Two Sandites headed to NCAA Softball Super Regionals, and other alumni updates

The No. 13 ranked Oklahoma State University Cowgirl Softball team (42-14) won its first Regional Championship since 2011 Saturday afternoon, squeezing out a 2-1 come-from-behind Finals win over No. 25 Tulsa (37-20). The Pokes also won 3-1 against the West Coast Conference Champions from BYU (30-26) and beat Tulsa 13-10 in their first meeting of the tournament.

The Cowgirl roster includes two former Sand Springs standouts in sophomore Sydney Pennington and senior Mallory Goodman.

Pennington played third base throughout the three-game tournament, recording two put outs and eight assists. At the plate she was 2-of-10 with 2 runs and 1 RBI, hitting a solo homer in the top of the second inning in the first game against Tulsa. 

Pennington is .250 on the season with 30 runs, 42 hits, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 10 homers, 33 RBI, a .482 slugging average, .314 on-base-percentage, and a .948 fielding average. In her career she’s .277 with 57 runs, 102 hits, 18 doubles, 1 triple, 17 homers, and 76 RBI.

Goodman hasn’t seen any action this season, but she’s .241 in her career with 17 runs, 28 hits, 5 doubles, 3 homers, a .362 slugging average, and .343 on-base-percentage.

The Pokes will return to action Thursday and Friday against the defending National Champions from No. 4 Florida State (54-8) at the Tallahassee Super Regional. Game times are 6:00 p.m. CT Thursday, 2:00 p.m. CT Friday, and 11:00 a.m. CT Saturday (if necessary). Thursday and Saturday’s games will be on ESPN and Friday’s game will be on ESPN2.

Other softball news…

Central Christian College senior Breanna Bill batted .271 this season with a .388 slugging average, 23 runs, 35 hits, 4 doubles, 4 triples, 1 home run, 11 RBI, and 8 sacrifices. The Tigers went 16-38 overall and 8-28 in the SAC.

1983 grad Randall King led the Broken Arrow High School Slow Pitch Softball team to a 23-9 record, Class 6A No. 5 ranking, and State Tournament appearance.

2011 grad Joely Rogers finished her first season as Pitching Coach at Coffeyville Community College, helping the Ravens to a 7-34 record.

Sophomore Jessica Collins batted .284 with a .327 on-base percentage, .561 slugging average, 32 runs, 42 hits, 5 doubles, 12 home runs, and 33 RBI at Connors State College as the Cowgirls went 16-31 overall and 11-22 in conference. She went 1-5 on the mound, throwing 5 strikeouts in 34 innings with a 9.34 ERA and .948 fielding percentage.

Northeastern State University went 28-27 overall and 14-12 in conference. Junior Jessica Schuler batted .297 with 29 runs, 47 hits, 33 RBI, 14 doubles, 5 homers, a .481 slugging average, .386 on-base percentage, and a .991 fielding percentage.

Junior Kennedy “Goose” Salyers finished the season .234 at the plate with 5 runs, 11 hits, 1 double, 1 RBI, a .255 slugging average, and a .250 on-base percentage at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. The Savage Storm went 29-28 overall and 25-19 in conference.

Baseball

Rhett Rutledge is playing NCAA Division I baseball at Florida International University in his junior year, following a two-year stent at Northern Oklahoma College. He currently owns a .250 batting average and .300 slugging average on the season with five hits, seven runs, and one RBI, with a .905 fielding percentage. The Panthers are 22-29 overall and will return to action Thursday with a three-day three-game home series against Louisiana Tech.

Sophomores Mack Thompson and Treyce Tolbert saw action on a 24-22 Rose State College baseball team, the school’s best record since 2013. Thompson ended the season with a .879 fielding percentage, .337 batting average, .413 on-base percentage, and .402 slugging average, recording 31 hits, 6 doubles, 20 runs, and 16 RBI. Tolbert finished with a .909 fielding percentage, .297 batting average, .360 on-base percentage, and .436 slugging average, with 30 hits, 12 doubles, 1 triple, 17 runs, and 19 RBI.

