Lady Sandite Basketball advances in playoffs with 46-43 win over Booker T Washington

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Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No.11 ranked Charles Page High School girls' basketball team (17-8) is still alive in their playoff run after a close 46-43 win over No. 13 Booker T Washington (16-10) Thursday night in Catoosa. 

The girls won their first Regional game against Union last week, guaranteeing their advancement to Area, but lost in the Regional Championship to No.4 Sapulpa (22-3), 48-40, meaning they have to take the long way to State by winning two straight at Area. Their win over Booker T puts them halfway there, now they just need to defeat No. 9 Owasso (19-7) Saturday at 1:30 PM.

Junior Sydney Pennington led the scoring effort for the Sandites with 14 points, followed by sophomore Gloria Mutiri who had a double-double with ten points and twelve rebounds. 

The Lady Sandites took an early 11-3 lead before trailing off defensively toward the end of the first quarter, at one point allowing the Hornets to snag six straight offensive rebounds, and their opponent took a 17-13 lead early in the second. 

Pennington tied things back up with a pair of layups and it was a back and forth affair from there. Rhys Anderson hit a two to take the lead back for Booker T. Sandite freshman Destiny Johnson missed a two but Mutiri rebounded and tied things up at 19-19. Anderson sank another shot, followed by Mutiri, then freshman Holly Kersgieter snatched a half court steal and hit the layup with five seconds left in the half to take the lead back for the Sandites.

Kambri Davis hit a three, followed by Taylor Sells with a two and it was the Hornets with a 26-23 lead to start the second half. Pennington, Kersgieter, and Mutiri went on a 6 point run for Sand Springs to take back the lead for a while, but the Hornets found 5 points of their own to carry a 33-31 advantage into the final stanza.

The lead exchanged hands five times in the fourth period, but Sand Springs emerged to a definitive lead off a run from Johnson who sank a field goal and three free throws to give her team a 44-39 advantage. Sells hit a two and added a free throw and it continued to come down to the wire as both teams were in the double bonus with 1:16 to play. 

Aiya El-Hassan had a chance to tie things up from the charity stripe, but missed her second shot and senior Cierra Scott was fouled on the rebound and sent to the line to score the final points of the night.

If the girls can overcome Owasso on Saturday, they'll advance to the State Championship tournament for the first time in half a decade. It won't be easy. The girls defeated the Lady Rams 51-48 earlier this season, but the last time the two teams met it was Owasso with a 53-48 victory.

Come out and support your girls Saturday afternoon at 1:30 at Catoosa High School, right up the road from the Hard Rock Casino! It's been an incredible year of State Championship appearances from Sand Springs, let's rally around our incredible athletes and send another team to the top!

Lady Sandite Soccer starts season hot with 10-0 mercy rule shutout

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By: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director

Tuesday night’s game was over practically as soon as it began. The Charles Page High School Lady Sandite soccer team (1-0) got off to a racing start against East Central (0-1) as Missouri University of Science signee Kayla Foster scored a pair of goals before a minute had even run off of the clock. Eight more Sandite shots would find the back of the net and the game was stopped less than 23 minutes in due to a 10 goal mercy rule.

The girls also won the Stillwater scrimmage tournament in the preseason, beating Ponca City 2-1, Stillwater 3-0, and Mannford 3-0.

Leading the way in scoring for the Sandites were Foster and junior Megan DeShazo each picking up hat tricks at three goals apiece. Oral Roberts University signee Brooklyn Eardley and Kyndal Zicker each scored two goals to round out the scoring. Passing played a big part in the win, with 7-out-of-10 goals coming off of assists. Zicker, DeShazo, and Eardley assisted on 2 goals each and Gracen Taylor came up with the final assist.

Defensively the Lady Sandites painted a picture of perfection by holding the Lady Cardinals not only without a shot attempt, but without a trip inside the box for the entirety of the 23 minutes played.

The Sandite boys (0-1) faced a much tougher task and came up a bit short, falling 3-1 to the Cardinals (1-0). The first half saw little action for the initial 25 minutes, but East Central started to turn up the heat with 4 narrow misses on the Sand Springs goal. It was the Sandites however that struck first blood. With just 51 seconds remaining in the first half a shot deflected off the Cardinal keeper and slowly bounced in for a 1-0 halftime advantage. East Central would ultimately get on track scoring 3 second half goals in a matter of 3 and a half minutes to secure the victory.

Next up for Sand Springs is a road trip to Muskogee, Varsity Girls will begin at 6 pm and Varsity Boys at 8.

Sandite baseball wins season opener with 6-0 shutout

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Rhett Rutledge rounds first base. 

Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School baseball team got off to a slow start in their season-opener against Tulsa NOAH Homeschool Thursday night before a pair of fifth inning triples propelled them to a 6-0 shutout.

Jake Ward got the start on the mound and pitched the first four innings before Hunter Greathouse relieved him to start the fifth.

