#11 Lady Sandites upset by Bartlesville 46-41 in overtime

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Morgan Miller, Staff

The Sand Springs girls led for the entire game, often by double digits, until a late rally from senior Lauryn Washington put the Lady Bruins back in the game.

The 11th-ranked Charles Page High School varsity Lady Sandites (12-4) hadn't been tied since 0-0 and for all appearances they had an easy win over #17 Bartlesville (9-8). 

Bartlesville was like a pesky gnat, however, and wouldn't go away. Sand Springs jumped to a 7-0 lead to start, but the Bruins fought back within a single possession to end the first period 9-7. 

The Sandites went on a run to start the second quarter, with Holly Kersgieter, Sydney Pennington, and Destiney Johnson scoring back-to-back-to-back to double the Bruins 15-7. 

Jena Williams, Ronni Gilliard, and Washington sank a series of free throws to narrow it to 22-15 at the half. Free throws would prove to be one of the most crucial points of the game for both teams. 

Sophomore Gloria Mutiri scored seven in the third period en route to a thirteen-point advantage and it was beginning to look more and more like the Lady Sandites had this game all wrapped up. 

Then Washington showed up, scoring thirteen points in the fourth quarter to cut the gap to 2. With seven seconds left, Gilliard drew a foul and sank both of her free throws to tie the game up for the first time since tip-off.

At 39-all, the girls were headed into overtime for the first time this season. 

Bartlesville won the tip-off and Washington sank a two to give Bartlesville their first lead of the game. Pennington tied things up at 41, but Bartlesville went on a free throw spree to ice their cake 46-41. 

Despite their (at times) heavy lead, the Sandites had a rough time scoring, shooting only 35% on field goals and 5-of-17 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Bartlesville scored 14-of-16 on freebies. 

Mutiri shot 6-of-8 on field goals and tacked on a pair of freebies for a team-high 14 points, making her the lone Sandite to double in the low-scoring affair. Washington had the game-high, however, with 24 points. 

This marks two-straight losses for the girls who have ran up an impressive tournament record with wins over 5A #4 Shawnee for the Bishop Kelley Invitational Championship, and a tough Life Prep Academy team for the Interstate Classic Championship. When it comes to Frontier Valley, however, the girls have had a tough time with upset losses to Bixby and now Bartlesville. 

The girls are 5th in conference with a 4-4 record and big games looming against #5 Muskogee and #1 Sapulpa. They've more than proven they can take on tough foes, however, upsetting #8 Owasso and leading Sapulpa for much of that game before the Chieftains finally rebounded. 

The next game for the girls is this Tuesday with the Muskogee Lady Roughers (14-2) visiting Ed Dubie Field House at 6:00 pm. 

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The Lady Sandites also lost their Tuesday night match-up against #4 Broken Arrow, 54-47.

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#1 Sandites finish regular season undefeated with 64-6 domination of Jenks

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The top-ranked Charles Page High School varsity wrestling team iced the cake of their perfect 11-0 season at Frank Herald Field House Thursday night, winning thirteen matches and forfeiting one. 

The dual started at 182 with Lane Lettich (11-6) taking down Naimul Islam almost immediately and pinning him in only 44 seconds for a 6-0 team lead.

195 #9 Zach Sims (20-19) received a forfeit to make it 12-0.

220 Delvin Jordan (12-4) had a close match against #10 Sam Wilson. The linebacker took a 2-1 lead in the first period and made it 3-1 in the second with an escape. Wilson started the third on bottom and managed an escape with about thirty seconds left, but Jordan got his hooks in and held on to neutral for a 3-2 decision.

Gage Fain (11-16) wrestled up to 285 as usual, and pulled out the pin despite being heavily outweighed by Alex Chavez. The first period was a stalemate and Fain chose bottom for a quick second period escape point, then took Chavez down for a 2:24 fall.

Rounding back to 106, Scott Patton (7-2) scored a 9-0 major decision over Jacob Patrick with a takedown in each period and near-fall points to wrap it up and make the team score 25-0.

