City of Sand Springs plans second annual Keystone Ancient Forest 5K

/

Sand Springs, OK- The City of Sand Springs has announced the second annual ‘5k Day’ called the Ancient 5k at the Keystone Ancient Forest, to be held on Saturday, October 15, 2016.

"Last year’s Ancient 5k was a big hit,” said Kasey St. John, City Marketing Manager. “It is a great day to enjoy the forest whether you’re a runner, looking for a family activity or just a nature lover.”

An online registration link for participants is available on the City’s Web site and social media. Registration deadline is October 7th.

“For this event, the 5k course is set up on the trails with fun obstacles,” said St. John. “We wanted to create a challenging course that makes this event unlike other 5k runs in the Tulsa area.”

Along the course, runners will come across the many natural, preserved assets along the trails including scenic overlooks, ancient trees and challenging switchbacks.

“Volunteer trailguides will be posted along the course to time runners, provide water and greet everyone at the finish line with a warm fire pit,” said St. John. “Our incredible volunteers keep the Keystone Ancient Forest open to the public and the funds raised by this event will continue that.”

The Ancient 5k Day will serve as a fundraiser for the programming and improvements of the Keystone Ancient Forest. All proceeds from participant costs will go to Park Friends.

Trails will be temporarily closed for general hiking during this event. Following the 5k event, trails will resume hiking access from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Those interested in this event and registration can find information on the City’s website, www.sandspringsok.org or via the City’s Facebook page.

Payton Scott rushes for 3 touchdowns and 197 yards in 35-7 victory over Sapulpa

/

Photos: Morgan Miller

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No.6 Charles Page High School varsity football team (2-2, 1-0) secured their first district win of the season with a dominating 35-7 victory over the No. 14 Sapulpa Chieftains (0-4, 0-1) Friday night, taking a 35-0 lead in the third quarter before their rivals got on the board.

This was the 90th year of Highway 97 Rivalry and the Sandites won their third-straight installment to bring the record to 41-45-5 with the Chieftains still leading overall. The two teams, which are separated by only a few miles of Highway 97, have met consecutively since 1930 and have hated each other ever since. 

There's been a lot of bad blood over the decades and in past years fights were notorious and security was always heavier at the Sapulpa game than any other game of the year. Even this year saw an unsportsmanlike penalty on Sapulpa for an out-of-bounds shove. The week preceding the game is known as "Sapulpa Hate Week" in Sand Springs, and both schools take their rivalry trash talk to twitter where it can get pretty heated. 

This year, however, the two teams were able to come together in solidarity to honor a Sandite who passed away shortly before the game. Swift Myers, who graduated in May of this year, was battling his seventh bout with cancer when it took his life Friday evening. His wife, Abbi Myers, tweeted that "Swift made it clear to us before he left that when he died, he didn't want people saying he lost his battle. He beat the shit out of cancer."

After seven long bouts with the condition, Myers is finally at peace in Heaven, and for this year, the two football teams put aside their rivalry and met in the field after the game to honor and remember him. Swift's classmate America Higgins tweeted "I honestly I can't even consider Sapulpa a rival after their support they showed tonight." Even before the game, Sapulpa students were hanging banners throughout the school bearing the #SWIFTSTRONG motto, and brought those banners to the game as well. Wrestling National Champion Daton Fix posted that "Heaven gained an amazing person tonight. One of the toughest guys I will ever know. A fighter and a winner. #SwiftStrong forever."

The game itself was a dominating performance by the Sandites, who rushed for over 300 yards and held the Chieftains to a mere 12 first downs and forced six turnovers. Hunter Greathouse led the Sandites in passing with 5 completions for 76 yards and a touchdown, while Payton Scott led the ground game for both teams with 29 carries for 197 yards and 3 touchdowns. Dalton Morgan also played a significant factor on the ground with 11 carries for 100 yards. Sophomore Hayden Cramer led the defense with six solo tackles, followed by Tyler Delozier with five tackles and an interception.

Sandite Flag Crew members are painted with the Flash symbol, which has been adopted by #SWIFTSTRONG supporters.

Sapulpa quarterback Cameron Elder completed 8 of 13 passes for 53 yards and 1 interception. The ground game was fairly split between Elder and Dayton Vann with 59 yards each, but led by Marcus Henderson with 67 yards on 8 carries. Trevin Inks and Stanley White had four tackles each, and B.J. Dansby had the lone tackle-for-loss for the Chieftains.

