Lady Sandites sweep Tampa Bay Invitational, Armstead named MVP

This story was originally written by Scott Emigh for the Sand Springs Leader. Photos courtesy of Becky Tanner.

It’s beginning to look like a special season for the Charles Page High School girls’ basketball team.

A 53-32 tournament finals win over Eustis, Florida (5-7) Saturday night at the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational elevated the Sandites to 7-0 for the first time since 2017.

The Class 6A No. 9 ranked Sandites earned their second tournament title of the Josh Berry era, and first since 2019, after steamrolling three Florida foes in the Anna Maria Island division.

101 girls basketball teams competed at the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational over the holiday break in 14 separate tournament brackets, including Tulsa’s Union High School who placed third in their bracket.

“We got to see some pretty good competition,” said Berry. “We got to see some speed. The first two games they had some guards who were really really fast, so that was good.”

The Sandites rolled to a 52-17 win over Florida 6A No. 5 Bloomingdale (11-3) Wednesday, December 29th. Sand Springs only led 15-9 after the first quarter, but shut down the Lady Bulls’ offense from there and outscored them 20-2 in the second period.

Journey Armstead led all scorers with 13 points, followed by Hailey Jackson with 12, and both girls did all of their damage in the first half. 

The Sandites picked up a 54-27 win on New Year’s Eve against 4A No. 13 Cocoa (10-3), holding the Tigers to only 13 points entering the fourth quarter.

Armstead once again led all scorers with 16 points over three periods, followed by Jackson with 13.

“I think we played better the first two days than we did that last day,” said Berry. “We got in foul trouble within the first few minutes of the game.”

“We couldn’t make any shots, and then defensively we just played horrible the first half. We couldn’t guard, we couldn’t find our man – we just didn’t play our regular basketball the first half.”

Despite the rough start, the Sandites surged ahead with a 34-18 second-half performance against the Panthers to remain undefeated on the season.

Jackson led all scorers with a career-high 21 points, all in the second half, while Armstead contributed 16.

Armstead was named tournament MVP and both she and Layne Kirkendoll received college offers from scouts attending the tournament.

“I think (Sakauri) Wilson’s defensive pressure in the first two games really gave their best players some fits. Taiona (Morris) had some good moments as well, and we had some great productivity from the bench, whether it was getting steals, diving on the floor, making some shots to open it up. Layne really had a pretty good day of rebounding and blocking shots and controlling the paint area.”

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday with a Frontier Valley Conference road game at No. 14 Booker T. Washington (3-2, 1-1). The Sandites are 2-0 in conference play this season but are still looking for their first win against the Hornets under Josh Berry.

CPHS 52 Bloomingdale 17
1Q: CPHS 15-9.
2Q: CPHS 20-2.
3Q: CPHS 13-4.
4Q: CPHS 4-2.
Scoring: Armstead 13, Jackson 12, T. Morris 8, L. Morris 6, Walker 5, Kirkendoll 4, Tanner 3, Martin 1. (Bloomingdale) Alevin 5, Mengel 3, Dialle 3, Kendrick 2, Kanuer 2, Womack 2.

CPHS 55 Cocoa 27
1Q: CPHS 13-5.
2Q: CPHS 10-3.
3Q: CPHS 19-5.
4Q: Cocoa 14-13.
Scoring: (CPHS) Armstead 16, Jackson 13, Kirkendoll 7, Wilson 6, T. Morris 6, Walker 4, L. Morris 3. (Cocoa) Green 11, Zidor 6, Barrene 4, Stanley 3, Pratt 2, Ammons 1.

CPHS 53 Eustis 32
1Q: CPHS 9-4.
2Q: CPHS 10-10.
3Q: CPHS 16-10.
4Q: CPHS 18-8.
Scoring: (CPHS) Jackson 21, Armstead 16, Kirkendoll 8, T. Morris 5, Wilson 3. (Eustis) Brown 14, Rolle 8, McKinley 5, Seward 2, Brooks 2, Douglas 1.

Sandite Wrestling

The Keystone Kids wrestling club can claim yet another national champion. 

Hudson Waag took home first place in the 46th annual United States Junior Open Championship Saturday night at the Oklahoma City fairgrounds.

Waag recorded decisions of 18-16 and 10-4, and pinned three opponents, including a 19-second fall in the finals to win the 37-pound bracket in the Six and Under age division.

