Sandites Sign Three on College Signing Day

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This story was originally written for the Tulsa World.

Three Sand Springs Sandites made their college selections official Wednesday morning at the Ed Dubie Field House on National Signing Day. 

Raegan Rector and Avery Tanner signed to play softball at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, a four-year private school in Bartlesville that competes in the NAIA and Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. 

The two were both All District and All Region selections this year, and Rector was named to the All State team, while Tanner was named an All State alternate. The Sandites went 89-44 during their four-year careers and twice advanced to the State tournament. 

“The big thing for me is, number one, they’re great kids,” said Wesleyan head coach Shawn Woods. “They’re good in the classroom, and they come from great families. Those are the first things that we look at.”

“In terms of Avery - speed, enthusiasm. She’s just a gamer, I like that about her. She really sets the tone. Every time we watched her play, she was the firestarter for the team.”

“With Raegan, she’s a steal. She’s got a big bat in the lineup, she’s really good over at first base. We’re getting a steal with both of them. I’m really excited about them joining our program and looking forward to the future.”

Rector praised the atmosphere at Wesleyan as one of the top things that attracted her to it. “I really liked the people. It just felt welcoming, and it felt like home.”

Tanner and Rector have played softball together since the age of four, so getting to keep playing together is an exciting opportunity for both of them.

“I feel like it’ll be a lot easier going now that I’ll actually know somebody,” said Tanner. “I know a few people that are there, but I like having someone that I’m already so close to there to make it 100 times easier.”

Tanner committed to the Eagles earlier in the year, and her choice also helped guide Rector to hone in on Wesleyan. “She gave me some pointers (in the recruiting process) and that helped a lot,” said Rector.

“We just heard about this camp at Wesleyan, a college I’d never heard of,” said Tanner. “I got a free weekend and thought ‘might as well go.’ I went down there and the girls were super nice and I really liked it, so I went on a visit.”

“It was also really stressful talking to all the colleges at one time. I feel better now finding somewhere I belong. Coach Woods is like the coolest guy ever. I’m so glad to have him as a coach, and the environment at Wesleyan. It’s not like a partying college. I feel like I’ll be really driven there to get my work done, have good grades, and stay on track.”

Tanner plans on studying broadcast journalism with the goal of being a sideline reporter, something she’s already been getting experience at in high school as the unofficial photographer for most of the school’s athletic events. 

Rector is interested in the medical field, but hasn’t settled on a major yet. 

“They lead by example, they do well in school,” said head coach Shelli Brown. “I think they’re just now getting started in their careers. I think they’re going to do great jobs down there.”

Also signing an LOI was John Keim with the Eastern Oklahoma State College baseball team. EOSC is a two-year junior college in Wilburton, competing in the NJCAA.

The Mountaineers went 47-7 this past year, and Keim’s former Sandite teammate John Miller is currently on the team.

“The coaches really are what attracted me to Eastern,” said Keim. “They've really proved themselves the past few years as being great coaches. They’re really just amazing. I started talking to (Coach Matt Parker) at the start of the summer and slowly built that relationship till now.”

“It’s a big stress reliever. It makes it easier to know I don’t have to focus on getting recruited and I can just focus on getting better.”

As for his goals in the spring season, “I’d like to be one of the top guys here and help lead us to a State championship.” 

Keim is interested in studying engineering, but he isn't sure yet.

“He’s really developed over the last couple of years and honestly the sky’s the limit,” said Sandites head baseball coach Matt Brown. “We’re looking for big things from him for us this spring. He’s really going to help us and they’re going to get a really good player and a good kid.”

Sports Roundup: Rector and McNally get All-State, Wrestling kicks off season at Bixby

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

The Charles Page High School softball team picked up All-State accolades for the fourth consecutive year this week, and had more than one All-State player for the 17th time in school history.

Raegan Rector (Corner Infield) and JoLee McNally (Utility Outfield) were named to the All-State softball team, and Avery Tanner was named an alternate at Middle Infielder. The All-State games will be played June 11, 2022 at Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond. 