Sapulpa got the ball to start but was held to fourth-and-two and had to punt less than two minutes into the game. The Sandites got on the board midway through the first quarter with a two-yard run from Scott to cap off a methodical 13-play, 72-yard drive. Kasey Bales kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead. 

Sapulpa's next drive ate up the rest of the first quarter and two minutes of the second as they drove 51 yards to the Sandites' 29 before a tackle for loss by Jerry Lyons and fumbled snap forced them back to fourth and nineteen and they had to punt. Less than three minutes later, Scott pushed in yet another touchdown on a one-yard run to make it 14-0.

The Chieftains had yet another drive end without a first down after a third-and-seven pass was nearly picked off by Cody Motes, but was dropped. The punt gave Sand Springs the field at their 36 and they needed only five plays to score. Scott picked up a first down on a ten-yard run, and an offsides penalty put the Sandites at the Sapulpa 49. Greathouse pitched the ball to Scott, who reversed it back to Greathouse for a 46-yard pass to Bales who was barely stopped by Aaron Sechrist at the three-yard-line. Two plays later, Greathouse punched in the touchdown on a 1-yard sneak to make it 21-0 after the Bales kick.

Dansby got a huge kickoff return to the Sandite 38, and a 37-yard run from Henderson put the Chieftains at first-and-goal from the one-yard line. An illegal procedure on the Chieftains, followed by a sack from Gage Fain pushed Sapulpa back to the 7, and Tyler Delozier picked off a pass from Elder and returned it to the 47 before being forced out by Inks. 

Sapulpa nearly got the ball back as Greathouse nearly threw an interception in the endzone, but intended-receiver Kasey Bales managed to swat the ball away from the Chieftain defender. A few plays later, Greathouse connected from eleven yards out to Mack Thompson for the score. With 29 seconds left in the half, Bales sent in the point-after to make it 28-0.

The Sandites were only two minutes into the second half when they scored once more on a five-yard run from Scott to make it 35-0.

Sapulpa finally got on the scoreboard on the corresponding drive. Henderson picked up a fifteen-yard run, Elder connected with Dansby for thirteen yards, then went 36 yards on a keeper to score. Bobby Schmidt sent in the extra point to make it 35-7 where the score would remain for the duration.

The Sandites put together a big drive on their next possession, starting at their 15. Scott found a first down in a twelve-yard run, then Bales snagged a lateral and ran it eleven yards. A facemask penalty put the Sandites at the Sapulpa 42, and a run by Morgan took them to the 35. A handoff to Scott should have been a loss of two, but the running back was bolstered by offensive lineman Lincoln Adams who pushed it into a three yard gain and a first down.

Morgan picked up nine yards on a run and Bales hauled in a screen to put the Sandites at the 16. Morgan ran another seven yards while carrying four Sapulpa defenders before he went down, and Scott went five more for the first down at the four-yard line. Sapulpa brought the drive to an end, however, with an endzone interception by Sechrest who ran it all the way back to the Sandite 46 before being ran down by Cameron Lierly. 

The two teams exchanged possessions from there and with five minutes left, the Sandite backups went in to play. Sophomore Caden Pennington took over at quarterback, but didn't get to make any plays. Sophomore running back Garrett McCallie picked up 14 yards on 4 carries before Sapulpa put a stop to the drive and took over possession shortly before time expired.

The Chieftains are still looking for a win this season and will host No. 2 Booker T Washington (3-2, 1-0) next Friday at 7:00 p.m. The Sandites will look to improve to a winning record as they host 6A-I Yukon (0-4) in a non-district home game Friday at 7:00 p.m.

No. 15 Lady Sandite Volleyball falls 3-1 to at 5A No. 5 Collinsville; Mutiri scores 19 kills

/

Photo: Scott Emigh

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 15 ranked Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (21-13) played a tough one against 5A No. 5 Collinsville (20-9) Thursday night, falling 3-1 in a match that at times felt like a slumber party for both teams. 

The Sandites started out with a 4-0 lead in the first game thanks to back-to-back kills from Ohio State University commit Gloria Mutiri and a pair of errors from the Cardinals. They gave the points right back, however. The girls committed a pair of errors, 6'5" Arizona-basketball commit Mallory Vaughn blocked a shot from Mutiri, and Shea Thomas set up Katlynn Wheeler for the game-tying shot. 

