Layne Kirkendoll Sets Sand Springs High Jump Record

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Sandite Track and Field traveled to the Owasso Ram Relays Friday. The girls placed eighth and the boys placed ninth.

Layne Kirkendoll won her second high jump of the year, setting a new school record of 5 feet 7 inches. She also won her fourth long jump of the year with a personal-best mark of 18’06.5”, which is the second-best distance in school history. 

Noah Hanlon was among the top boys in the 3200m run with a time of 11:17.94 for sixth place. Alejandro Lopez had the fifth-best time in the 800m at 2:08.49. Morgan Lockhart was fifth in the 300m hurdles in 44.33. Greg Reed took sixth in the long jump at 19’10”.

Sakauri Wilson won her heat in the 100m and had the fourth-best time overall at 13.02 seconds. Jazmin Lopez placed fourth in the 800, finishing in 2:27.88. 

Soccer

Sandite Soccer had a tough past week, as both the boys and girls teams dropped district matches against Broken Arrow on Tuesday before having their Friday games at Union canceled due to weather.

The boys (5-4 overall, 1-1 district) fell 3-0 Tuesday at Memorial Stadium, while the girls (6-3, 0-2) fell 5-1 to Broken Arrow. Teagan Smith scored her third goal of the season three minutes into the match, but the Tigers rattled off five unanswered to end the game.

Sand Springs will host Putnam City West for their final home games of the regular season Friday night at Memorial Stadium. 

Baseball

Sandite Baseball (10-13, 4-6) went 0-3 last week, dropping two close district games against Stillwater, and an 8-1 trip to Union. 

Stillwater won 7-5 on Monday and 11-10 on Tuesday. Dom Ornelas hit a home run in both games, and Keaton Campbell and Ty Pennington also went yard on Tuesday. Pennington was 3-for-3 at the plate Tuesday. 

Friday’s game at Bixby was canceled due to weather, and they returned to action Saturday at Union. The Sandites put up seven hits, including three doubles, but stranded six in the loss. 

The Sandite sluggers will return to action Thursday at 6:00 p.m. with a non-district home game against Tulsa NOAH. 

Slow Pitch Softball

Sandite Softball snapped a five-game skid Thursday with a 5-0 win over Owasso. They went 0-4 Monday and Tuesday at the Jenks Festival, then fell 11-10 to Jenks on Thursday. 

A 12-run inning and a home run from Jaden Jordan wasn’t quite enough Monday against Red Oak. Down 17-0 after two innings, the girls rallied to cut it to 17-14 before running out of steam. In game two they led 9-7 before Haskell rallied with four runs in the fifth. 

The Sandites lost another close one Tuesday against Choctaw, 9-8, then Mustang won 14-3 in the final game of the festival. 

Jordan homered, Raegan Rector tripled, and the Sandites led Jenks 10-9 in the bottom of the seventh, but the Trojans won on a walkoff single. 

The win over Owasso didn’t come with much fireworks, but they got their second shutout of the year behind Kaden Barnes’s pitching. Kelsi Hilton supplied two hits, two RBI, and one run to pace the offense.

The girls will host Jenks Thursday at 5:00 p.m.

Fishing

Cruz Norris and Gunnar Casey had yet another hot finish on the Oklahoma Bass Nation high school trail, placing fifth on Keystone Lake Saturday. The duo just won their previous event on Grand Lake. 

Norris and Casey caught three fish, weighing 9.07 pounds, with their biggest coming in at 3.91. Kyle and Kale Hilligoss placed 26th with two fish weighing 4.22 pounds, and Mack Taylor and Reese David placed 28th with two fish weighing 3.96 pounds.

Fernando Saldana sparks Sandites in district soccer opener

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Baseball

Sandite Baseball picked up a key 7-3 district win at Broken Arrow Monday, March 29th. The team recorded 11 hits with four doubles, and got it done on the mound as well. Jabe Schlehuber tossed five strikeouts for the win, and Eli Buxton recorded the save. Broken Arrow won the rematch on Tuesday, 8-7. Dom Ornelas hit a three-run homer for the 6-3 lead in the third, but the Tigers rallied with four runs in the fifth.

