Sand Springs Librarian Richard Why leads double-life as professional golfer

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief
with: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director

Local Charles Page Public Librarian Richard Why is not your typical book nerd. When he's not stocking shelves and checking out books, he can be found on disc golf courses across the Midwest, playing professionally for Team Fossa. Richard and his wife, Tara, are both sponsored by Fossa Disc Golf. Richard is also sponsored by Millennium Golf Discs. 

Why played competitive ball golf throughout high school, but made the switch to disc golf after graduating.

"I realized how expensive it was. Playing disc golf for free really appealed to my college budget. I bought one disc and met (a friend) at the Riverside disc golf course one day after work and that's where it all started."

The twenty-nine-year-old father of one has been competing in PDGA events since 2010 when he took 8th place in the Advanced division in his first tournament, the Oklahoma Open. Why continued golfing in Advanced through 2011 and won his first tournament on February 4th, 2012.

"The real turning point for me came in 2012 when I beat everyone in my division by 8 strokes and my overall score would have placed me at second in the Pro Open division. Seeing the other guys walk away with a couple hundred dollars in cash looked way better than my stack of discs I had won, so I decided to move up and start playing in the Pro division," says Why.

That tournament was the Dynamic Discs Winter Warm-Up, a B-tier event held in Lewisville, Texas. In his division alone, he bested 39 other golfers.

Two weeks later he made his professional debut at the Dynamic Discs Cedar Hill Chill in Cedar Hill, Texas and tied for last place in a tough competition that included Eric McCabe and Jay "Yeti" Reading. He didn't let that loss weigh him down, however, and finished top-ten in his next five tournaments.

"When I first started out I didn't really follow disc golf too much. I watched Youtube videos on how to play and get better but didn't know of many touring Pros. I do admire Paul McBeth though, he is the current No. 1 ranked player in the world and has won the last 4 World Championships in a row. He is taking disc golf more mainstream. He is well spoken and a great ambassador for the sport for younger players."

Why finally won his first pro tournament in July that same year, finishing three strokes ahead of Matthew Wright at the 3rd annual Monkey Trap Open in Springdale, Arkansas. At the same time, he was on his way to a first place finish at the ten-round, ten-week league event, McClure Monday Mayhem, here in Tulsa. 

In 2013 he took first place at the 5th Annual Lucky 13, the Denison Parks and Recreation Open, and the Oklahoma State Flying Disc Championship. He finished top-ten in all but two of his 18 tournaments that year.

In 2014 he placed first at the Battle at Bell Park, the Doer at McClure, and the Kan-U-Wyco in Wyandotte, Kansas. At Wyco he pulled a major upset over 2010 World Champion Eric McCabe by a single stroke. In January of 2015, he came in fourth place at the Dynamic Discs Winter Warm Up, finishing a single stroke behind McCabe.

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"Personally, Disc Golf has impacted my life on quite a large scale. I play almost every weekend with my wife and son. It's a great form of exercise and gives me a chance to spend time in many of the beautiful parks around the Tulsa area. It has introduced me to so many great people, it has also given me the opportunity to travel to some places I probably never would have gone if it wasn't for disc golf. I have been to the 4 surrounding states many times, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas, but I have also traveled as far away as Georgia and South Carolina to compete."

Tulsa has a rich history of disc golf, being one of the earliest cities to embrace the sport. According to PDGA records, there were only 60 courses on the planet in 1980. Tulsa had five of them. 

Today there are 15 in Tulsa and 24 in the greater Metro area. Sand Springs used to have a 9 hole golf course at Ray Brown Park, next to the High School. Those baskets were relocated to River City Parks in 2012 to be used in a new 18 hole course. That course is currently unplayable as many of the baskets and tee pads are uprooted due to renovations the park is going through. The construction of the new splash pad and handicapped parking have bisected the course and it's uncertain when it will be playable again.

Why hosts an annual summer technique clinic for kids at Charles Page Library. This year it will be on August 3rd at 10:30 AM. When the couple isn't golfing, they often help run tournaments and participate in course cleanup days around Tulsa. 

