Undefeated Sandite baseball easily handles Highway 97 rival Sapulpa, 7-2

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By: Scott Emigh and Deena Tolbert

The Charles Page High School baseball team won their second game of the season Saturday afternoon at Sapulpa (0-2), easily handling their Highway 97 rivals.

Gunnar Phillips and Jake Ward each drew walks to start the game and made their way around the bases for an early lead. Hunter Greathouse hit a line drive down the third baseline and was batted in by Treyce Tolbert who nailed the left field fence. The Chieftains came in to bat soon after, trailing 3-0.

Jake Terry (1-0) got the start on the mound for the Sandites and struck out two batters in the first inning, only giving up a single. 

Rhett Rutledge drew a walk in the top of the second but was caught in a pickle with Phillips at bat for the third out after Terry was outed on a pop fly to right field and Ty Fain was put out with a hit to right field. Sapulpa got off a single but stranded the runner with a strikeout on the fourth batter.

The third inning was more of the same for the Sandites as Jake Ward got the lone hit and Phillips, who was walked, was put out at second. Ward was picked off at first and Joey Montgomery hit the ball to second and was put out. Sapulpa got off a single and the runner stole second on a throwing error by Terry. The next two batters were struck out, however, and Rutledge threw out the final batter at first.

The fourth inning saw Hunter Greathouse hit a double to centerfield and stole third off an errant pitch. Trevor Tolbert was walked and the Chieftains switched pitchers. Treyce Tolbert was walked and Sapulpa switched pitchers again. Terry hit a pop fly to center for a single by catching error and Greathouse made it home for a 4-0 lead with the bases still loaded. Fain struck out but Rutledge was walked and Trevor Tolbert came home. Phillips bunted and was put out along with Treyce Tolbert in a double play and Ward was outed on a pop fly to right field.

Sapulpa put two on base with a walk and a single but both were left stranded and the Sandites took a 5-0 lead into the fifth. 

Montgomery hit a single off a fielding error and made it to second on a sacrifice bunt by Trevor Tolbert but was put out after Treyce Tolbert hit a line drive to third. Sapulpa got off another single but Trevor Tolbert put the runner out in a double play off the next batter's hit.

Terry doubled to start the sixth and was replaced on base by courtesy runner Mack Thompson who advanced to third on a sacrifice fly hit by Rutledge. Phillips batted him in on a line drive over second, then Ward smacked a double into the centerfield wall. Montgomery hit a line down third to score Phillips, but Ward was caught in a pickle and the Sandites improved to a 7-0 lead.

Josh Cordell relieved Terry on the mound and Sapulpa finally managed to score a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth. The seventh saw Treyce Tolbert and Josh Cordell walked and stranded. Sapulpa got off a double but was unable to score. Cordell pitched his first strikeout of the season and the Sandites pulled in a 7-2 victory to remain undefeated.

The Sandites will next take on Booker T Washington Monday evening at OneOK Field in downtown Tulsa at 5:30. The Hornets are 0-2 for the season after giving up an 8-0 shutout to Broken Arrow today and being edged out 10-9 by Muskogee earlier this week. 

Winningest Lady Sandite Basketball season in years comes to end with Area loss to Owasso

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

The No.11 Lady Sandites (17-9) fell in an early hole to No. 9 Owasso (19-8) after Leiloni Culley hit a two to draw first blood. Freshman Holly Kersgieter was not far behind her, tying it up, but then Terryn Milton hit back to back baskets for a 7-2 lead that the Rams would hold for the duration of the first.

Freshman Isabella Regalado hit a two to for the Sandites to start the second period down 11-10, but the Rams began pushing their lead as Mya Bhinhar and Rachel Skalnik hit baskets to make it 16-10. Junior Oklahoma State softball-commit Sydney Pennington hit a two to get the Sandites back into the game, but then it was Milton and Bhinhar with back-to-back baskets.

Pennington, freshman Destiny Johnson, and senior Cierra Scott ran up four from the charity stripe over the course of the second period, but that was all the Sandites would manage as Owasso increased their lead to 29-16 by half time.

Despite being in a heavy hole, the Sandites had already proven once this season their ability to rally against the Rams in their first meeting of the season when the girls exploded for a 16-5 second-quarter and ultimately won that game.

Sand Springs came into the half firing on all pistons as Gloria Mutiri hit a two and sank her “and-one” free throw, followed by a three-point basket by Cierra Scott to put the game back within single digits.

Milton sank the first Ram basket of the half, then Pennington hit a free throw and Cierra Scott forced a turnover on the corresponding possession getting in some great defensive coverage for a jump ball call. Unfortunately Sand Springs also gave up a turnover and Jordan Kunka and retook a 10-point lead.

Bhinhar added a free throw, but missed the second and Pennington rebounded it and returned it for a layup. Bhinhar retaliated with a two-pointer, but Mutiri hit one of her own then Kersgieter sank a three to make it 37-30.

Bhinhar hit the basket again, Scott added a pair from the charity stripe, then Kunka and Skalnik hit three freebies of their own before Kersgetier hit a two to finish off the period within single digits at 43-34.

Milton scored first to start the fourth, going 1-1 from the free throw line off a foul by Pennington. Kersgetier had a three-pointer fall short, but Bhinhar was right on line to retake a significant 46-34 advantage.

Sand Springs went on a run as Pennington and Scott each hit layups and Scott got the “and-one” to make it 47-39. It was Owasso’s game from there however as Pennington sent Milton to line for a 1-1 and the Lady Ram sank both. Bhinhar hit a two, Milton hit another free throw, then Culley added a basket for their biggest lead of the game at 54-39.

Kunka sent Mutiri to line for a 1-1 and the Lady Sandite sank both. The clock was too low for a realistic return by that point, however, and ultimately the Rams prevailed to State with a 58-42 victory.

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.

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.