Kason Wolfe placed fourth in the Eight and Under division at 55 pounds, and Bailey Copeland placed fifth in Girls’ 12 and Under division at 73 pounds.

Sandite Basketball takes a beating at Jenks

JD Dickson goes for a layup against Jenks. Photo by Charity Wickett.

This story was originally written by Scott Emigh for the Tulsa World.

If the No. 3 Jenks boys’ basketball team (4-0 overall, 2-0 conference) was looking for a statement win, it found it Tuesday against No. 16 Sand Springs (2-2, 0-2). The Trojans dealt Eric Savage the biggest defeat of his Sand Springs career, 84-35, in a game that saw little drop off in second or third-string action.

“Eric is the best in our business at managing games,” said Jenks head coach Clay Martin. “We were trying to create a tempo as early as we could, because he’s so good at slowing the game down for his team.”

The Sandites have a reputation for playing gritty, low-scoring games against higher ranked opponents. In the last meeting between the two teams, the unranked Sandites beat the No. 8 Trojans 43-40 in last year’s Regional playoffs.

“We have a lot of respect for him and that program,” said Martin. “We were just lucky to get a tempo going and create some run-outs early, which got the momentum going.”

The Trojans were fresh off a tournament title from Tahlequah, where they beat Tahlequah Sequoyah 90-19, then edged out Muskogee 59-52 and Moore 60-58 in overtime. 

“All the credit in the world to our guys,” said Martin. “Coming off a big tournament win, you come back and we were wondering how we were going to respond. I think with the experience we have and the leadership we have on the floor, we were ready to go.”

Chase Martin led all scorers with 15 points, followed by Benjamin Averitt with 13, and Deke Thompson with 11. 

Thompson scored all of his points from the bench, in the fourth quarter, and the backups accounted for 33 in the lopsided affair.

“Obviously when you’ve got a little lead, the rim gets bigger,” said Martin. “I was really proud to see a lot of our guys who don’t always get a lot of minutes get in there and have some opportunity.”

The Trojans will try to ride that momentum into the Tournament of Champions on December 27th with a first-round game against 2A No. 2 Cashion (1-0).

Sand Springs will take three weeks off before traveling to No. 12 Booker T. Washington (2-0, 2-0) after the new year.

Jenks 84 CPHS 35
1Q: Jenks 17-7.
2Q: Jenks 22-9.
3Q: Jenks 23-12.
4Q: Jenks 22-7.
Free Throws: Jenks 7-of-10, CPHS 4-of-13.
Field Goals: Jenks 33-of-62, CPHS 13-of-47.
Offensive Rebounds: Jenks 11, CPHS 12.
Defensive Rebounds: Jenks 22, CPHS 18.
Total Rebounds: Jenks 33, CPHS 30.
Steals: Jenks 7, CPHS 2.
Blocks: Jenks 2, CPHS 1.
Fouls: Jenks 11, CPHS 13.

Scoring: (Jenks) Martin 15, Averitt 13, Thompson 11, Tata 9, Golightly 8, Smith 8, Simmons 7, Wilkins 6, Bacon 4, Coffey 3. (CPHS) Dickson 6, Oakley 6, Shope 6, Clark 5, Askew 5, Kelly 5, Johnson 1, Hendricks 1.

Sand Springs Girls' Basketball throttles Jenks 64-30 on the road

Layne Kirkendoll hits a layup against Jenks. Photo by Charity Wickett.

This story was originally written by Scott Emigh for the Sand Springs Leader.

Jenks hung tough for a half, but the Sand Springs girls’ basketball team opened the floodgates after intermission.

Class 6A No. 11 Charles Page High School (4-0 overall, 2-0 conference) outscored the home team 42 to 18 in the second half and cruised to a 64-30 win against No. 19 Jenks (2-3, 1-1) Tuesday night at the Frank Herald Field House.

Three Lady Sandites scored in double digits as the visitors secured their 16th consecutive win against Jenks. Journey Armstead led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Hailey Jackson with 13 and Sakauri Wilson with 10.

Taiona Morris scored 8 points, Layne Kirkendoll added seven points and ten rebounds from the bench, and Avery Tanner scored 6.

“I think this year we’ve been able to get a lot more help and a lot of players are stepping up and getting a lot more confidence,” said Sandites head coach Josh Berry.

The Sandites held their opponents to single digits in all four quarters and came away with 14 steals and three blocks in a dominant defensive effort.

