinness, Deer Creek, and Carl Albert.

Sandite Volleyball will return to action Thursday, September 30th with a conference match against Booker T. Washington at home.