SS Kills: Mutiri 19, Kersgieter 8, Youngblood 6, Leslie 3, MaKenzie Ward 1.
CV Kills: Flanagan 14, Wheeler 7, Vaughn 6, Haught 6.

SS Assists: Makenzie Ward 23, Burris 3, Kersgeiter 2, Leslie 1.
CV Assists: Thomas 30.

SS Blocks: Mutiri 5, Burris 1, Cypert 1, Kersgieter 1.
CV Blocks: Vaughn 5, Haught 2, Thomas 1, Wheeler 1, Flanagan 1.

SS Aces: Youngblood 2, Leslie 1, MaKenzie Ward 1. 
CV Aces: Flanagan 6, Haught 1.

SS Digs: Leslie 7, Mudd 6, Youngblood 4, Mutiri 4, Kersgieter 4, Taylor 3, MaKenzie Ward 3, Madison Ward 1, Cypert 1, Burris 1.

Sophomore Holly Kersgieter set up Lee Leslie for a kill to regain the lead, but Vaughn blocked and Megan Rice hit the go-ahead kill. Sand Springs tried to hang tight with another Kersgieter/Leslie combo, but back-to-back kills from Rice and a slew of errors led to an insurmountable lead for the Cardinals who won the set 25-16.

The home team got off to a huge 7-0 advantage in set two thanks to a block and kill from Vaughn with four aces from Ashley Flanagan. The Sandites played catch-up with blocks from Mutiri and Madison Burris, a series of Cardinal errors, and an ace from Leslie to close the gap to 9-7. Rice went on a four-kill run from there, broken up only by a Cardinal error, before the Sandites found another kill from Kersgieter. 

Collinsville surged ahead to 19-12 with kills from Flanagan and Wheeler and four Sandite errors. The girls never stopped fighting, however, and once more closed up to 19-16 thanks to a pair of errors, a block from Mutiri and Makenna Cypert, and a kill from Mutiri. The two teams exchanged three-point runs from there and ultimately the home team won 25-19 with a kill from Flanagan.

The third set went to the Sandites who built their own 7-0 lead this time. An error from Flanagan put the girls on a run with a pair of aces from freshman Devree Youngblood and kills from Mutiri off sets by Leslie and MaKenzie Ward. 

The Cardinals battled back to 7-4 with a pair of kills and a pair of errors, but the Sandites continued to hold their own, playing their most awake and competitive set of the match. The Cardinals never once led or tied in the duration of the game, though they came close at 21-19. The Sandites won 25-20 led by seven kills from the Mutiri and three by Kersgieter. 

The fourth set saw both teams step up their game, though the Sandites lead from the start till 14-14. An error from Youngblood gave Collinsville the ball and Flanagan served up fifth and sixth aces of the night. An error from Leslie and kills from Vaughn and Wheeler gave the Cardinals a six-straight run for a 16-14 lead that they held to the end. Ward set up a pair of kills for Kersgieter and served an ace late in the game to pull close at 23-21 and an error by Vaughn put the girls within a point, but Flanagan scored on a hard spike and Vaughn scored on a tipped ball for the 25-22 win. 

The Sandites were outperformed in both kills and errors by the Cardinals, who committed only 36 faults through the whole match compared to the Sandites' 44. Mutiri led both teams in kills with 19, in addition to 5 blocks. Flanagan was the leading scorer for Collinsville with 14 kills, followed by Vaughn with 11 and Rice with 10. Ward did the bulk of the setting for the Sandites with 23 assists, while Thomas did all of the setting for Collinsville and registered 30 assists. Leslie had 7 digs for the Sandites, followed by Baylee Mudd with 6.

Sandite Freshmen score first touchdown of the season in 7-6 loss to Jenks

/

Photo: Virgil Noah

By: Virgil Noah, Staff Writer

It's been a frustrating start to the year so far for the Sand Springs 9th Grade football team (0-4) as they've fallen to each opponent they have faced. Despite the four straight losses, the Sandites are improving. 

The freshmen opened their season with a 10-0 defeat to Owasso, followed by a 42-0 loss suffered at the hands of Muskogee White. In game three the Sandites faced Broken Arrow Gold, giving up 20 points in the first half, but shutting the Tigers out in the second. Sand Springs failed to get on the board though for the third straight game falling 20-0. 

Sand Springs played their best game of the season Monday night against Jenks White, in a game where a mere extra point was the difference in winning and losing. 