Berryhill grad and native Sandite Jacob Bailey is seeing reduced duty with the Seminole State baseball team. He is 1-0 on the mound in 3.2 innings pitched with a 0.0 ERA and 6 strikeouts. Last season he was 6-1 for a 4.14 ERA. Seminole went 39-14 this season.

University of Oklahoma sophomore Jake Terry has pitched two innings this season and thrown one strikeout. His career ERA stands at 7.53. The Sooners are 31-20 overall and 9-12 in Big 12 action. They will play a three-game Red River Rivalry series this week to conclude the regular season.

CPHS Class of 1981 grad Mike Moore is Head Baseball Coach at Jay High School, and recently wrapped up the season with an 18-14 record.

Basketball

University of Central Oklahoma freshman Colt Savage scored 84 points with 25 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals for the Men’s Basketball team this past season, helping the Broncos to an 11-17 record. He shot 55.6% on field goals, 50% on three-pointers, and 90% on free throws.

Football

Sophomore Jacob Taber and the Fort Hays State University football team earned their second-straight MIAA Conference Title with a 9-3 overall record and 6-0 undefeated performance on their home turf. Taber played in all twelve games, recording 4 total tackles.

Jerry Lyons didn’t see any action his freshman year at Southwestern College football, but the Moundbuilders finished the season 6-5 overall and 5-5 in conference.

Payton Scott took a redshirt his freshman year at the University of Central Oklahoma, but the football team went 8-4 overall, 7-4 in conference, and won the Heart of Texas Bowl.

Golf

University of Denver golfer Carson Griggs cracked the starting lineup this season as a true freshman and helped his team to a Summit League Conference Championship with a sixth place finish out of 44 golfers. The Pioneers concluded their season Wednesday with a 12th place finish at the NCAA Stanford Regional.

Griggs placed 54th out of 96 at the Ram Masters Invitational, helping his team to a 4th place finish. He was first on his team and 13th out of 100 at the William H. Tucker Invitational. He was second on his team and 31st of 84 at the Bayou City Collegiate Tournament. He placed 30th of 90 at the Ping Cougar Classic, 67th of 75 at Regionals, 68th of 72 at the Paintbrush Invitational, 84th of 112 at the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational, and 101st of 120 at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate Classic. 

Rowing

University of Oklahoma senior Hannah Hammond was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Rowing Team.

Soccer

1991 grad Roger Bush led the Oral Roberts University Women to an 8-12 record. Junior Brooklyn Eardley played eight games and recorded one assist.

1999 grad Ryan Bush led the Oral Roberts University Men to a 6-7-3 record.

2012 grad Tyler McIntosh led the Midwest City Boys to a 2-12 record.

2010 grad Aaron McIntosh led the Mingo Valley Boys to a Heartland Christian Athletic Association Conference Championship in his first year as Head Coach.

Junior Kayla Foster played seven games this past season at Missouri University of Science and Technology, scoring one goal and one assist. The Miners went 4-11-1 overall and 3-9-1 in conference.

Megan Deshazo (sophomore) and Emma Peak (freshman) helped the Northern Oklahoma College (Tonkawa) team to an 8-7-1 overall record and 7-5-1 conference performance this season. Deshazo was named Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year and made the NJCAA All-Region team, leading the team in total scoring with eight goals and three assists. Deshazo is signed to play for Southwestern Christian University next season. Peak scored one goal and two assists.

Oklahoma City University freshman Abigail Banks only got to play one game this season, due to sharing the lineup with an All-Conference goalie. The Stars went 11-3-2 overall and 6-1-1 for second in conference.

Redlands Community College and sophomore Brooklyn Turner went 9-6-2 this season. Turner saw action in twelve games.

Tennis

Assistant Coach Peter McCorkle (C/o 2005) helped the Oral Roberts men’s team to a 6-12

Track and Field

Colby Community College freshman Ian Baustert finished 27th in the 800 meter run at the NJCAA Region VI Track Championships with a time of 2:09.10 last week. Earlier this season he set 4:28.77 PR in the 1500.