The Sandites headed to Jenks Friday for a non-district game and lost 2-1 on a walkoff error. They returned to form Saturday, however, with a 13-1 run-rule victory against Midwest City. Keaton Campbell went 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, two runs, and four RBI, while Kayden Campbell got the win on the mound with six strikeouts and only one hit.

Sand Springs is 10-10 overall and 4-4 in district play. They will play Friday at Bixby at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at Union. 

Soccer

The Sand Springs boys’ soccer team (5-4) kicked off district play with a 3-2 win against Edmond Memorial Friday night. Fernando Saldana scored two goals, Jack Bratcher added one, and Xander Quiroga made five saves. Bratcher leads the team with nine goals this season, followed by Saldana with eight.

Lady Sandite Soccer (6-2) suffered a 1-0 loss in their district debut, snapping a four-match win streak. Both teams will travel to Union Friday for a district match. Girls will play at 6:00 p.m., followed by boys at 8:00 p.m.

Slow Pitch Softball

The Sand Springs slow pitch softball team (6-5) won a rivalry double-header against Sapulpa in dominant fashion, Monday, March 29th, beating the Chieftains 28-5 and 23-0, but hit a rough patch later in the week.

Raegan Rector hit two home runs in the first game, scoring three runs and six RBI. Lauren Hammock got the win, only giving up two hits with one strikeout in the three-inning game. 

Rector hit a triple in game two, and scored two runs and five RBI. Kaden Barnes pitched the three inning shutout, tossing one hit, one strikeout, and no walks.

On Tuesday Rector hit two more homers, scoring six RBI in a 21-13 loss to Berryhill. Taylor Skipper also had a homer and was 3-for-3 at the plate. They also fell 20-3 to Broken Arrow, with yet another homer from Rector. 

On Thursday they went 2-3 at the Haskell Tournament, beating Fort Gibson 9-4 and Bristow 9-1, but they fell 17-5 to Haskell, 13-2 to Oktaha, and 7-6 to Bixby.

Sandite Softball will travel to Jenks Thursday at 5:00 p.m. to play the Trojans and Owasso.

Track and Field

The Sand Springs boys and girls track teams both placed sixth at the Broken Arrow Track Classic Saturday. Joseph Mattison was the star of the show, running the 200-meter dash in 22.18 seconds for third place. He also jumped 20’06.5” for third place in the long jump.

Wrestling

The Keystone Kids hosted an OK USA tournament Saturday at Clyde Boyd Middle School and seven Sand Springs wrestlers won their brackets. Colton Lambert, Kason Wolfe, Ethan Norton, and Parker Ingram placed first in freestyle, Jesse Moore won in Greco, and Samuel Moore won his bracket in both styles. 

Sandite Athletics Weekly Roundup

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Boys Soccer

The Sand Springs boys’ soccer team (4-4) fell 2-1 in non-district play at Enid, Tuesday, March 23rd, with Brian Boyles scoring the lone goal. They placed fourth at the Holland Hall tournament last week, beating Oklahoma Christian School 6-0 on Thursday before falling 2-1 to Holland Hall Friday and 7-3 to Owasso on Saturday. 

Fernando Saldana scored a hat trick against OCS and Jack Bratcher had a brace. Cameron Summerton added the sixth goal, his first of the season. Saldana scored one goal against Holland Hall and another against Owasso. Bratcher and Mason Ritter also had goals against Owasso. 

The boys were short handed in their placement match, playing without NSU-bound David Fancher and goalkeeper Xander Quiroga, among others. Junior backup Shawn Hayes made ten saves in the loss.

Baseball

Sandite Baseball went 3-2 last week and is 8-8 overall. Jabe Schlehuber got the win and Eli Buxton recorded a save in a 4-2 district game at Bartlesville, Tuesday, March 23rd. Bartlesville won the rematch 6-4 on Wednesday.