48 Sandite softball players have been named to the All-State team in school history.

Rector led the team in fielding percentage this season at .995 to go with a .352 batting average and .477 slugging percentage. McNally .919 in the field with a .379 batting average and .495 slugging percentage.

Rector, McNally, Tanner, and Lauren Hammock (Utility Outfield) received All-Region accolades as well. 

Rector and Tanner will both be signing collegiate letters of intent to play for Oklahoma Wesleyan University Wednesday, November 10th.

Volleyball

Charley Fahland, Jacelyn Smith, Kasidy Holland, Payton Robbins, and Olivia Dewitt all received Frontier Valley All-Conference honorable mentions after helping their team to a 14-20 record this season. Tehya Johnson and Layla Lenex were named to the All-Conference Second Team. 

All fifteen members of the varsity volleyball team received Academic All Conference accolades, and the team received an OSSAA Academic Achievement award for a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or above.

The volleyball program is currently hiring for two assistant coaching positions, including varsity assistant and middle school coach. Interested applicants can contact derek.jackson@sandites.org for more information.

Wrestling

The wrestling preseason kicked off Saturday at Bixby, where Sand Springs crowned three junior high and one high school champion.

Mitchell Smith, the Sandites’ top performer at last year’s State tournament, got off to a hot start with three pins to win the 152-pound bracket, beating all of his opponents in the first period.

Zander Grigsby placed second at 126, Shane Wolf placed second at 132, James Robey placed second at 152, Carter Goodman placed second at 160, and Adrian Hernandez placed second at 182.

Jesse Moore placed third at 138, Sammy Naugle placed third at 145, Jayden Pait placed fourth at 126, and Brody Ensten placed fourth at 152.

The high school team was missing Blake Jones, Brooks Dudley, and other top competitors who are still focused on football season.

Bailey Copeland, David Richey, and Jaxon Trotter all won titles for the junior high team. Copeland recorded two falls at 73 pounds, Richey had three pins at 112, and Trotter had four pins at 132.

Dawson Briscoe placed second at 80, Brady Moore was second at 119, Kase Skaggs placed third at 98, Ayreson Reiss placed third at 112, Colt Hood was third at 119, Isaac Sensintaffar was third at 126, and Corbin Wooley was fourth at 119.

The Keystone Kids youth wrestling team competed at the Claremore Invitational where Kasen McAffrey, Hudson Waag, Luke Hall, Maddix Spencer, Jase Crain, and Mylum Ache V won first place in their divisions. 

Collecting silver medals for the Keystone Kids were Rixon Hathaway, Rylan Hamby, Karson Waag, Zayden Anderson, Joshua Drury, Samuel Moore, Joshua Compton, Khamdyn Patterson, Jase Morgan, Julian Baker, Caemon Young, Raelie Hamby, and Zailyn Garland. 

5th Annual Monster Ball raises $3,000 for Special Olympics; weekly sports roundup

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

Monsters, inmates, and movie characters came together for a good cause Thursday evening at the Sandite Sports Complex. The fifth-annual Monster Ball softball game raised over $3,000 for Sandite Special Olympics, and featured more Halloween-themed festivities than ever before.

The event began in 2016 when Jessica Collins, then a senior softball player and Special Olympics partner at Charles Page High School, came up with the idea. 

“She was the brainchild of this whole thing,” said Carrie Schlehuber, Director of Special Education for Sand Springs Public Schools. “Since then it’s really just been a cooperative effort between softball coaches, baseball coaches, and the Special Olympics coaches.”

This was the fifth event in six years, with a rainout in 2019. In the past it’s always been just a softball game, with dizzy bat races and the occasional home-run derby. This year, however, it was bigger than ever with a trunk-or-treat and hayrides to increase attendance and raise extra money. 