Jake Terry's solid pitching undone by errors, Sandites edged out 5-3 by Union

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (19-8) took a third-straight loss Monday night at Union High School as the Redskins (14-9) took advantage of solid pitching from Senior Braden Merrill and the Sandites' third-poorest hitting record this season. 

University of Oklahoma-commit Jake Terry (5-2) got the loss on the mound, despite a statistically solid pitching effort. He gave up five hits and four walks for only two earned runs. Merrill got the win for the Redskins giving up only four hits and one walk. 

The game was a slow starter as neither team landed a base hit till Union's Zach Ponio connected for a single in the bottom of the third. Terry walked two in that inning to load the bases, but a force at home and a line out to Rhett Rutledge saved the inning. Rutledge reached on an error in the top of the fourth to be the first Sandite on base, but Jake Ward, Josh Taber, and Joey Montgomery all flied out to leave him stranded. 

The Redskins finally drew first blood in the bottom of the fourth as Grady Davenport singled and Zack Doak reached on an error. Devin Layton doubled in Davenport and Kyle Simms singled in Doak and Layton for a 3-0 lead. A pair of errors in the top of the fifth allowed the Sandites to put two on base, but neither got the opportunity to score before Union was headed back in to do more damage.

Landen Wood singled, Merrill was hit by pitch, and Davenport reached on an error by Rutledge to score Wood. Ryan Farrell reached on a fielder's choice that outed Davenport at second but allowed Merrill to score for a 5-0 advantage.

Sand Springs finally began to rally in the top of the sixth as Terry and Taber singled and Montgomery doubled to score the both of them. Treyce Tolbert batted in courtesy runner Malachi Walton on a single to make it 5-3, but Tyler McCallie struck out to bring the offense to a close with two left on base.

Terry struck out Layton and Trent Robertson in the bottom of the sixth and Simms grounded out to Trevor Tolbert to give the Sandites one last shot in the top of the seventh. Union sent Robertson to the mound for the save. Trevor Tolbert flied out but Terry reached base on balls and Taber was hit by pitch. Rutledge flied out next but Ward walked to load the bases. Unfortunately for the Sandites, Montgomery struck out swinging to end the rally attempt.

Sand Springs will get their chance for payback Tuesday evening at 6:00 pm at home.

Mid-season Baseball Stats: 3 undefeated pitchers remain, Taber leads in scoring with 23 runs and 15 RBI

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The 2016 Sandite baseball season is well under way and the boys have racked up an impressive 19-7 record and a first place trophy at the Bixby Tournament.

Hunter Greathouse (2-0) has played all 26 games this season and holds a .429 batting average, a .481 slugging average, and a .506 OBP. He's scored 17 runs and 13 RBI and is 5 of 6 stealing. He's hit 26 singles, 6 doubles, 1 triple, and 5 sacrifices. He's pitched 14 innings for a .571 ERA and a 1.143 WHIP. He's faced 61 batters and given up only 7 hits, 10 runs, and 8 earned runs. He's walked 11 and struck out 29 while throwing 60% strikes.

Jake Ward (4-1) has played all 26 games this season and holds a .435 batting average, a .548 slugging average, and a .611 OBP. He's scored 17 runs and 14 RBI and is 4 of 6 stealing. He's hit 21 singles, 5 doubles, 1 home run, and 4 sacrifices. He's pitched 33 innings for a .420 ERA and a 1.560 WHIP. He's faced 151 batters and given up 35 hits, 19 runs, and 14 earned runs. He's walked 20 and struck out 37 while throwing 59% strikes.

Joey Montgomery (1-2) has played all 26 games this season and holds a .406 batting average, a .522 slugging average, and a .418 OBP. He's scored 3 runs and 12 RBI and is 2 of 4 stealing. He's hit 22 singles, 5 doubles, and 1 home run. He's pitched 19 innings for a .948 ERA and a 1.632 WHIP. He's faced 96 batters and given up 23 hits, 22 runs, and 18 earned runs. He's walked 12 and struck out 10 while throwing 55% strikes. 