The Sandites returned to Bartlesville on Thursday and Friday for a festival. Gage Elliott went the distance in a 10-2 win over Ponca City Thursday, only giving up three hits, then Kayden Campbell recorded a 7-4 rivalry win against Sapulpa with another save from Buxton. Schlehuber and Ty Pennington both hit triples in the win. Bishop Kelley scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh for an 8-7 walk-off on Friday.

Rhen Rutledge paced the offense, going 7-of-15 at the plate last week with seven runs, two RBI, a double, and a triple. Cason Savage also hit a triple in the Wednesday loss to Bartlesville.

Sand Springs will travel to Jenks Friday for a non-district game, and will host Midwest City Saturday at noon.

Slow Pitch Softball

Sandite Slow Pitch started the season with a pair of wins Tuesday, March 23rd at Union High School. They beat Berryhill 13-1 in a three-inning run rule and survived a 12-11 shootout with the host team. 

Lauren Hammock got the win against Berryhill, only giving up one hit. Jaden Jordan hit a two-run homer in the first inning to give her team the lead, and Kelsi Hilton and Kaden Barnes both hit RBI triples. Hilton added a grand slam in the second inning, then Hammock threw a bases-loaded strikeout for the win. 

Barnes got the win against Union and Hammock recorded a save. Jordan went a perfect three-for-three at the plate with two home runs and six RBI. 

Sand Springs Softball will compete at the Haskell Tournament on Thursday, where they are the defending tournament champions.

Track and Field

The Sand Springs boys placed sixth and the girls took fifth Friday at the Muskogee Track Classic. Two Lady Sandites brought home three gold medals from the event. 

Jazmin Lopez won the 800-meter run in 2:29.87. Layne Kirkendoll won the high jump with a mark of 5’04.00” and the long jump with a distance of 17’06.00.” Jayda Rowe placed second in the discus throw with a mark of 105’07.00”, ranking her second in Sand Springs history in the event. 

Alejandro Lopez placed second in the 800-meter run in 2:04.95, less than half a second behind the winner. Joseph Mattison placed third in the 100-meter dash in 11.27, third in the 200 in 23.15, and third in the long jump at 19’07.00”.

The girls 4x100 relay team placed third in 52.04 seconds, the 4x400 placed fourth in 4:29.49, and the 4x200 placed fifth in 1:56.22. 

The boys 4x800 relay team placed fourth in 8:48.62, the 4x400 placed fourth in 3:41.33, and the 4x200 placed fifth in 1:38.57. 

Sandite Track will next compete at the Broken Arrow Track Classic Saturday at 10:00 a.m.

Sandites' Layne Kirkendoll, Joseph Mattison claim gold at Broken Arrow Relays

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Track and Field

Layne Kirkendoll and Joseph Mattison were leaps and bounds ahead of their competition Friday at the Broken Arrow Relays, and both took home first place medals in the long jump. 

Kirkendoll has already secured her position as the second-best long jumper in Sand Springs history behind two-time State Champion Shawn Gilton, and she just keeps getting better. Her 17’08.5” leap marked a career-high and her second win of the season. She also won the high jump with a career mark of 5’06.00”.

Mattison earned his first varsity gold with a career distance of 20’02.5” in his first jumping event of the season. 

There were no individual running events in the dual-style meet, which pitted the Sand Springs relay teams against Broken Arrow’s varsity and JV squads. The Sandite runners didn’t win any events, but the girls’ 1600 team lost by less than a second.

Baseball

Sandite Baseball (5-6) went 0-4 at the Edmond Festival, but their Saturday double-header featured a pair of close shootouts. On Thursday they lost 5-1 to Norman North and 7-4 to Mustang.

On Saturday they lost 10-9 to both Edmond North and Edmond Santa Fe. In the first game against Edmond North they were down 4-0 to start the sixth and scored eight runs to take the lead, including a 2RBI triple from Rhen Rutledge and a 3RBI double from Jacob Shields. 

The Huskies tied it 8-8 with an RBI double in the seventh to force an extra inning. Shields reclaimed the lead on a ground out by Rutledge, but Toby Simpson hit a 2RBI single to win the game. 