Ward struck out the side to start the game. Rhett Rutledge and Gunnar Phillips each drew walks in the first inning and stole their way completely around the bases for the first two runs and it looked like the game would be a breeze.

The next three innings proved fruitless for both teams, however. Ward gave up two walks and a single in the second and offensively the Sandites didn’t get off a single hit.

The Sandites tried to get back in it at the third as Ward pitched a no-hitter. Phillips drew a walk and Ward followed it up with a single but both were left stranded as Joey Montgomery was put out at first.

Ward struck out two in the fourth and walked Keaton McDaniel, but then caught him stealing at second. The bottom of the fourth was another no-hitter, but the Sandites made up for it big in the fifth as Rutledge and Greathouse each hit two-RBI triples to score Ward, Montgomery, Treyce Tolbert, and Ty Fain.

Greathouse pitched three no-hitter innings with six strikeouts and the Sandites brought home their first win of the season. The boys will return to action Saturday at 2:00 for some Highway 97 Rivalry at Sapulpa. 

2X Sandite of the Week: Daton Fix

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Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

This week Sandite Pride would like to recognize Charles Page High School junior Daton Fix as Sandite of the Week for his incredible performance at the Oklahoma 6A State Championship this weekend.

Fix finished his junior year with a 45-0 record, making it his third consecutive undefeated year. With a 115-0 record, Fix is a three-time 6A East Regional Champion, three-time 6A State Champion, three-time Kansas City Stampede Champion, and that's just his high school career.

In the quarterfinals he pinned Deer Creek's Bobby Robinson in 1:37. His next match was a lot closer as he prevailed by way of 15-3 major decision over Drew Wilson of Midwest City. A major decision is about as close as it gets for Fix, who has only won a single match this season by less 8 points. That one was a 5-3 win over nationally-ranked No.12 Requir Van Der Merwe of Blair Academy who just went 3-0 at FloNationals, helping his school to a National Championship.

In the State Finals, Fix got a rematch against fellow Fargo Champion Dalton Duffield of Westmoore. Duffield stood in the way of Fix's last State Championship as well and the Sandite prevailed 11-3 last year. This time it would be even more of a blowout as he teched Duffield 23-8 in 4:58. 

Fix is now only the second Sandite in town history to win three State Championships, following in the footsteps of David McGuire who won it from 1963-1965. 

Ranked third in the nation at 132 and eighth pound-for-pound, Fix is a four-time Southern Plains Regional Champion in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman. He won his first two National Championships in 2011 at the ASICS Freestyle and Greco tournaments. In 2012 he took Runner-Up at the ASICS Folkstyle Championship and defended his first two titles and added a Cliff Keen USAW Preseason National title. In 2013 he took Runner-Up at ASICS Freeestyle Nationals and won the USAW Cadet Freestyle and Greco Nationals.

In 2014 he won the USAW Folkstyle Championship, the Cadet Freestyle and Greco Pan-American Championships in Brazil, the ASICS Freestyle Championship, and was a member of the Team Oklahoma Dual Nationals team at the USAW Freestyles. He traveled to the World Freestyle Championship and took 10th place, then went to the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China where he won a Silver Medal. 

Last summer he won the Junior Folkstyle FloNationals, the UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals, the UWW Cadet & University Freestyle Nationals, the Junior Freestyle Dual Nationals as part of Team Oklahoma, the USAW Junior Freestyle Nationals, and claimed a Bronze Medal at the Cadet World Championship.

This is Fix's second time as Sandite of the Week. He is the son of Derek Fix, a CPHS assistant coach and former collegiate wrestler for Oklahoma State University, and the grandson of Alan Karstetter, the former long-time Head Coach for CPHS. His cousin Cody Karstetter wrestles for the University of North Carolina and fellow junior, cousin Jack Karstetter took Runner-Up at this year's State Championship.

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Sandite of the Week is a weekly recognition given to any one person with significant ties to the Sand Springs community who accomplishes remarkable achievements during the Sunday through Saturday week preceding the award. Prior achievements may be noted in the article, but do not bear direct influence on the selection committee which only considers prior week accomplishments. Candidates may be nominated by anyone by emailing SanditePrideNews@gmail.com. Bylaws prevent the giving of the award to anyone for two consecutive weeks, but any recipient may be nominated and awarded again in the future, so long as the weeks are not consecutive. Final selection is made by a majority vote of a three-person staff committee. 

Businesses or organizations seeking to sponsor the Sandite of the Week award may contact the above email for inquiries.

Daton Fix wins third State Championship, team finishes third

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The long train of Sand Springs 2015-2016 Championship appearances has led from softball to cross country to dance to football to dual state, and now it's stationed at Oklahoma State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City where the Sandites sent ten qualifiers for one of their best performances in years. 

