Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Wrestling Places 7th at Sapulpa Tournament

The Charles Page High School wrestling team took seventh place at the Jerry Billings Invitational in Sapulpa over the weekend with nine top-ten finishers.

The Sandites went 0-4 in the semifinal round, but Kase Skaggs, Jaxon Trotter, and Mason Harris won out in consolation.

Skaggs faced a rematch of his Jenks Tournament placement round in the 106 quarterfinals and easily rolled to a 9-2 decision against Tahlequah’s Jacob Caviness.

He was pinned by top-seeded Braydon Pacheco in the semifinals but upset two-seed Carlos Magallanes 6-5 in consolation and beat Chandler freshman Landon Earp 6-5 in the placement match.

Trotter defeated a pair of State qualifiers at 157 before falling to top-seeded Daniel Long, 4-2 in sudden-victory overtime. In the consolation finals he won a 7-4 upset against Tennessee State placer Wills Bronson.

Harris pinned his first two opponents at heavyweight before falling 4-0 to Kansas State Champion Sebastian Lopez in the semis. In consolation he won a 3-2 decision against Allen, Texas’s Blake Palmer.

David Ritchey placed fourth at 113, Jesse Moore placed fourth at 144, Jayden Pait placed sixth at 132, Matthew Moore placed seventh at 126, Ethan White placed eighth at 165, and Cash Lucas placed eighth at 285.

The junior high team took fourth place at the Perry tournament with three champions.

Jaxon Grigsby won the 98-pound bracket despite losing a 4-0 decision in pool play against Allen, Texas’s Caiden Campbell. He pinned four of his next five opponents, outscoring them 34-4 to set up a rematch with Campbell, which he won on a 2-0 sudden-victory takedown.

Kaden Pope won at 119 pounds with five pins and a tech fall, outscoring his opponents 63-3, including a 3-0 decision against Bristow’s Kale Fruits in the finals.

Isaac Sensintaffar won at 155, pinning three of his six foes, outscoring his foes 52-13 with a 13-8 finals decision over Broken Arrow’s Matthew Mann.

Kasen McAffrey placed third at 140, pinning five of his nine opponents while outscoring them 56-12. His only loss was a semifinals fall against the tournament champion.

Ryley Kester placed third at heavyweight, pinning all seven of his opponents with the exception of undefeated tournament winner Jon Broehl from Broken Arrow, who won a 1-0 semifinal decision.

The Keystone Kids youth wrestling club earned four gold medals at the Oiltown Throwdown in Ponca City.

Hagan Wolfenberger and Mason Londo both won their brackets while Ryker Dawes won two brackets by wrestling up a division.

UFC

Sand Springs native Jimmy Flick suffered a first-round TKO against Charles Johnson in his return to the octagon after a two-year hiatus.

The fight went to the mat late in the first round where it was called in Johnson’s favor after an unrelenting series of hammer fists and elbows to the head.

Flick is now 16-6 in his pro career and 1-1 in the UFC.

Football

Sandite receiver Kyle Morrall has received a college offer from North American University, an NAIA program in Stafford, Texas.

Defensive back RJ Smittick received his first college offer last week from McPherson College, an NAIA program in McPherson, Kansas.

Bixby Hoopers Sweep Sandites

Gentry Baldwin didn’t score a single point in the first half, but her 16-point performance in the third quarter sparked the No. 2 Bixby Spartans (4-1) to an 84-50 win over No. 9 Sand Springs (7-2) Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

“She is the most gutsy, gritty kid you’ve ever met in your life,” said head coach Tina Thomas.

“Walking out of the locker room I said ‘let’s go Gentry. Let’s go get this done,’ and she did.”

The top-ten battle between last year’s top two Frontier Valley Conference teams lived up to the hype as the Sandites and Spartans battled neck and neck to a halftime tie before the visitors pulled away.

The first half saw 12 lead changes and neither team led by more than 6 points. Abilene Christian commit Gracy Wernli had 15 by halftime for the Spartans and ended the night with a game-high 24.

“We’re kind of having to redefine who we are and how we do things,” said Thomas, who just lost Meredith Mayes, also an Abilene commit, to an ACL injury in last weekend’s Bixby tournament.

“It’s a process. A little bit of grieving going on right now because these kids have been together since third grade.”

“They’re very sad, but equally, or even more, driven. We’ve had good practices, tweaking on how we’re going to do things a little differently. But the kids have resolve and grit and determination to continue to pursue their goals.”

The Sandites were missing their own starter, Fayth Walker, who also suffered an ACL injury at the Bishop Kelley Tournament.