Grand Canyon University sophomore Cheyenne Walden finished the season 6th in the 3K Steeplechase in 11:12.13 and 23rd in the 5K run in 18:47.24 at the Western Athletic Conference Championships. Over the course of the season she set PRs of 4:45.56 in the 1500 run, 5:22.13 in the one-mile, 10:17.49 in the 3k, 17:10.40 in the 5K, and 10:54.11 in the 3K Steeple. She also won the NAU Friday Night Duals one-mile run in the season-opener, placed second in the 3K Steeple at the Aztec Invitational, and broke the school’s 5K record.

Volleyball

Kansas State sophomore Gloria Mutiri had a remarkable season this past fall, earning a multitude of accolades. She was twice named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week, made the All-Big 12 Rookie Team, and was a second team All-Big 12 selection. The American Volleyball Coaches Association selected her for the All-Midwest Region First Team, named her Midwest Freshman of the Year, and gave her an All-American Honorable Mention.

Mutiri finished the season with 271 kills, 3 assists, 15 aces, 192 digs, and 67 blocks in 98 sets. The Wildcats went 15-12 overall and 5-11 in Big 12 action. They will be taking a nine-day trip to Brazil later this month to play a series of exhibition matches in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Labette freshman Kylie Taylor recorded 2 assists, 2 aces, and 44 digs in 34 sets, helping the Cardinals to an 8-22 record.

Wrestling

Oklahoma State redshirt freshman Daton Fix won the first 26 matches of his career and went 35-2 overall this season, picking up titles at the Oklahoma City Open, the Reno Tournament of Champions, the Southern Scuffle, and the Big 12 Conference Tournament. His only losses came to All-Americans and he placed second at the NCAA Tournament.

UCO redshirt junior Cody Karstetter went 1-0 in his debut season with the Bronchos, winning an 8-3 decision in a dual with Fort Hays State.

Marques Haynes to be inducted into Small College Basketball Hall of Fame

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Small College Basketball announced its 2019 National Hall of Fame Class in Kansas City, Mo. this past weekend. Naismith Hall of Famer and Langston University Alumni Marques Haynes was selected for inclusion in this year's class.

Haynes attended the now-defunct Booker T. Washington High School in Sand Springs, helping his team to Oklahoma Black High School Class B State Championships in 1940 and 1941, and a Negro League National Championship in 1941. The section of Highway 97 that runs through Sand Springs is named in his honor.

With an initial $25-church scholarship Marques Haynes enrolled at Langston University. He was an athlete-student there from 1942-46. During that time the team went 112-3, including a 59-game winning streak. He was named the Langston MVP and a Southwestern Athletic All-Conference member all four years , leading the team to Historic Black Colleges & University (HBCU) National Championships in 1944 and 1946.

In 1946 his Langston team upset the Harlem Globetrotters. Haynes would gain international acclaim as a member of the Globetrotters and as an ambassador of the game. Considered to have been among the game's greatest ball handlers, he was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1985, the Sand Springs Education Foundation Hall of Fame in 1990, the Jim Thorpe Hall of Fame in 1993, the Langston University Hall of Fame in 1995, the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1998, and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2011. Observers claimed that Haynes was able to dribble a ball three times in a second and control the ball just an inch or two off the floor.

"We are very excited to welcome the Class of 2019 into our Small College Basketball National Hall of Fame," said SCB founder John McCarthy. "This is a tremendously accomplished and impressive class, and I am very thankful to our Hall of Fame Committee, as they have spent a great deal of time researching and analyzing many, many potential candidates for this prestigious induction. Congratulations to every member of this special class."

To view the additional selections to this year's SCB Hall of Fame class and for more information on the Small College Basketball Association click here. 

Class of 2019 signs 23 college letters of intent

Nine more athletes from the Charles Page High School Class of 2019 signed collegiate letters of intent recently, bringing the school’s grand total to 23 thus far. Six baseball players, five softball players, four track and field athletes, three basketball players, two football players, one wrestler, one cheerleader, and one tennis player are headed to the next level.