Rhett Rutledge (1-1) has played all 26 games this season and holds a .342 batting average, a .513 slugging average, and a .500 OBP. He's scored 24 runs and 14 RBI and is 17 of 19 stealing. He's hit 18 singles, 4 doubles, 3 triples, 1 home run, and 7 sacrifices. He's pitched 14 innings for a .214 ERA and a .576 WHIP. He's faced 67 batters and given up 15 hits, 8 runs, and 3 earned runs. He's walked 9 and struck out 14 while throwing 58% strikes and has one save.

Josh Taber has played all 26 games this season and holds a .377 batting average, a .377 slugging average, and a .525 OBP. He's scored 23 runs and 15 RBI and is 19 of 22 stealing. He's hit 23 singles and 5 sacrifices.

University of Oklahoma-commit Jake Terry (5-1) has played in 24 games this season and holds a .238 batting average, a .405 slugging average, and a .396 OBP. He's scored 6 runs and 9 RBI and is 4 of 5 stealing. He's hit 5 singles, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, and 2 sacrifices. He's pitched 31 innings for a .319 ERA and a 1.787 WHIP. He's faced 148 batters and allowed only 29 hits, 12 runs, and 10 earned runs. He's walked 27 and struck out 38 while throwing 57% strikes.

Treyce Tolbert has played in 26 games this season and holds a .342 batting average, a .395 slugging average, and a .500 OBP. He's scored 23 runs and 17 RBI and is 9 of 11 stealing. He's hit 23 singles, 2 doubles, 1 home run, and 3 sacrifices. 

Southwestern Christian University-signee Trevor Tolbert has played in 24 games this season and holds a .254 batting average, a .339 slugging average, and a .405 OBP. He's scored 8 runs and 14 RBI and is 1 of 3 stealing. He's hit 11 singles, 3  doubles, 1 triple, and 5 sacrifices. 

Ty Fain has played in 21 games this season and holds a .276 batting average, a .310 slugging average, and a .475 OBP. He's scored 7 runs and 7 RBI and is 11 of 12 stealing. He's hit 6 singles, 2 doubles, and 1 sacrifice.

Mack Thompson has played in 20 games this season and holds a .208 batting average, a .292 slugging average, and a .406 OBP. He's scored 11 runs and 1 RBI and is 4 of 6 stealing. He's hit 3 singles and 2 doubles. 

Tyler McCallie has played in 19 games this season and holds a .419 batting average, a .674 slugging average, and a .537 OBP. He's scored 17 runs and 9 RBI and is 9 of 10 stealing. He's hit 12 singles, 4 doubles, 2 home runs, and 1 sacrifice. 

Malachi Walton has played 11 games this season and holds a .167 batting average, a .167 slugging average, and a 286 OBP. He's scored 15 runs and 2 RBI, has stolen 5 bases and has hit 1 single.

Josh Cordell (2-2) has played in nine games this season and has pitched 31 innings for a .391 ERA and 1.566 WHIP. He's faced 141 batters and allowed only 35 hits, 22 runs, and 12 earned runs. He's walked 13 and struck out 25 while throwing 42% strikes.

Brock Youngblood (3-0) has played in eight games this season and holds a .250 batting average, a .250 slugging average, and a .250 OBP. He's scored 1 run and 2 RBI and has hit 1 single. He's pitched 19 innings for a .268 ERA and a 1.072 WHIP. He's faced 76 batters and allowed only 13 hits, 9 runs, and 5 earned runs. He's walked 10 and struck out 10 while throwing 62% strikes. 

Cody Motes has played six games this season and holds a .500 batting average, a .500 slugging average, and a .500 OBP. He's scored 6 runs and 1 RBI. He's stolen 4 bases and hit 1 single.

Kameron Adcock has played in four games this season and holds a .167 batting average, a .167 slugging average, and a .286 OBP with 3 runs and 1 single.