113 #5 Michael Ritchey (19-14) got a rematch against Chase Slatton whom he defeated 5-1 at the Yukon tournament. This time the Trojan would make it a lot closer. Ritchey started off hot with a takedown and near-fall, but Slatton battled out of it for a reversal to end the first period 5-2. From there it was Ritchey on the defensive end, getting taken down twice in the second period and barely holding a 7-6 lead with a pair of escapes. Slatton started the third on bottom and tied things up with the escape. With thirty seconds left, the pressure was on and Ritchey found an opening for a takedown. Slatton slithered out with a few seconds left, but it was too late and the Sandite got the 9-8 decision. 

120 #5 Blake Sargent (31-9) had total control of his match against Matthew Hillburn, scoring a takedown in the first period, a reversal in the second, and wrapping it up with a 2:11 pin and a 34-0 team lead.

126 #3 Jack Karstetter (31-6) also had little difficulty taking a 4-1 lead before pinning Austin Daniels in 1:07.

132 Derek Davis (11-5) ran up the points on Ryan Weiss, outscoring him 4-1 in the first and 5-1 in the second, then the two remain neutral for the entirety of the third for a 9-2 decision and 43-0 team score.  

138 Daton Fix (36-0) did what Daton Fix does and took down Thomas Lewis for a near-fall before the sophomore battled out of it and was given an escape point. Fix continued to run it up to 14-2 before pinning Lewis in 2:10, marking his 19th fall of the season.

Beau Bratcher (34-6) received a forfeit at 145 to make the team score 54-0.

152 Cody Mathis (14-12) took on Chase Kelvington in a come-from-behind victory by decision. The Trojan held a 2-0 lead after the first period and the two started the second neutral. Mathis tied things up briefly, till Kelvington escaped, but took a 4-3 lead into the final period with an inside trip. The Sandite started on bottom and scored a quick reverse. Kelvington escaped, just to be taken down one final time just before the buzzer for a 10-5 decision. 

The last match of the night was 160 #3 Zane Basma (27-9) versus Antjuan Overton. The Sandite was well on his way to a tech fall, practicing takedowns and letting the Trojan free. Basma had two near-falls and a 16-2 lead when he finally pinned his man in 2:34.

The Sandites had no wrestler for 170 and forfeited to #3 Drew Hinkle to give the Trojans their only points of the night. The junior high match was also won by the Sandites, 39-32.

The next stop for the Sandites will be Firelake Arena in Shawnee for the Dual State Championships on February 12-13. The brackets have yet to be released, but there's likely only one team that could potentially throw a wrench in the Sandites' plans. Sand Springs already beat #2 Broken Arrow 33-19, but neither team was at full strength when they last met. 

#1 Sandites pin entire Putnam City West team in under 14 minutes

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Shutouts are pretty rare in wrestling. Even the number one team in Oklahoma only has two. But perfect shutouts? Almost unheard of. Wrestling isn't like most other sports. There's a limit to how many points you can score. With only fourteen matches per dual, and six team points being the most any single wrestler can earn, the most points a team can win by is 84. That's exactly what Sand Springs did to the Putnam West Patriots at Districts.

To earn a perfect win, every single match must be decided by pin or forfeit. There are rarities where teams forfeit several matches, like when the Bixby Spartans had a Staph outbreak and forfeited seven matches to Sand Springs. But even then the Sandites only won 57-15. 

Putnam West only forfeited the opening match at 106 to Scott Patton. From there all thirteen of their wrestlers would be pinned, and only one would make it past the first period. 

113 Michael Ritchey (18-14) pinned Chandler Tolton in 1:20. 

120 Blake Sargent (30-9) pinned Brandon Sparks in 12.9 seconds.

126 Jack Karstetter (30-6) pinned Alex Dejesus in 33.6 seconds.

132 Derek Davis (10-5) pinned Taylor Simmons in a team-best 5.7 seconds.

138 Daton Fix (35-0) pinned Landon Loudmilk in 60 seconds.

145 Beau Bratcher (33-6) pinned Emmanuel Carreno in 1:29.

152 Cody Mathis (13-12) pinned Matt Hart in 2:47.

160 Zane Basma (26-9) pinned Terell Garett in 38.7 seconds.

170 Bryton Beck (10-14) pinned Khristian Boyd in 1:15.

182 Lane Lettich (10-6) pinned Chance Strickland in 45.9 seconds.

195 Cole Dixon (4-4) pinned Ahmaurion Rhomby in 1:18.

220 Delvin Jordan (11-4) pinned Donavon Kapple in 27.4 seconds.

285 Gage Fain (10-16) pinned Dawson Mclain in 1:21.

There's a good reason why 25 of 28 coaches voted these boys the best in the State. There's only one dual left before the State Tournament in Shawnee, so if you want to see these guys wrestle you need to be at Jenks tonight at 7:00!