In the first half the Trojans and Sandites traded possession the entirety of the half without scoring, though there were some close calls. On a fourth down in Trojan territory Sandite quarterback Braden Foster threw a deep pass that fell off his receiver's fingertips at the goal line. The Trojans' closest scoring effort came at the end of the half When quarterback Jake Mulready led the offense down the field with less than a minute to go, but as time expired completed a pass short of the goal line and the Sandite defense wrestled the receiver to the ground and sent the game to halftime scoreless. 

The second half saw a first for the Sandites' offense, a touchdown. Trace Evans intercepted a pass and returned it all the way to the 14 yard line of the Trojans. Two plays later, Aaron King took a handoff to the left side and scored a 10 yard touchdown to give his team their first points of the year. Sand Springs attempted a two-point conversion but was unsuccessful. On the ensuing kickoff the special teams got the ball back, when Jerret Haley recovered a fumble. 

Jenks took a 7-6 early in the fourth quarter on a short touchdown run and successful extra point. Sand Springs was moving the ball, nearing the red zone, but Foster's fourth down pass attempt fell incomplete to end the game.  

Sand Springs looks to continue improving, and will try to get in the win column on Monday, against Sapulpa Blue. 

Lady Sandites fall in straight sets to Broken Arrow despite being matched offensively

/

Photo: Morgan Miller

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 15 ranked Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (21-12) hosted the No. 6 Broken Arrow Tigers (18-5) Tuesday night and battled valiantly through the match, dropping three close sets of 23-25, 23-25, and 21-25. Offensively the Sandites actually had the edge with 45 kills to the Tigers' 44, but the Broken Arrow team was more disciplined defensively and committed far less errors.

Sand Springs: 45 kills, 31 errors
Broken Arrow: 44 kills, 22 errors

SS Kills: Mutiri 22, Kersgieter 7, Youngblood 5, Leslie 3, Burris 3, Mudd 1, Cypert 1.
BA Kills: Bledsoe 19, Wratten 9, Smith 9, Blackburn 2, Bercher 2, Cowan 1. 

SS Assists: Burris 16, Ward 6, Cypert 2, Leslie 1.
BA Assists: Blackburn 31

SS Digs: Leslie 14, Taylor 11, Kersgieter 6, Mutiri 5, Burris 2, Mudd 2, Ward 2, Ward 2, Cypert 1. 

All three sets were back-and-forth affairs with the scoring being tied for nearly a quarter of the match. Broken Arrow led for the majority of the first and second sets, but the Sandites actually had the edge in game three before the Tigers came from behind to spoil it.

Sand Springs committed fourteen kills in the first set with eight of them coming from junior Ohio State University commit Gloria Mutiri. Madison Burris registered five assists in the first game. The most the Sandites ever trailed by was 17-13 before going on a four-point run to tie it up thanks to a kill from Mutiri, an ace from Holly Kersgieter, and a tipped ball from freshman Devree Youngblood. 

It was a back-and-forth game from there until an error by Makina Wratten tied it up at 20-20 and the Sandites took the lead on an ace from Burris. Kamryn Smith tied it back up at 21-21, but Mutiri scored back-to-back kills off sets from Burris and Makenna Cypert for the 23-21 advantage.

Those would be the last points the Sandites would score, however, as Mackenzie Backburn set up Mia Bledsoe for back-to-back kills, followed by back-to-back aces from Julia Bercher to win the game 25-23. Both teams committed nine errors apiece in the first set, but the Tigers had 16 kills to the Sandites' 14. 

Sand Springs scored the first kill of game two thanks to Youngblood, but the Tigers won the next four with a pair of kills from Wratten and an ace from Smith. Sand Springs one-upped the Tigers with five-straight rallies off two kills from Mutiri and a combined block by Mutiri and Cypert to lead 6-4. They held that lead till 7-7 when Blackburn set up Bledsoe for back-to-back kills. The Sandites struggled to keep the lead from there and by 11-10, it was the Tigers with the advantage.

The Sandites didn't lead again for the duration of the game, but they tied it up six more times before Broken Arrow took the penultimate lead at 17-16. Sand Springs got close at 24-23 off a Mutiri kill and Burris assist, but Blackburn scored on a fake set tipped ball to secure another 25-23 victory. Once again it was Mutiri who led the scoring for the Sandites with nine points, and Burris registered seven assists.

Sand Springs got off to another great start in the final set and lead for 45% of the game. Wratten scored the first kill of the set, but Lee Leslie tied it up, Mutiri took the lead on a kill, Burris served an ace, and Mutiri registered a solo block for the 4-1 advantage. Broken Arrow didn't manage to tie it till 10-10 off a Sandite error.