“I think that’s what we’ve got to do is just hang our hat on the defense,” said Berry. “As long as we keep playing defense and they keep sharing the ball, and other players keep getting aggressive, we’ve got a good chance of being pretty good.”

Jill Twiehaus scored 14 points to lead the Trojans, who will take three weeks off before traveling to 5A No. 2 Sapulpa (3-2, 1-1). 

Sand Springs will travel to the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational on December 29th with a first-round game against Fort Myers, Florida. 

“Of course we’re going down there to compete,” said Berry. “First we want to go down there and take care of business, but we want to have some fun. It’s about family, and it’s about being together. It’s a chance for us to go down there and relax and have some fun over the holidays and enjoy each other.”

In junior varsity action the Trojans won 44-40. Abigaile Martin scored 15 points to lead the Sandites.

CPHS 64 Jenks 30
1Q: CPHS 11-6.
2Q: CPHS 11-6.
3Q: CPHS 25-9.
4Q: CPHS 17-9.
Free Throws: CPHS 13-of-16, Jenks 11-of-13.
Field Goals: CPHS 23-of-58, Jenks 9-of-46.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 19, Jenks 12.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 22, Jenks 13.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 41, Jenks 25.
Steals: CPHS 14, Jenks 5.
Blocks: CPHS 3, Jenks 5.
Fouls: CPHS 16, Jenks 13.

Scoring: (CPHS) Armstead 20, Jackson 13, Wilson 10, T. Morris 8, Kirkendoll 7, Tanner 6. (Jenks) Twiehaus 14, Forgione 7, Brown 4, Luciano 2, Simpson 2, Aeschleman 1.

Lady Sandite Basketball sweeps first three games in dominant fashion

Photo by Charity Wickett. Click here to view the complete photo gallery.

The Charles Page High School girls basketball team is off to a hot start on the year, winning its first three games by an average of 42 points per outing. 

Ranked No. 15 in Class 6A, the Sandites easily handled Owasso 54-37 in the season-opener, then pummeled Northwest Classen 90-26 and Tulsa Central 54-8 at the Golden Days Hoop Festival.

Senior star Journey Armstead scored 20 points with five steals and four rebounds to power the Sandites to their seventh straight win against the Rams. 

Leyshia Morris, Hailey Jackson, Taiona Morris, and Sakauri Wilson each contributed 8 points apiece for the Sandites in a balanced first-string effort, and Avery Tanner scored 2. 

“That's what we're going to need for us to be really good,” said Sandites coach Josh Berry. “We have to have that. We can't rely on one or two people to get us there. I talk to all of them about that, being ready, staying aggressive, and spreading the wealth around.”

Sand Springs won the junior varsity game 40-36 behind a 15-point effort from Abby Martin. Fayth Walker scored 12, Kiaryn Taylor scored 6, Patience Pearce scored 4, Kadence Bentley scored 2, and Tay’ja Butler scored 1.

On Thursday the girls were led by Armstead with 22 points and Jackson with 20. Taylor scored 11, Leyshia Morris scored 10, Walker had 7, Wilson and Taiona Morris scored 6, Avery Tanner had 4, and Layne Kirkendoll and Patience Pearce scored 2. 

Friday’s game against Yukon was canceled, so the game against Central was moved up from Saturday and the Sandites took a 52-0 lead early in the fourth quarter before the Braves finally found their way onto the scoreboard.

Jackson led all scorers with 15 points and six rebounds, followed by Armstead with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and six assists. Kirkendoll collected 11 rebounds and scored four points from the bench.

Wilson and Taylor scored 5, Tanner had 4, Leyshia Morris scored 3, and Pearce and Taiona Morris scored 2 each. 

The Lady Sandites will get their first ranked test Tuesday at No. 17 Jenks (2-2, 1-0) in a conference battle. The Sandites have won their last 15 games against the Trojans. 

Sand Springs Boys Drop Conference Opener to Owasso 47-44 in OT

Photo by Charity Wickett. Click here to view full photo gallery.

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

The Charles Page High School boys’ basketball team (2-1 overall, 0-1 conference) suffered their first loss of the season Tuesday, December 7th at the Ed Dubie Field House in a 47-44 overtime battle with No. 9 Owasso (3-1, 1-0). 

The No. 18 Sandites rallied from a 29-18 third-quarter deficit to take their only lead of the game at 37-36 late in the fourth quarter on a layup from Jason Clark.