Riley Rutledge has played in three games this season and holds a .333 batting average, a .333 slugging average, and a .600 OBP. He's scored 2 runs and 1 RBI and has hit 1 single.

Conner Dennis (1-0) has played in two games this season and has pitched 7 innings for a .000 ERA and 0.643 WHIP. He's faced 23 batters and allowed only 1 hit and 0 runs. He's walked 2 and struck out 4 while throwing 64% strikes.

Pennington and Junior Mints dominate in Powder Puff Football

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School put on its annual Powder Puff football game Saturday night at Memorial Stadium, and the Class of 2017 handled both the Sophomores and Seniors easily, defeating the Sophomores 14-0 and the Seniors 35-7. The event is an annual fundraiser for Senior Celebration.

The Junior Mints, as they dubbed themselves, dominated both offensively and defensively from the very start, racking up five straight tackles for loss on the first Sophomore possession. A series of incompletions by Junior quarterback Sydney Pennington gave the Sophomores the turnover however, and the younger team picked up their first first down on a rush by Stacie Genn. Pennington is an Oklahoma State University softball-commit and the leading scorer on the basketball team with over 1,100 points.

The Sophomores quickly gave up the gain, however, and were pushed back to fourth and thirty. The Juniors got the turnover soon after at the Sophomores' 11 and Pennington went the distance for a touchdown rush with only 3:14 left in the game, then scored on another keeper with 0:45 left to put the game in the bag.

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The Juniors struck quick against the Seniors in game two as Pennington completed a 75 yard touchdown pass early in the first half. The Seniors failed to convert on their first possession and Pennington was at it again, driving sixty yards in two passes. Mid-American Christian University softball-signee Stella Millican put up a big tackle to prevent a touchdown with 8:45 to go, but it didn't slow the Juniors down for long. Julia Lewis hauled in a pass from the thirteen to make it 14-0.  

The Seniors began to put together a successful drive, picking up an eight yard rush on the next posession then grabbed the first down plus ten. Keely Brock moved it another eight and the Seniors took a timeout with 4:37 to play. Tiawna Baker picked up the first down to keep the drive alive. Southwestern Oklahoma State University softball-signee Goose Salyers added a rush for five but they gave it right back up on a fumble. Pennington knocked down a pitch on the next play and the Seniors burned another timeout with 3:41 to play. 

Lewis picked off the fourth down pass before being brought down by Brock. Brock grabbed a 7 yard tackle for loss as the Seniors transitioned to defense. Salyers went head to head with Pennington to prevent a touchdown run with 2:10 to play and the Seniors used their final timeout.

Millican prevented a touchdown on the 1 yard line and the Juniors lost a yard on a fumble, but it didn't slow them down. A two yard pass from Pennington to Lewis with 0:50 left seemed to wrap up the half, but the Juniors weren't done yet. The Seniors gave up a quick turnover in the final minute and Pennington completed another 75 yard pass to Jessica Collins for the 28-0 advantage. 

Northeastern State University softball-signee Jessica Schuler finally got the seniors on the board with a 35 yard touchdown pass with 8:38 remaining. The game dragged on from there with no big plays, but the Juniors added one more touchdown to ice the cake with 12 seconds left.  

Sandite Pride will be donating 100% of profit from the Powder Puff photo gallery to Senior Celebration. Please help support this incredible drug and alcohol-free graduation after-party by ordering prints, digitals, mugs, shirts, and more at www.sanditepride.smugmug.com 

DeShazo dominates Putnam North with 6 goals, Lady Sandites win 9-1

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By: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director

The Charles Page High School girls soccer team (9-2) returned home to face Putnam City North High School (4-5) after a tough road loss. The Lady Sandites fell to the Union High School Lady Redskins (9-0) who are ranked #2 in the nation earlier this week, but rebounded with an impressive 9-1 victory over the Lady Panthers, their second highest win this season.