After ending the first half in a 33-33 tie, the Spartans opened the third quarter on a 12-point run and limited the Sandites’ opportunities through an aggressive full-court press that came away with seven steals.

“I’ve got some senior girls that have some grit and resolve about them and they decided the game wasn’t going to go that way any longer,” said Thomas.

After scoring eight treys in the first half the Sandites wouldn’t hit another and the Spartans appeared to find their new identity minus Mayes.

By the end of the night Drury-commit Alyssa Nielsen would have 17 points and Kate Wernli added 12.

Hailey Jackson led the Sandites with 16 points and 9 rebounds while Calla Fueshko and Sakauri Wilson scored 10 apiece.

Bixby improved to 2-0 in conference play and will travel to No. 14 Owasso (3-2, 1-1) Thursday night. Sand Springs dropped to 1-2 in the league and won’t play again till after the new year.

Boys

Notre Dame commit Parker Friedrichsen scored 40 points to lead No. 10 Bixby (4-1, 2-0) past the unranked Sandites (1-2, 1-2) but Sand Springs had the Spartans on upset alert most of the night before falling 77-72.

The home team trailed 44-34 at halftime but rallied to tie it at 55-55 on Alijah Roper’s fourth of five treys late in the third quarter.

The Sandites only trailed 73-69 after a pair of free throws from Khalil Allen with 35 seconds remaining but Friedrichsen went four-for-four at the charity stripe in the final minute to secure the win.

Sand Springs committed 25 fouls to Bixby’s 15 and the Spartans cashed in, going 34-of-36 on free throws.

Triston Driver scored 15 for Bixby and Luke Friedrichsen added 10. Alijah Roper scored 19 to lead the Sandites and Michael Foster had 18.

Sand Springs will compete at the Memorial Veterans Arena Invitational over the weekend while Bixby will play its last game of 2022 at No. 18 Owasso (0-2, 0-2) on Thursday.

Scoring Summaries

Bixby 84, CPHS 50 (Girls)
Bixby;17;16;23;28;--84
CPHS;14;19;9;8;--50

Bixby: G. Wernli 24, Nielsen 17, Baldwin 16, K. Wernli 12, Musick 7, Wilson 4, Daniel 2, Beltran 2.
CPHS: Jackson 16, Wilson 10, Fueshko 10, Martin 7, Morris 5, Taylor 2.

Bixby 77, CPHS 72 (Boys)
Bixby;17;27;13;20;--77
CPHS;19;15;21;17;--72

Bixby: P. Friedrichsen 40, Driver 15, L. Friedrichsen 10, McCormick 6, Holley 4.
CPHS: Roper 19, Foster 18, Michell 9, Allen 8, Kelly 7, Holland 7, Johnson 4.

Corbin Wooley Wins Bixby Open, Seven Sandites Medal

Wrestling

Corbin Wooley won first place and six other Sandites medalled at the Bixby Open on Saturday.

Wooley pinned his way through the junior high bracket without giving up a single point, and even took an 11-0 lead in the 132-pound finals before pinning Hayden White in 2:10.

Rylee Allen lost her first match to the eventual champion in junior high 117 but pinned her next three opponents to finish third. Colt Chambers took third in 126 with two pins, only losing to the bracket winner.

In high school action, Dawsen Briscoe placed fourth at 106 with one pin.

David Ritchey placed fourth at 120, losing his opening match to defending State Champion Christopher Kiser before pinning his next four opponents. He had to medical forfeit in the consolation finals, however.

Peyton Callis placed third at 165, outscoring his opponents 24-8 with one pin. His only loss came to the tournament champion and he won a 16-5 major decision in the consolation finals.

Kelsi Hilton placed third in the high school girls 140-pound bracket. She took a 4-2 lead against Broken Arrow’s Alexandrea Coombs but got stuck in the third period. She pinned her next two opponents and earned a rematch with Coombs in the finals, this time prevailing 10-4.

Youth Football

The Sand Springs sixth grade team wrapped up a successful 8-3 season Saturday, falling 35-20 at Verdigris (10-0). The Sandites won a 19-7 upset at Stillwater Gold (6-4) in the first round of the Indian Nations Conference AA playoffs on Tuesday before falling to the undefeated Cardinals.

The seventh-grade Sandites went 4-6 in the tough A division of the INFC this season, falling to top-seeded Jenks White (9-1) in the first round.

The fifth-grade Black team (5-6) won its first playoff game against Owasso Black on Thursday but fell to Lincoln Christian on Saturday. The Sandites are still alive in the consolation bracket and will play Bixby White Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at Jenks.