Caleb Leslie’s fifth three-pointer of the night put the Rams back on top, but Ethan Oakley sank a pair of free throws with six seconds left to force the extra period. 

Caden Fry scored five straight points to start the four-minute overtime. A three from Kooper Kelly and a layup from Oakley kept the home team’s hopes alive, but EJ Lewis hit the back end of a one-and-one with six seconds remaining and Clark’s last-second three-point shot was no good.

“I’m proud of our heart and effort,” said head coach Eric Savage. “That’s got to be one thing we hang our hat on every night, and I thought they did that. It comes down to how well we execute at times.”

“Layups and free throws, it’s pretty basic. You make layups, you make your free throws, shoot a decent percentage, you win the game.” 

The Sandites were only 6-of-14 from the charity stripe and 10-of-26 from two-point range against the Rams.

JD Dickson led the home team with 15 points and four rebounds, followed by Ethan Oakley with 10 points and three boards. 

Sand Springs will take a week off to prepare for a conference road game at No. 4 Jenks (4-0, 1-0). The two teams split meetings last year, with Jenks winning a conference overtime game, but the Sandites got payback with an upset at Regionals. 

Jenks leads the series 8-7 in the Eric Savage era but the Sandites have won seven of the last nine. 

Scoring: (CPHS) Dickson 15, Oakley 10, Kelly 9, Clark 5, Askew 3, Brockman 1, Holland 1. (OHS) Leslie 15, Fry 10, Lewis 8, Clifton 5, Mann 4, Harbaugh 3, Manuel 2. 

Sand Springs won the junior varsity game 42-39 behind Collin Shope’s 18 points. Alijah Roper scored 8, Blake Johnson scored 6, and Michael Foster and Mark Lair scored 5 each.

Sports Roundup: Layne Kirkendoll places second in State Championship Long Jump

Courtesy of Tommy Dial.

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

The Charles Page High School track and field team ended its season Saturday afternoon in Edmond, and three Sandites made the trip. 

Junior Layne Kirkendoll repeated her freshman performance in the Long Jump by finishing as Runner-Up. Her 18 ft. 1.75 in. jump was her third-best mark of the season. She also placed fifth in the High Jump with a height of 5 ft. 4 in. The top five jumpers all cleared the same height, but Kirkendoll took fifth on criteria. 

Senior Joseph Mattison signed a letter of intent to run for Coffeyville Community College last Tuesday, and at State he competed in two events. His 22.51-second 200-meter dash earned 10th place and his 20 ft. 1.5 in. long jump placed 11th. 

“JoJo (Mattison) is the definition of hard work and determination,” said Head Coach Tim Dial. “He is the type of kid that every coach wishes they had a team full of.”

Greg Reed also competed in the long jump and placed 16th at State with a distance of 14 ft. 11.25 in.

Baseball

Brock Swanson, Brycen Peterman, and Kaden Young all signed letters of intent to play at Oklahoma Wesleyan University next season. 

Basketball

Former Sandite Colt Savage signed to play at Cameron University after spending two seasons at the University of Central Oklahoma. “Colt is an extremely poised guy that brings our team a lot of versatility at the small forward position,” said CU Head Coach Andrew Brown. “He has great touch shooting on the perimeter along with a strong build to take advantage of size matchups. We are excited about how he fits in our system.” 

Marlo Fox signed a letter of intent to play at Rogers State University after decommitting from Seward County Community College.

Savage is the second-highest scoring player in Sand Springs history with 1,697 points, and Fox ranks sixth with 1,065.

Cheer

Claire Smith signed a letter of intent to cheer for the University of Central Arkansas Bears. 

Football

Zach Heinen signed a letter of intent to kick for Concordia University Wisconsin. The future Falcon was a perfect 32-of-32 kicking PATs this past season and 51-of-52 in his career, and he was 3-of-4 on field goals with a career long of 39 yards. 

Daren Hawkins signed to play at Abilene Christian University in Texas. Hawkins played three years at receiver and totaled 546 yards on 37 catches, with nine touchdowns before switching to defense. He totaled 22 tackles and one fumble recovery his senior year. 

Soccer

Xander Quiroga signed a letter of intent to play goalie at Murray State College in Tishomingo. Teagan Smith signed with Southwestern College in Kansas. Smith led her team in scoring this season with five goals.