Riley Weir signed to wrestle with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in Miami. The community college competes in the NJCAA and owns three team National Titles. They finished last season second in the National Tournament under Head Coach Joe Renfro (174-34-3).

Weir missed the post-season of his senior year due to injury, but finished his high school career as a two-time State Champion with a 108-34 record, 49 pins, 10 technical falls, and 16 major decisions. He also holds the school record for fastest technical fall at 1:48.

Aden Baughman signed with the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and will compete at the NCAA Division I level in track and field and cross country in the Mountain West Conference. The Falcons placed fourth at their recent Conference meet

Baughman holds twenty individual titles, including two 6A State Championships in the 800-meter run. He holds personal records of 49.12 in the 300 hurdles, 50.13 in the 400 dash, 1:53.16 in the 800, 4:30.42 in the 1600, and 10:48.89 in the 3200.

Mitchell Mefford signed with the Oral Roberts University Track and Field Team and will be throwing Discus and Shot Put. Mefford ended his high school career with four Discus titles, including the 6A State Championship, and a personal best mark of 159’01.00”. In Shot Put his PR is 41’10.50.”

ORU is a private university in Tulsa, competing at the NCAA Division I level in the Summit League conference. The men’s team placed fourth in this season’s Conference Meet. They are led by Joe Dial in 24th year as Head Coach.

Jacob Smith signed with Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. Smith will run track and cross country with the Bees, competing in the NAIA Sun Conference. Smith holds a 3200 meter PR of 10:22.07 and a 1600 PR of 4:39.94. He holds two individual track titles.

Sara Abbet signed with the track and cross country teams at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma. Abbet holds personal records of 3:12.32 in the 800, 6:28.9 in the 1600, 13:49.23 in the 3200, and 23:21.6 in the 5K. SNU is led by 15th-year Head Coach Billy Miller and competes at the NCAA Division 2 level in the Great American Conference.

Ben Banker signed with the Eastern Oklahoma State College baseball team, joining teammates John Miller and Tyler Ash, who signed earlier this year. Banker finished his high school pitching career with a 2.03 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, and 7-2 record in 51.2 innings.

EOSC is a public community college in Wilburton competing in the NJCAA. Matt Parker (349-133) took the reigns this year after seven winning seasons at Oklahoma Wesleyan. The Mountaineers just finished the season with a 24-22 record, falling in the first round of the Region Two playoffs.

Abbie White signed with the Northern Oklahoma College Cheer team. NOC is a public community college in Tonkawa. The Mavericks are coached by Karri Morrill in her twelfth season. In February they won the Small Two-Year College Co-Ed Title at the United Spirit Association Collegiate Championships in Anaheim, California.

JT Bristow recently signed to play football at Lyon College. Lyon is a private Presbyterian college in Batesville, Arkansas, competing in the NAIA and American Midwest Conference. The Scots went 4-7 last season under first-year head coach Casey Creehan. Primarily an offensive lineman, Bristow also recorded 22 tackles and one offensive fumble recovery last season.

Logan Bateman recently signed with the Oklahoma Baptist University tennis team. Bateman is a #1 Singles State Qualifier, with a season-best performance of second place at the Bartlesville Invitational. OBU is a private NCAA Division Two university in Shawnee, competing in the Great American Conference. The Bison went 6-13 this season in duals, led by first-year head coach Jason Proctor.

SEE RELATED:
CPHS Baseball: Kyler Copeland signs with College of the Ozarks
CPHS Baseball: Cal Watkins signs with Seminole State College
CPHS Baseball: Cale Savage signs with Northern Oklahoma College
CPHS Baseball: Tyler Ash & John Miller sign with Eastern Oklahoma State College
CPHS Softball: Madelyn Blair signs with University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
CPHS Softball: Cameron Clemons signs with Northeastern State University
CPHS Softball: Elizabeth Luttrell signs with Cowley County College
CPHS Softball: Kimi Presnell signs with Rogers State University
CPHS Softball: Jacie Taber signs with Missouri State University
CPHS Basketball: Destiny Johnson signs with University of Tulsa
CPHS Basketball: Holly Kersgieter signs with University of Kansas
CPHS Basketball: Isabella Regalado signs with Northeastern State University
CPHS Football: Caden Pennington commits to Northeastern State University

NCAA Softball: Sydney Pennington hits home run, father catches it over the fence

Pennington scores in the Regional Championship game her senior season.