Soccer

Sand Springs 2022 graduate Karsen Lynch has been named a recipient of the West Side Alliance’s $1500 SoccerCity Senior Scholarship. Lynch was an All-State selection for the Sandites last season and is currently a freshman on the Rogers State University team, studying nursing.

Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Volleyball Sweeps Bartlesville on Senior Night

Cross Country

Freshman Taigh Wright led the varsity boys to a 10th place finish at the Holland Hall invitational, Saturday, September 17th. Wright ran the 5K in 19:45.14 for 37th place.

The varsity girls finished in 11th place, led by Kelsi Hilton with a 15th place performance in 22:47.78.

Wyatt Shaw led the junior high boys to a 9th place finish, running the two-mile in 12:59.93 for 30th place. Alliyah Watts placed 100th for the girls in 17:56.76.

The elementary boys took 8th place in the one-mile run, led by Kellen Adkins with a time of 6:35.03 for 8th. The elementary girls took 9th, led by Sophie Grona with a 7:33.32 mile for 10th place.

The Sandites competed at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree on Saturday, September 24th. Neither the boys nor girls had enough finishers to earn a team place.

Gracie Gibson led the girls with a time of 25:04.6 for 162nd place. Rafi Huff led the boys, finishing in 20:48.1 for 200th place.

Softball

The Charles Page High School softball team (20-14, 8-6) went 5-3 in a busy week, improving to third in district play.

The Sandites lost 8-4 to Bixby (12-15, 7-6) on Monday after committing an uncharacteristic six errors, but paid the Spartans back with a 7-2 road win on Thursday.

Addison Hughes (11-10) pitched both games, striking out eight on Monday and 11 on Thursday.

On Tuesday the Sandites won a district double-header against Putnam City North (8-22, 3-11). Kelsi Hilton (9-4) got the win in game one with four hits and five strikeouts and Hughes tossed eight strikeouts with two hits in the sequel.

Sand Springs played at the Tahlequah festival over the weekend, opening with a 5-2 loss to Edmond Deer Creek (25-9) but won the second game 4-2 against Moore (21-7).

Kenzie King was 2-for-3 at the plate against Moore with a run and two RBI.

On Saturday they won 9-2 against Fort Gibson (14-17) but lost 6-4 to Grove (20-7). Kelby Little was 3-for-3 against Fort Gibson with three RBI, and King had a team-high three runs.

Hilton and Little were both .474 at the plate on the week. Hilton led in slugging average at .789 with two doubles and two triples, and had a team-high five RBI. Morgan Rector led the team in runs with six.

Hughes maintained a 2.57 ERA in 32 ⅔ innings while Hilton had a 2.23 ERA in 15 ⅔ innings.

Sand Springs has two games left in the regular season: Monday at Sperry (21-7) and Thursday at home against Oologah (9-18). Regional tournament assignments should be released on Friday.

Volleyball

Sand Springs (11-14, 2-4) picked up its second conference win of the season on Tuesday in a 3-0 Senior Night sweep of Bartlesville (9-9, 2-4) but ended the week on a five match losing streak.

The Sandites competed in the Bishop McGuinness tournament over the weekend and lost to Edmond Deer Creek, Bishop McGuinness, Choctaw, and Yukon, with a second loss to Choctaw in the seventh place match.

Sand Springs will travel to Muskogee (8-7, 0-6) Tuesday and Booker T. Washington (8-11, 3-3) on Thursday.

Football

The junior high football teams continued their undefeated seasons with wins against Sapulpa on Tuesday. The freshmen won 48-6 and the eighth graders won 46-6 as both teams moved to 4-0.

Wrestling

The Church That Matters tailgate party raised $2660 for the wrestling program at Friday night’s Homecoming football game and the wrestling program pledged 50% to the family of Ethan Gibson to help with his funeral.

Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup:

Softball

The Charles Page High School fast-pitch softball team (8-7, 2-2) picked up an 11-3 road win at Union (3-12) but stumbled in district action, falling 7-0 to Stillwater (10-2, 3-1) and 5-3 to Bartlesville (7-5, 3-1) last week.

Olivia Alexander hit two doubles, Jaden Jordan hit a triple, and the Sandites combined for 12 hits Monday against the RedHawks. Ashlyn Clark scored a team-high three runs, while Jordan brought in four RBI. Kelsi Hilton (4-1) struck out four for the win, surrendering seven hits.

Addie Hughes (4-6) struck out an impressive nine batters in Tuesday’s home game against the defending district champions, but surrendered 10 hits while the Sandites only accounted for three.