The wrestlers may not have pulled off their first team championship since 1971, but they have undoubtedly shown themselves strong in the great tradition of Sandite athletic excellence. 

Going into the tournament Sand Springs held 35 individual State titles from 25 champions. The likelihood of adding to that number was strong as they brought six Regional Champions and one returning State Champion in Daton Fix.  

106 pound freshman Riley Weir (21-12), 113 pound junior Michael Ritchey (24-12), and 170 pound senior Trace Fleischman (10-6) were eliminated without placing.  

Sophomore Payton Scott (19-6) came in fourth place in 152 after an upset by Westmoore's Trey Painter whom he initially defeated in round one of the tournament. The two went into a tie breaker round where Painter came on top with a 3-2 decision.

Sophomore Blake Sargent (39-12) came in third at 120, scoring first with an escape midway through the second period against Zackery Bibb of Capitol Hill. Bibb tied it up moments into the third. The two remained neutral through the third, the sudden victory round, and the first tie breaker. In the second tie breaker round Sargent got the escape and the 2-1 victory. Bibb had initially defeated Sargent in round one. 

160 pound Junior Zane Basma (35-12) came in third after taking a quick lead by takedown and near fall less than a minute in to his match against Enid's Anthony Gonzalez. He added another takedown for near fall points moments into the third for a 9-0 lead and ultimately triumphed with a 16-0 tech fall in 4:32. 

132 pound junior Jack Karstetter (39-8) settled for State Runner Up after a narrow 3-2 decision to Kruz Simons of Edmond North. Simons scored first with a first period takedown with only 18 seconds left. Karstetter added a quick escape to start the second, then cut Simons loose a minute into the third after efforts at a pin proved fruitless. Unfortunately he was unable to find the takedown.

138 pound junior Beau Bratcher (43-7) came in second to Jaxen Gilmore of Yukon. Bratcher scored first with a quick takedown but Gilmore was right behind him with a reversal for near fall points to end the first period. Gilmore added another reversal with 40 left in the second and took a 7-2 lead into the final period where he pinned the Sandite in 4:52. 

Junior Daton Fix (45-0) secured his third consecutive undefeated State Championship with a 23-8 tech fall over fellow Fargo Champion Dalton Duffield of Westmoore in 4:58. Fix made it through the match without giving up a single takedown or reversal. Fix is now only the second Sandite ever to win three State Championships, following in the path of David McGuire who won three from 1963-1965.

This is Sand Springs's 36th individual State Championship and the first time since 1979 that the Sandites have brought home a gold medal three years in a row. 

Six Sandites still alive and guaranteed to place at State Championship

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

113 Michael Ritchey was upset by Broken Arrow's Tyler Lawley (24-12), who he narrowly defeated in the Regional finals, and fell by 7-1 decision. He finishes the season as a 23-19 Regional Champion and State Qualifier. A junior, he'll get one last go at it next season.

120 Blake Sargent got an early takedown against Broken Arrow's TaJuan Daniels (25-13) but Daniels didn't stay under for long and went into the second period 2-1 and started on top. Sargent added a reversal but Daniels escaped again and added a takedown to tie things up. Sargent retook the lead soon after and nearly had his opponent pinned less than 20 into the third but had to settle for near fall points and a 9-5 lead. He added another pair of takedowns not long after and finished the match with a 13-6 victory. The sophomore improves to 38-12 and will next battle for third place in a rematch against his round one opponent, Zackery Bibb (25-6) of Capitol Hill. 

152 sophomore Payton Scott stayed neutral with Ezequiel Rubio (25-13) through the first and the Ponca City wrestler took a 1-0 escape lead to start the second. Scott got the third period escape to tie things up and it was beginning to look a lot like the Sandites' last match against Joseph Messer when he finally scored a takedown with a minute left. Rubio took a quick escape but was unable to score and Scott prevailed with a 4-3 decision. The Sandite improves to 19-5 and will next take on Westmoore's Trey Painter (34-10) who he pinned in 3:52 in the first round. 

160 junior Zane Basma (34-12) went straight from 0-0 to a pin a moment before the first period expired and advances to the consolation finals with the win over Cooper Coil. He will next take on Enid's Anthony Gonzalez (27-9) for third place. 

170 Trace Fleischman went into the final period against Stillwater's Jace Brownlee (30-8) down 1-0 but tied things up with an escape. Brownlee scored a takedown with 1:00 to go but Fleischman got the escape soon after. The two stalemated with 20 seconds left but ultimately it was Brownlee who found the takedown for a 5-2 victory. Fleischman finishes his senior year with a 10-6 record. 

The Sandites are still in third place and are only three points behind Broken Arrow. Choctaw is in first place with 106.5 followed by BA with 82.5 and Sand Springs with 79.5. 

Scott, Sargent, and Basma will wrestle for third place in half an hour then Daton Fix, Jack Karstetter, and Beau Bratcher will wrestle for first place at 5:45.