You could practice it a thousand times and it would never happen on purpose. But in game one of Oklahoma State softball’s series against the University of Kansas, sophomore standout Sydney Pennington hit a three-run homer over the left field fence, directly into the ungloved hand of her father.

Pennington is a 2017 graduate of Charles Page High School in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. She is seventh on her team in batting average at .292 and second in home runs. She has cleared the stadium nine times this season and sixteen times in her career.

Cowgirl softball fans often park their trucks in the grass just outside the left field fence to watch from their tailgates. In an 8-1 Friday victory, Pennington went yard and the ball found Brett Pennington ready and waiting.

The entire play was caught on camera and can be viewed below.

Brett is no stranger to division one athletics. A two-time undefeated high school wrestling State Champion, he was offered a full ride to wrestle for the Oklahoma Sooners before retiring from the mat due to asthma. He then went to Connor’s State for baseball before finally ending up in the Crimson and Cream from 1995-1996. Now he has added softball outfield experience to his collegiate resume.

The Pokes are 29-11 this season with a 7-2 conference record. They are ranked 16th in the nation and are second in the Big 12. Their only league losses are to No. 10 Texas and Baylor. They will return to action with a three-game series against Iowa State (22-15, 1-5) Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Ames.

Sydney Pennington is one of only five Cowgirls to play all forty games this season. She has 35 hits, 24 runs, 29 RBI, and a .938 fielding average. She was a Big 12 All-Freshman last season, playing left field and shortstop. She has been playing third base this season.

Pennington season highlights…

Hit a solo homer in a 3-0 win against Sam Houston State.
Hit an RBI single to take the lead in a 13-2 victory over Hofstra.
Hit an RBI double in an 8-0 shutout of Syracuse.
Homered in a 12-2 run-rule win over McNeese State.
Went yard in both games of a double-header sweep of No.24 Oregon.
Batted 3-of-4 with two homers in a 16-1 run-rule of Central Arkansas.
Had her fourth-straight multi-hit game in an 8-0 shutout of Samford.
Scored the lone run in a 10-1 loss to No. 22 Ole Miss.
Hit a three-run homer, a double, and 5 RBIs in a 21-2 run-rule of Baylor.
Went 3-of-4 with two doubles in a 7-3 win over Kansas.

B5 | LIGHT 'EM UP!!! @Sydneyp_21 skies a three-run shot over the wall in left center to make it a 7-1 lead! It's her career-high 9⃣th of the year. #okstate pic.twitter.com/FmfZ0nEIaQ

— Cowgirl Softball (@CowgirlSB) April 5, 2019

NCAA Wrestling: Undefeated Daton Fix wins controversial OT match against No. 2 Nick Suriano

Who’s number one? The two have tried to settle that question more than once, and for many fans the third match between No. 6 Daton Fix (19-0, 24-0) and No. 2 Nick Suriano (14-1, 55-5) was a bit of a letdown.

No. 3 Oklahoma State University (7-0) made a weekend trip to the East Coast for a pair of program-first duals against No. 25 Princeton (4-4) and No. 24 Rutgers (7-3).

On Saturday Fix rolled to his eleventh technical fall of the season, 22-7 against Jonathan Gomez (5-8, 17-19) in 6:38. The Pokes won that dual 27-12 with six wins and four losses.

On Sunday OSU won even more handily, 26-5, with only two losses.

Both Fix and Suriano entered Sunday’s dual with undefeated records for the season, and a lot of history. Both were undefeated four-time State Champions in high school, and the two hold the record for longest match ever at 32:12. They met once in the 2014 Cadet National finals, where Fix prevailed in an ultimate tie-breaker. And at the 2014 Who’s Number One event Suriano scored a takedown more than 26 minutes into overtime.