From there the game was back-and-forth. Burris, Cypert, and Bledsoe all hit aces. The game tied at 19-19 off a Tiger error, but once they regained the lead, they held it till the end and won 25-21.

Errors have been the defining factor in nearly every Sandite loss this season as the high-powered Sandite offense led by Mutiri, Kersgieter, and Youngblood has little difficulty in keeping up in a shootout. Any time the communication is good, the Sandites win with incredible numbers. But when they start building campfires and colliding, that's when it falls apart. Lately, however, they've done far more destroying than falling apart.

The Sandites upset No. 14 Bixby 3-2, went 6-2 at the Catoosa Tournament, upset 4A No. 1 Metro Christian 2-0, and upset No. 10 Union 3-2 as well. Since the month began, their only losses have been 3-0 to No. 5 Owasso, 2-0 to 4A No. 3 Victory Christian, and 2-0 to 4A No. 1 Metro Christian, who they split with. The errors that plagued the beginning of the season are becoming fewer, the defense is getting tighter, and the offense is continuing to give it 100% all the way till the end. 

The Sandites have only two matches left before the Regional tournament and both are away games. They will travel to 5A No. 5 Collinsville (19-9) this Thursday at 6:00 p.m., and will take on their Highway 97 rivals from Sapulpa (2-11) next Monday at 6:30 p.m.

Sandite of the Week: Brett Freeman is invaluable in 29-24 defeat of Putnam Patriots

/

By: Sandite Pride Editorial Board

Charles Page High School senior Brett Freeman was a key player in the Sandites' first win of the season, forcing two turnovers that resulted in touchdowns.

The 6'2" 175 pound defensive back made his first play of the night in an assisted tackle to stop a five-yard run early in the first quarter. 

With three minutes left in the first half, the Sandites had just taken a 14-7 lead and sent the kick high into the stadium lights. As the ball bounced off O'Neal Cotton, the Sandites exploded on the Patriots and Freeman was able to scoop up the ball to bring the offense right back onto the field at the Patriots' 26 yard line. The Sandites would score on the very next play.

On the corresponding Patriot drive, Freeman registered a pass break-up on second and nine that could have been dangerous.

Four minutes into the second half, Freeman once more cut the Patriots off early, intercepting their very first pass of the drive to land the Sandite offense at the Putnam West 18-yard line. The Sandites scored seven plays later.

Shortly before the end of the third quarter he registered a solo tackle to hold a quarterback-keeper to five yards. 

Other notable Sandite achievements last week:

Cheyenne Walden, Senior XC runner. Took 1st Place at Holland Hall XC against several State Qualifiers with a 5K time of 18:12.1, leading the second place runner by 39 seconds and the third place runner by 1:12. This is her sixth-straight first place finish.

Jacie Taber, sophomore pitcher. Went 1-1 on the mound this week, giving up four hits, 2 walks, and one run, but no earned runs and 3 strikeouts against Jenks. She was one of only two Lady Sandites to land a base hit in that game. She pitched an 18-0 shutout win against Enid, giving up only 1 hit and 3 walks against 2 strikeouts and no runs in 5 innings. She scored 2 runs on 2 singles in that game. In the second game of the Enid doubleheader she scored two runs and one hit on two at-bats, hitting a 2RBI home run.

Sydney Pennington, senior shortstop. Was intentionally walked 3 times against Jenks and never had an at-bat. She was in on a double play in that game. In the first game against Enid she was 3 of 4 with a single, double, and home run for 2RBI and 3 runs. She was .750 against Enid in game two as well with a single and two doubles for 5RBI and 2 runs.

Holly Kersgieter, sophomore volleyballer. Scored 15 kills in 5 sets against Bixby with 2 assists, 15 digs, and 2 aces. Scored 9 kills, 1 assist, 5 digs, 1 ace in 3 sets against Booker T.

Gloria Mutiri, senior volleyballer. Scored 30 kills, 1 assist, 4 solo blocks, 2 block assists, 9 digs, 2 aces in 5 sets against Bixby. Scored 12 kills, 1 assist, 7 digs, 2 aces in 3 sets against Booker T. Also committed to Ohio State University this week.

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 emailingSanditePrideNews@gmail.com. The award is not given to anyone in 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 the Sandite Pride Editorial Board.

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