“This year Megan Elliott and Tamera Ornelas were the big organizers,” said Schlehuber. “They came up with the trunk-or-treat, the hayride, the costumed run on the bases, all those extra things we did for the kids in the community.”

The add-ons made it the most profitable fundraiser yet, but the highlight of the evening remained the slow-pitch softball game.

The game pits the Sandite softball team versus the baseball team, with all players fully costumed. The baseball team bats with their non-dominant hands, but even with that disadvantage the boys prevailed 3-0.

In the bottom of the third inning, Nathan Gibson, dressed as Mario, got the boys on the board with an RBI single to score Jacob Shields, dressed as Buzz Lightyear. Gibson came in on a single from Gage Elliott, dressed as Alan from The Hangover, then Elliott scored on a triple from Jace Arnold in a deer onesie. 

The game was the lowest-scoring in the history of the event, and the first without any home runs.

The series is now tied at 2-2 with the softball team winning the first and third years, and the baseball team winning the second year. Last year the game saw mixed rosters due to a shortage of softball players while many were quarantined.

“It’s just so huge for us,” said Schlehuber, about the community involvement. “We’re always blown away by the fact that our athletic teams, our student body, our parents, everybody is so willing to be helpful, donate money, donate time. By far, this is the biggest crowd we’ve ever had. I would say probably triple the amount of people that we’ve had in the past.”

“Every dollar that we can raise as a fundraiser is money that our Special Olympics athletes and their families don’t have to pay to go towards the State Games when we go to Stillwater in May.”

Cross Country 

The cross country season came to a close for Sand Springs, as neither the boys nor the girls teams qualified for State. 

The girls placed 14th and the boys took 13th at the OSSAA 6A-East Regional Championship at Mohawk Park, Saturday in Tulsa.

Jazmin Lopez led the girls team with a 45th place finish, running the 5K in 22:01. Freshman Gracie Gifford finished in 25:51, and Lauren Foster ran it in 26:42. The entire girls team will be back next year, with no graduating seniors. 

Senior Noah Hanlon led the boys in 45h place with a time of 18:15, followed by Alejandro Lopez in 18:43, and Dalton Wilcox in 19:07. The boys team will graduate four of their top six, opening the door for new stars in the coming season.

The State Championship will be held at Edmond Santa Fe High School on Saturday.

Softball

Six members of the Sandite fast-pitch softball team received district accolades this past week. Raegan Rector was named Defensive Player of the Year, Jolee McNally was named an All-District outfielder, and Kelsi Hilton and Lauren Hammock got nods as All-District utility players. Avery Tanner and Nataley Crawford both received honorable mentions.

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.

Sports Roundup: Softball ends season at Owasso Regional

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

The Sandite fast-pitch softball team wrapped up the season with an 18-15 record, going 2-2 at the 6A Regional playoffs at Owasso last weekend. 

The Sandites beat Muskogee 8-5 in the first round and again 6-1 in the loser’s bracket, but dropped games of 6-1 and 11-1 to the host team and returning State finalists.

In the first game the Sandites made the most of three walks, three errors, and four singles in the top of the first to take an 8-0 lead and held on for the win behind Kelsi Hilton’s pitching.

Avery Tanner scored the only Sandite run of the first game against Owasso on an error, but the Sandites only trailed 3-1 till the fifth when the Rams began to pull ahead.

In the Muskogee rematch Hilton held the Roughers to only one run with three strikeouts, while Lauren Hammock led the offense with two hits, one run, and two RBI.

The host Rams rolled to a six-inning run-rule win in the elimination match, however, with Tanner’s RBI double scoring Kaylei Rake for the lone Sandite run.

Volleyball

The Class 6A No. 16 Sandite volleyball team (14-19) picked up a 3-0 non-conference sweep of 5A No. 12 Glenpool (13-18) on Senior Night, October 5th, with sets of 25-18, 25-16, and 25-12.