Santa Fe took a 3-0 lead into the fourth in the next game, but Pennington tied it up with a 2RBI triple and Kaden Young scored in the fifth for the lead. The Wolves used four walks and a hit to make it 6-4, but Sand Springs wouldn’t stay down for long.

Keaton Campbell and Jabe Schlehuber hit a pair of solo home runs, then the Wolves walked four Sandites in a row to tie it in the seventh. Cason Savage and Rutledge tagged up on a pair of pop flies to make it 9-7, but Jase White hit a two-run double to tie it and Caleb Moore was walked on loaded bases for the win. 

Sand Springs Baseball will return to action Thursday and Friday at the Bartlesville Bruin Classic, which will feature a Highway 97 Rivalry game against Sapulpa Thursday at 4:00 p.m.

Slow Pitch Softball will host Owasso Thursday at 4:30 p.m., Boys’ Soccer will play in the Holland Hall Invitational Thursday, Track and Field will compete at Muskogee Friday at 4:00 p.m., and the Fishing teams will take to the waters at Ft. Gibson Saturday and Sunday.

Fourth Annual Monster Ball raises $1174 for Sandite Special Olympics

The Fourth Annual Monster Ball softball game was very nearly canceled for the second straight year, but after a week-long weather delay, the event was finally held Wednesday, November 4th at the Sandite Softball Complex. The event looked a lot different from past years, but was still a major success, raising $1,174 for Sandite Special Olympics.

In past years the costumed slow pitch game pitted the Sandite Softball and Baseball teams against each other, with the boys batting with their non-dominant hand. The Lady Sandites won the first and third events, but the boys will have to wait till next year to try and tie the series. Due to COVID-related quarantines, the softball team was shorthanded and both teams had mixed rosters this year.

Sully, from Monsters Inc., hit a leadoff homer over the right field fence to start the game, and his team would go on to win the game 6-2. He hit another home run in the fifth inning, and Rocky Balboa also had a dinger.

A dizzy bat race was held after three innings, and anyone in the crowd could pay $3 to enter someone else into the race. Todd Stewart and Morgan Powell won their heats and Stewart won the finals race.

Click here to view our full photo gallery from the event.

CPHS Baseball: Jaxon Skaggs to pitch in Senior Series Saturday at OneOK Field

View fullsize

Recent Charles Page High School graduate Jaxon Skaggs will be playing one last high school baseball game this Saturday at OneOK Field in Tulsa.

The Tulsa Drillers and the Tulsa Area Baseball Coaches Association will be hosting a two-day High School Senior Series on Independence Day weekend. The first game will be played Friday, July 3rd at 7:00 p.m., and game two will be Saturday, July 4th at 7:00 p.m. Both games will be followed by fireworks.

Friday’s game will pit East (Claremore, Glenpool, Jenks, Edison, Pryor, Metro Christian) against West (Bixby, Cascia Hall, Holland Hall, Sapulpa, Kiefer). Saturday will be North (Verdigris, Bishop Kelley, Sand Springs, Owasso, Victory Christian, Liberty, Coweta) versus South (Broken Arrow, Union, Regent Prep).

Skaggs, who is signed with Missouri Baptist University, will be the only Sandite to play. The Sandites only played eight games this year before the season was canceled due to COVID-19. Skaggs only pitched two games and was 1-0 on the mound with a 3.4 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, and 13 strikeouts in 12.1 innings.

“The Drillers are glad to make ONEOK Field available for these great matchups and to give senior baseball players a final chance to play high school baseball in front of their family and friends,” said Drillers President Mike Melega in a press release. “We hope to make it a pair of special evenings for everyone involved, capped by giant holiday fireworks displays both nights.”

Fans will be allowed to attend games, but COVID-19 restrictions and limitations will apply. Capacity at ONEOK Field will be less than half of normal capacity as safe-distancing standards will be observed.

Tickets for Saturday’s game can be purchased at this link, or at the Drillers Box Office day-of. Prices are $12.00 for Homeplate Premium, $10.00 for Field Reserved, and $6.00 for General Admission.