Sand Springs got things rolling quickly, scoring two goals in the first eight minutes en route to a 5-0 lead at the end of the first half. Junior Megan Deshazo got things started in the opening moments off of an assist from Kyndal Zicker. Deshazo scored the next two as well to notch a hat trick less than a quarter of the way into the game, one coming via penalty kick. Zicker got herself on the board after a free kick by Brooklyn Eardley ricocheted directly to her for a wide open shot. The Lady Panther goalie got a hand on it but not enough to stop the strike. Deshazo scored her fourth goal of the game just before the half on a misplay by the Lady Panther defense.  

The second half was nearly as lopsided as the first, though Lady Panther Courtney Tate managed to get her team on the board. Zicker and Eardley both scored for Sand Springs on penalty kicks, and Deshazo scored another two goals to put her total at an incredible six for the match.  

The back line for Charles Page was stifling, allowing just one shot on goal for the entire match. The line consisted of Jae Anthony-Wilson, Bryn Lewis, Emma Peak, and Mckinzie Horton. 

The Charles Page High School boys soccer team (2-9) came home for another tough matchup, this time against Putnam City North High School (7-4). Earlier in the week the Sandites battled hard against nationally ranked Union High School (9-1) but came up short. 

It was another hard fought nail biter for Garland Betts's team, as the match saw the visiting Panthers take an early one goal lead that they would not relinquish. Sand Springs made a number of solid runs downfield but were unable to come up with the equalizer. In the final minute Sandite of the Week Ethan Baxter dribbled deep into the box with a defender draped all over him, but couldn't manage to get the ball off of his cleat and the Sandites fell 1-0.  

Both teams will return to district play on April 12th, in Jenks. The Girls will play at 6 pm and the Boys at 8 pm. The Trojans are 2-4 and the Lady Trojans are 5-3. 

Sandites take second at Wooden Bat Tournament

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (19-7) made their way to the finals of the Sand Springs/Broken Arrow Wooden Bat Tournament with wins over Sapulpa and Muskogee, and drew first blood against Broken Arrow, but the Tigers (19-8) racked up a 6-1 lead by the bottom of the fourth and held on for the win. 

Josh Cordell (2-2) picked up the loss on the mound, giving up six hits and two walks for six runs and two earned runs. Conner Dennis (1-0) and Brock Youngblood (3-0) each took turns on the mound for one inning each and didn't give up any hits or runs, but were unable to sway the tide of the game in the Sandites' favor. 

Keaton Stamp pitched a no-hitter in the first inning for the Tigers. Brady Bean singled and survived four pickoff attempts before finally being caught stealing by Joey Montgomery to end the inning.

Malachi Walton scored on a Hunter Greathouse sacrifice in the top of the second, but Treyce and Trevor Tolbert both flied out to center field to end the inning with Tyler McCallie stranded on third after a double. 

The bottom of the second is what did the Sandites in. Devon Johnson singled and the bases were loaded as Cordell walked Mack Chambers and Drew Lowe. Kade Goines reached third on an error by McCallie, allowing all three runners to score. Austin Hulet sacrificed to score Goines and the Tigers took a 4-1 lead.

Josh Taber reached on an error in the top of the third but was caught stealing. Bean scored for Broken Arrow in the bottom on a steal of home. The Tigers pitched a no hitter in the top of the fourth, then added to their lead on a Goines sacrifice that scored Chambers. 

Neither team managed a hit in the fifth, through Broken Arrow did strand a walker. Finally, the Sandites began to rally in the top of the sixth with singles from Taber and Rhett Rutledge. Jake Ward was hit by pitch to load the bases and Montgomery scored two on a double. Treyce Tolbert batted in Ward on a fielder's choice that outed Montgomery at third, and McCallie was outed at first on a dropped third strike to end the inning 6-4.

Youngblood pitched a no-hitter in the bottom of the sixth, but Jon Gilton retaliated with a no-hitter in the top of the seventh to secure the victory and the tournament championship. 

Sand Springs will return to action Monday at 6:00 pm at Union (11-9), whom they've already defeated once this season in a close 7-6 thriller at the Bixby Tournament.