Sandite of the Week: Sydney Pennington

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Morgan Miller, Staff

This week Sandite Pride would like to recognize CPHS junior Sydney Pennington as Sandite of the Week for her outstanding sportsmanship and incredible performance at this past weekend's tournament.

Pennington has led all scorers for the last two seasons, has led her team in four games this season, and averages just under thirteen points per game this season.

She scored 10 last Tuesday against Bishop Kelley, then scored 36 over three games at Coffeyville's Interstate Classic tournament, including a season-high 22 in the championship win over Life Prep Academy. 

Pennington was named to the All Tournament Team along with Gloria Mutiri, and was voted the tournament's Most Inspirational Player.

In addition to being one of the best ballers in recent memory, Pennington was also one of the top sluggers on the school's State Runner-Up fast pitch softball team and is an Oklahoma State University softball commit. 

6A #1 Sandites defeat 5A #1 Collinsville with bonus points

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Virgil Noah, Staff

The 6A #1 Sand Springs Sandites (10-0) defeated the 5A #1 Collinsville Cardinals (14-2) Tuesday night, spoiling the smaller school’s homecoming festivities. The matches were split 7-7 but the Sandites came out well ahead on bonus points with four pins.

The dual started off at 106 with #3 Connor Henson scoring an early takedown of #7 Riley Weir (16-8), but the match was broken up multiple times due to bleeding on the part of the Cardinal. Weir scored an escape, then a takedown to carry a 3-2 lead into the second period where the pair started neutral. The first minute was an exhausting battle for control, before Henson finally scored points with thirty seconds left. Weir wouldn’t be held for long, however, and escaped within moments to even things out 4-4. The final period also started neutral, but this time Henson took control quickly for a 6-4 lead. Henson rode a nearly immobile Weir till there was a mere thirty seconds left when the Sandites used a timeout to inspect Weir’s pained elbow. The Sandite freshman is recovering from a severally strained tendon, but that didn’t stop him from escaping and scoring a takedown with seconds left for a 7-6 decision and a 3-0 team lead.

At 113 it was #5 Michael Ritchey (18-14) versus #6 Xavear Cullors. The first period was a bunch of dancing and neither scored points till Cullors managed an escape to start the second. He followed it up quickly with a takedown and rode Ritchey into the third. The pair started neutral and Cullors took Ritchey down once more. The Sandite’s lone point came on an escape with thirty left and Collinsville got the 5-1 decision to tie things up.

120 #6 Blake Sargent (30-9) and #4 Gunner Hamm were at an impasse for nearly all of the first till Sargent scored a takedown with less than two seconds left. He followed it up with an escape two seconds into the second period, then added another takedown with a minute to spare and turned it into near-fall with twenty left and started the third with an 11-0 lead. The third started the way of the first but Sargent managed another takedown with forty seconds left. He failed to score again, however, and settled for a 13-0 major decision.

The quickest match of the night was the 0:29 pin of 126 Pete Flippo by #4 Jack Karstetter (30-6). Karstetter has won his last fifteen matches and just took first place at both the Yukon and Sand Springs tournaments.

132 Derek Davis (10-5) is didn’t get that record just by showing up. The kid is good, but he was pitted against #1 reigning 5A State Champion Nate Keim, and that’s tough. Keim just went 7-0 at the Ram Duals this past weekend, and clearly he wasn’t done adding to that streak. Keim scored on a takedown a minute in, then let Davis out just to take him down again. Keim started the second period down and immediately escaped, and needed only twenty seconds to take Davis down for a near-fall. Davis battled out of it, but the Cardinal took a 12-0 lead, then added another takedown before pinning him in 3:48 to close the gap to 13-9.

Ryce Haymaker is probably a great wrestler. But you can’t judge anyone by how well they match up against 138 #1 Daton Fix. The two-time State Champion is 35-0 this season, 108-0 overall, and nobody gets close to beating him outside of national championships. Fix took a 4-2 lead faster than I can type and continued his cat and mouse routine of letting his opponent up just to immediately take him down again till he had an 8-4 lead and was satisfied with his takedown-practice for the day. Haymaker was wrapped up in a textbook cradle only 1:43 in, and the Sandites increased their lead to 19-9.