Layla Lenex scored 14 kills, Payton Robbins scored 11, and Jacelyn Smith and Kasidy Holland scored 7 apiece. Tehya Johnson recorded 38 assists, Charley Fahland made 13 digs, and Olivia Dewitt served three aces.

On Thursday they fell 3-0 at No. 10 Union (23-9) to wrap up conference action with a 2-6 record. Robbins scored 8 kills with 17 digs, Johnson had 9 digs and 19 assists, and Fahland had 14 digs.

The Sandites will travel to No. 1 Bishop Kelley (26-5) Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. for Regionals with a first-round match against Booker T. Washington (14-20).

Sports Roundup: Daton Fix wins World Freestyle Silver

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

The Sand Springs fast-pitch softball team (16-13) has received its Regional assignment. The Sandites will be traveling to Owasso on Tuesday and Wednesday October 5-6th. 

In the first round they will play Muskogee (17-16) Tuesday at 12:30 in the first meeting of the season between the two teams. On the other side of the bracket is Owasso (27-5) vs. the combined Tulsa Memorial / Booker T. Washington team (2-21). 

Sand Springs previously lost 8-0 to Owasso in the second game of the season while it was short five starters due to injuries and COVID protocols. They beat the Tulsa Public Schools team 16-0 twice in district play.

Sand Springs has won ten Regional Championships in its 25 years under head coach Shelli Brown, including five in a row from 2015 to 2019 before coming up one game short last season. The team will look for its 18th in school history. 

Sand Springs finished the regular season with a 7-2 senior night win over Sperry, Monday, September 27th. 

After giving up two runs in the top of the first inning, the Sandites tied it up in the bottom of the fourth. Lauren Hammock hit a double and scored on an error, then Kelsi Hilton hit an RBI double to score Nataley Crawford.

Avery Tanner’s RBI single gave her team the lead in the fifth, then Crawford added a two-run double. Hammock scored on a passed ball and Crawford made it 7-2 on a ground out for the final run of the game.

Hilton picked up the win in the pitcher’s circle with no hits, no runs, no walks, and three strikeouts in four innings. 

The final game of the regular season, scheduled for Thursday at Oologah, was canceled due to rain.

Cross Country

The Sand Springs Varsity Boys Cross Country team placed seventh and the girls took ninth at Claremore, Friday, October 1st. 

Jazmin Lopez placed 13th in the 5K run, finishing in 21:57 to lead the girls. Alejandro Lopez led the boys in 18:01 for 28th place, closely followed by Noah Hanlon in 18:03 for 31st. 

The junior high boys placed ninth in the two-mile run, led by Taigh Wright in 12:05 for 20th. 

Volleyball

The Class 6A No. 16 Sandite Volleyball team (13-18) lost a 3-0 set to No. 3 Jenks on Tuesday, September 28th. The Sandites are 2-5 in Frontier Valley Conference action.

Senior setter Tehya Johnson surpassed the 1,000 assist career milestone in the match, and Layla Lenex set the school record in career blocks.

The Sandites were supposed to host Booker T. Washington on Thursday, but that match was canceled due to a leak in the roof of the Ed Dubie Field House, and will not be rescheduled. 

Sand Springs will host 5A No. 12 Glenpool (13-16) for senior night Tuesday, October 5th at 6:00 p.m. and will wrap up regular season action at No. 9 Union (21-9, 4-3) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Wrestling

Charles Page High School graduate Daton Fix placed second at the Senior Freestyle World Championship finals Sunday in Oslo, Norway. 

The Oklahoma State University redshirt junior won his first four matches by technical superiority, outscoring his opponents 41-0. 

In the finals he fell 4-1 to Russia’s Abasgadzhi Magomedov in a rematch of their 2015 Cadet World Championship finals match, which Madomedov won 3-2. 

The tournament earned Fix his first Senior-level World medal, and his sixth World Championship medal at any age level. He has won one World Championship, earning Junior gold in 2017 in Finland. He currently holds a 37-10 record in Senior Freestyle.