Sand Springs had a strong offensive showing at Bartlesville, out-hitting the Bruins 10 to six, but stranded nine in the loss. Abby Glasglow was 3-of-4 at the plate and Jordan hit her sixth home run of the season.

The Sandites will host Bixby (6-5, 3-3) on Monday at 5:30 for Youth Night. Any students wearing their youth team jerseys or softball camp shirts will receive free admission.

On Tuesday they will host Jenks (11-2, 6-0) at 5:30 for Alumni Night. Former players will receive free admission and will be recognized during the game with a group photo immediately following the game.

Volleyball

No. 14 Sandite Volleyball (6-4, 0-3) is still looking for its first conference win after a tough 3-0 loss to No. 6 Bixby (8-3, 3-1) on Tuesday.

The Spartans won sets of 25-17, 25-23, and 25-12 behind 21 kills and 8 aces from senior star Olivia Vance.

Leading the Sandites were Payton Robbins with six kills, Hannah McKelvey with 10 assists, and Olivia DeWitt with 12 digs.

Sand Springs will travel to No. 3 Broken Arrow (11-2, 3-0) on Tuesday before hosting 4A No. 1 Regent Prep (15-3) on Thursday.

Cross Country

The Sand Springs cross country teams competed in the Owasso Ram Relays Thursday at Mohawk Park.

Chloe Grona placed third in the junior high 1.5-mile run, finishing in 9:56.02, followed by Josie Grona in 13th place in 10:42.89.

The varsity teams ran in a relay-style 6-mile competition. The girls placed 34th out of 44 teams with a time of 50:43.42. The boys placed 35th out of 72 teams in 39:00.09.

The Sandites will return to action Saturday at the Sapulpa Westside Sports Complex at 8:15 a.m.

Jolee McNally finds closure at All-State Softball game

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

For most of the girls at the OFPCA All State softball games, the exhibition match between the state’s best seniors was just the final game in their high school uniforms, but for Jolee McNally it was the final game of her career.

As the announcer read off name after name, almost all of them were signed to play at the next level, but due to issues with her back, the Sandite outfielder will spend the next few years at Tulsa Community College where there are no athletic programs.

“It’s heartbreaking, and it’s not by choice,” said McNally. “At least I got the closure I needed.”

She went out with a bang, going two-for-two at the plate with a pair of singles, two RBI, and scored the final run in a 10-7 loss for the Large School East while playing three innings in left and right field.

McNally wasn’t the only Sandite at Oklahoma Christian University’s Tom Heath Field Saturday. Reagan Rector also donned the black and gold one last time. She didn’t get a hit, but saw three innings of action at first base and one inning in right field.

Rector will continue her career alongside Avery Tanner, who was in the stands as an alternate, at Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville.

Keaton Campbell added a few extra innings to his high school career at the OBCA All-State baseball game in Enid on Sunday, June 5th. 

The Cowley College-bound senior played third for the East team and recorded an assist and one put-out with no errors.

At the plate he was 1-of-4 with a triple off the outfield wall in the bottom of the third, and scored one run in the East’s 5-4 victory.

Ty Pennington was also selected for the All State team, but was unable to attend the game. He was also selected to the All-State football team alongside teammate Gabe Brown, but that game won’t be played till Friday, July 29th.

In soccer action, first-year Sandite head coach Cisco Chavez got to coach Karsen Lynch and the All-State East team in a 2-0 loss against the West Thursday night at Bishop Kelley High School. 

Lady Sandite basketball coach Josh Berry got to coach Journey Armstead one last time as the OGBCA East fell 72-55 to the West on Saturday, June 4th in Mustang.

Armstead didn’t score any points but collected a handful of steals and assists. She will also play in the Oklahoma Coaches Association All State Games later this summer, and will continue her career at Hutchinson Community College.

Fishing

Nathaniel Griffin and Jaxon Trotter took fifth place at the Oklahoma Bass Nation High School State Championship on Keystone Lake, Saturday, June 4th. The duo caught three fish weighing 8.13 pounds. They also placed 28th in the regular season.

Gabriel Castellano and Dallas Elifrits placed 26th at State with a 2.39 pound catch and were 57th in the regular season.

Mack Taylor and Parker Haling placed 28th at State with a 2.12 pound fish and finished third in the regular season standings.

Eli Rogers and Caden Shea didn’t fish the State Championship but placed fifth in the regular season. Cruz Norris and Gunnar Casey also didn’t fish at State but were 83rd in the regular season.

Caden Strawn and Drew Turner placed third in the youth division with a 2.79 pound catch, while Hayden Lowrence and Hunter Spencer placed fourth with a 1.94 pound fish.