#2 Beau Bratcher (33-6) has had a rough week. In his last match he was pitted against 138 #1 Jaxen Gilmore. This time it 145 State Runner-Up #1 Justin Walker. The two gridlocked through the first period and started the second neutral and repeated till Walker finally scored a takedown right at the buzzer. Bratcher managed an escape with a minute left, but was unable to score and lost 2-1

152 Cody Mathis (13-12) had an equally difficult matchup in #1 State Champion Elijah Tanner. Tanner got a takedown with twenty seconds left in the first and Mathis started the second period down. Mathis failed to escape through the second and Tanner escaped quickly to start the third. He added a takedown with a minute to spare and took a 5-0 decision.

Another top level battle came at 160 as #2 Payton Scott (11-4) took on #3 Tony Connor. Scott was the only one pressing the action for most of the first period and Connor caught him off guard, striking out of a defensive position for a takedown. Scott got an escape moments later, however, and gave up an escape to start the second to wrestle from a 3-1 deficit. It cost him, however, as he failed to get the points he was expecting and continued to trail into the third. He escaped to start the third and was working on an inside trip when the time ran out and he lost 3-2.

#4 Zane Basma (26-9) pulled off an impressive win over #2 Josh Arnold at 170. Arnold scored a takedown to start the first and a takedown to end it, broken up by a Basma escape. Basma chose down and scored a quick escape, then turned a takedown into a 3:54 pin for a 25-18 team lead.

#4 Lane Lettich (10-6) didn’t have much difficulty with Trace Dougherty at 182, taking the Cardinal down and pinning him in only 1:10.

195 Zach Sims (19-19) was very impressive, despite a loss. Taking on #1 State Runner-Up Roc Robbins, the match started the same as many before it, with two very talented wrestlers stalemated by each other’s great talent and neither scored in the first period. Robbins didn’t score till there was a minute left in the second, then escaped to start the third 3-0. He added another takedown midway through, then Sims finally got on the board with an escape. The Sandite ultimately went down 5-1.

Ten points down with twelve points possible, the Cardinals needed two pins or a pin and a tech fall to win it.

220 Cole Dixon (4-4) hasn’t wrestled all season, and just saw his first action this past weekend. He found himself pitted against Dylan Dobbs who, funnily, also has a 4-4 record between this past weekend and Dixon. Dixon slammed his opponent down moments in for a quick two points, but the Cardinal responded immediately with an escape. Dixon attempted a quick trip with moments left in the period, but was unsuccessful. The Cardinal took the down position and used thirty seconds in getting an escape, but ten seconds later Dixon took him right back to the mat. Another Cardinal escape made it 4-3, but Dixon brought him back down with 12 to go for a 6-3 lead. The third period started neutral but Dixon didn’t’ let it stay that way for long, pushing the lead to 8-3. Suddenly, the two were rolling back and forth and Dobbs ended up on top for a 5:28 pin after what looked to be an easy Sandite win.

Just like that, the Cardinals were back in it and it came down to the Heavyweight match. The typically 220 Delvin Jordan (11-4) was outclassed by more than 50 pounds against Jackson Wilson, but he didn’t show it. The Sandite scored a pair of takedowns for a 4-2 lead with the Cardinal’s points coming from escapes. The second period was neutral all the way through, and the Cardinal escaped to start the third trailing 4-3. When the Cardinals needed a big move to rally for the win, the only big move to be found was from Jordan, hoisting the heavyweight up for a 6-4 decision and a 34-27 win.

Sand Springs has one regular season event left before Dual State. Thursday the Sandites will travel to Jenks for one last tune-up before the big dual season finale. 

Lady Sandites win five straight games by 20+ points, win Interstate Classic tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Morgan Miller, Staff

The Charles Page High School varsity basketball girls have been having one heck of a season. They're certainly the best squad since the 2010-2011 Regional Championship team, and possibly even better. With eight regular season games left before Regionals, the ladies only need to post one more victory to beat last year's record and officially claim their best season since 2011. 

How did they get to this point?

From 2011-2013 the Lady Sandites went 3-42 under Head Coach Bob Banfield. 