Fix, a redshirt freshman, has earned four tournament titles in his two seasons at OSU and has been steadily working his way up the rankings this year. Suriano, a junior, is a two-time NCAA qualifier. He suffered a first-round injury as a freshman and medical forfeited the remainder of the tournament. He was a national runner-up as a sophomore and holds four tournament titles in his three seasons.

Needless to say, there was a lot of hype in the weeks preceding their meeting.

The third meeting between the elite athletes went the way of the previous matches. An escape point apiece and a trip to overtime. In the first tie-breaker round Rutgers challenged for a locked hands call on Fix, but the refs sided with the Cowboy. Suriano did, however, record an escape.

In the second tie-breaker Suriano was called for locked hands and Fix escaped for a 3-2 lead. Rutgers challenged that call also, and both were overturned after a long video review process. Fix escaped again and sent the two into another sudden victory period tied at 2-2.

Finally, Fix was awarded the victory after Suriano was called for hands to the face. An anticlimactic finish for those who have been waiting all year for the heavily-anticipated meeting.

With no more tournaments on the schedule till the post-season, Fix and Suriano will have to wait till late March for the NCAA Tournament before they get the chance to meet again.

The Cowboys will return to Big 12 action Friday, January 18th when they take on West Virginia (2-9). OSU is 4-0 in conference duals while the Mountaineers are 2-2 riding a three-dual losing streak. Fix could get a ranked match against No. 18 Matt Schmidt (11-0, 40-15).

There are numerous other quality opponents on the horizon for Fix. With eight duals left he could meet No. 4 Micky Phillippi (12-1, 54-12), No. 9 Austin Gomez (12-1, 20-1), No. 10 Austin DeSanto (11-1, 39-8), No. 11 John Erneste (11-3, 96-26), and No. 17 Brandon Paetzell (6-7, 37-21).

OSU Schedule
1.18 @ West Virginia
1.19 @ No. 18 Pittsburgh
1.27 vs. No. 21 Iowa State
2.1 vs. No. 14 Northern Iowa
2.3 vs No. 28 Lehigh
2.8 vs. Air Force
2.16 @ No. 5 Missouri
2.24 vs. No. 4 Iowa
3.9 Big 12 Championship
3.21 NCAA Championship

9X State Champion Cheyenne Walden transfers from OSU to Grand Canyon University

Cheyenne Walden, the most decorated athlete in Charles Page High School history, recently announced her decision to transfer from Oklahoma State University to Grand Canyon University for the Spring 2019 semester. She will be immediately eligible to compete in the Spring season.

Walden won nine individual State Championships in her time at Sand Springs. She won the State Cross Country meet from 2013 through 2016, the 3200-meter track meet from 2015 through 2017, and the 1600-meter track meet in 2016 and 2017.

Walden signed with the OSU Cowgirls in high school and immediately began competing as a true freshman. She ran in five cross country meets, finished fifteenth at the Big 12 Championships, and 27th in the NCAA Midwest Regional. She earned All-Big 12 honors and was an NCAA qualifier.

In the Spring track season she placed third in the one-mile run at the Texas Tech Corky Classic and competed in the one-mile and 3,000 meter runs at the Big 12 Championships.

Walden also took up steeplechase this past season and won 2,000 meter title at the Tulsa Duels. She placed top ten in six races and earned All-Big 12 honors in the 3,000 meter race.

Grand Canyon University is a private Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. The Antelopes compete at the NCAA Division I level in the Western Athletic Conference. They are the defending WAC Outdoor Track Champions, and have won three straight WAC Indoor Championships. They finished sixth in the WAC Cross Country Championships.

Walden Personal Records:
800 meters - 2:17
1,500 meters - 4:38.10
1 Mile - 5:00.48
3,000 meters - 9:49.34
5,000 meters (XC) - 17:31
6,000 meters (XC) - 20:49
10,000 meters (XC) - 38:00
2,000 meters (steeple) - 7:02.64
3,000 meters (steeple) - 10:28.95