In 2012, the ladies added freshman Cierra "CJ" Scott who was an immediate scoring threat with well over 100 points, setting a career-high in her sixth game with 16 points--an amount she would repeat a month later.

For the 2013-2014 season, Dustin Morrow took over Head Coaching duties and led the team to a 10-14 overall record, 5-9 in Frontier Valley. Sydney Pennington, Jessica Collins, Amari Grant, Bailey Boaz, Lee Leslie, and Maddie Ward were the freshman additions to the team. 

Pennington erupted on the scene with 373 points, only failing to double in three games, and set a personal best of 22 points against Muskogee. Scott scored 101. 

Last season the Sandites added Selena Hitchcock and major inside scoring threat Gloria Mutiri. Pennington led all scorers with 412 points and set a new career-high with 32 points against Muskogee once again. Mutiri made an incredible debut with 200, Scott added 150,  Collins scored 69, and Hitchcock had 31. 

That year the 8th grade girls went a perfect 28-0 and secured a Frontier Valley Conference Championship. In 2015 those girls became freshmen. 

The first game of the 2015-2016 season saw a 59-39 rout of the Green Country Defenders home school team. Pennington scored a team-high 22 points, and eight other girls scored including four freshmen.

The next game was a 61-51 loss to Bixby, but Pennington had a double-double with 19 points, followed by Scott with 18. 

Next came the Bishop Kelley Invitational. The ladies swept the tournament, dominating Cascia Hall 59-37, Norman North 52-38, and 5A #4 Shawnee 49-40. Freshman Destiney Johnson had her break-out game against Cascia with 14 points. Collins added 12, Pennington 11, and Scott 10. Pennington led against Norman North with 15. The Shawnee game proved a defining night for two different freshmen. Isabella Regalado led with 17, followed closely by Holly Kersgieter with 14. Johnson, Pennington, and Scott were named to the all-tournament team and Pennington was named MVP.

The next game was against then #6 Sapulpa, who would go on to be ranked #1 for weeks before dropping to their current position at #2. The Sandites led for nearly the entire game before a series of fouls gave the Chieftains a 54-43 win. Johnson and Pennington both doubled with 14 and 11 respectively.

From there it's been nothing but wins, and most of them were big ones.

Mutiri, Kersgieter, Pennington, and Johnson all doubled in a 59-39 win over #14 Union. 

Pennington and Kersgieter doubled in a 57-28 doubling of Green Country. 

Johnson, Pennington, and Mutiri doubled in a 51-48 upset of #8 Owasso.

Mutiri scored 20, aided by Pennington and Johnson with 11 each in a 64-43 extermination of Jenks.

Scott scored 17, and Pennington and Mutiri each added 10 in a 67-46 smothering of Bishop Kelley.

Currently the ladies are ranked 11th with a 12-2 record, sitting at 4th in Frontier Valley Conference standings. 

Thursday night the girls arrived in Coffeyville, Kansas for the 43rd Harold Thomas Interstate Classic, where they went undefeated last year. 

In Thursday's round one matchup with Field Kindley High School (Coffeyville), the Lady Sandites continued their dominating streak with a 64-33 smack down. Gloria Mutiri led all scorers with 15 points, followed by Collins with 9, Pennington with 7, Hitchcock with 7, Regalado with 6, Johnson with 6, Kersgieter with 4, Ward with 4, Scott with 2, Presnall with 2, and Grant with 2. 

Friday night was even more impressive, as they outscored Nathan Hale 60-16, led by Hitchcock with 10, Ward 8, Grant 7, Pennington 7, Taber 6, Presnall 5, Collins 5, Leslie 4, Kersgieter 3, Regalado 3, Mutiri 2.

Saturday saw an end to their streak of 20+ point wins, but not an end to their overall winning streak. The Ladies took down Life Prep Academy 51-49 to defend their Interstate Classic Champions title and add to their eight-straight win streak. Pennington scored 22, aided by Johnson with 8, Kersgieter 6, Scott 5, Hitchcock 4, Regalado 3, Collins 2, Mutiri 1. Mutiri and Pennington made the All-Tournament team and Pennington was named the tournament's Most Inspirational Player. 

The girls return to action Tuesday night at #4 Broken Arrow (14-2) in a Frontier Valley Conference battle.