Three Sand Springs wrestlers win gold at Southern Plains Regional Championship

/

Several members of the Sand Springs Team Big wrestling club competed at the Southern Plains Regional Championships in Dodge City, Kansas this weekend. The Sandites brought home four gold and three silver medals from United Wireless Arena.

Charles Page High School Class of 2017 graduate Jack Karstetter (4-0 FS, 4-5 GR) took first place in junior freestyle. He pinned Bryson Krohn in 47 seconds, teched Rocky Sisco and Garrett Miller, then won a 13-10 decision over Ponca City’s Dylan Schickram. He also competed in Greco but was eliminated one round short of placement.

Clayton Giddens (21-0 FS) continued his undefeated season with four-straight 10-0 tech falls. He handily took first place in Novice freestyle at 65 pounds without giving up a single point.

Kaden Glass (11-0 FS, 8-1 GR) competed in both styles at 190 pounds and drew only one competitor in Schoolboy. In freestyle he dealt Ethan Kremer a pin and a decision in a best-of-three series for first place. He has yet to lose a freestyle match this season. Kremer won a 10-4 decision in Greco, but Glass won the next two matches for first place.

Nation Johnson (11-9 FS, 11-10 GR) came in Runner-Up in both styles at 80 pounds in Intermediate. In freestyle he teched Ashtyn Meeks 10-0 and won an 18-17 decision over Cooper Reves before falling 11-0 to Joseph Jeter in the finals. In Greco he teched Meeks 12-0 and pinned Brodie Bedford in 1:09 before falling to Jake Miller in the finals.

Abraham Flores (13-7 FS, 14-4 GR) placed second in Novice Greco and fourth in freestyle at 100 pounds. In Greco he won two tech falls and defeated Isaac Barchicha 4-3 before falling to Xerarch Tungjaroenkul in the finals. In freestyle he lost his first match, won two tech falls, and was defeated by Tungjaroenkul in the consolation finals.

Cole Brooks (15-4 FS, 10-5 GR) took fourth in Schoolboy freestyle at 91 pounds. He fell to Carson Laughery in the second round, but picked up three-straight tech falls in the consolation bracket and topped Laughery 14-12 before falling to Brady Hankin in the finals. He also competed in Greco but was eliminated one round short of placement.

Braden Anderson (13-10 FS, 7-10 GR) placed fourth in Schoolboy freestyle at 112 pounds. He lost his opening match, but won three-straight in consolation before falling to Collin Creach in the finals. He also competed in Greco but was defeated one round short of placement. 

Longtime Sandite Coach/Athletic Director Cecil Hankins to be inducted into OBCA Hall of Fame

/

Cecil Hankins, 1953 Sand Springs High School yearbook.

Former Sand Springs Coach and Athletic Director Cecil Hankins will be inducted into the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association (OBCA) Hall of Fame Saturday, June 3rd. Hankins was previously inducted into the Oklahoma Coaches Association (OCA) Hall of Fame in 1975 and the Oklahoma State University Hall of Honor in 1996.

Hankins coached in Sand Springs for sixteen years, including basketball, football, track and field, baseball, and golf. He retired as Athletic Director in 1988 and passed away in 2002 at the age of 80. 

A Division I collegiate athlete, Hankins played for Oklahoma A&M University (now Oklahoma State University) in both football and basketball, under Jim Lookabaugh and Henry Iba respectively.

In football he played halfback and defensive back on the undefeated 1945 team that was recently declared the National Champions by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). The AFCA has been working to declare national champions for the period between 1922 and 1949 before they began a rankings system.

1945 Oklahoma A&M National Champion team. Hankins can be seen in the second row from the top, four positions to the right of Head Coach Jim Lookabaugh. 

In the 1945 Sugar Bowl, Hankins received the go-ahead touchdown pass from Bob Fennimore and the Aggies went on to prevail 33-13 over St. Mary's. 

Hankins didn't live long enough to see his football team recognized as National Champions, but the 1945 Basketball team also won a National Title and he contributed 13 points per game that season. The 1945 season was the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance and first National Championship as the Aggies defeated New York 49-45 in front of 18,000 fans at Madison Square Garden to finish the season with a 27-4 record. Hankins scored 15 points in the Championship game.

After his collegiate career, Hankins played 25 games with the Boston Celtics and averaged 2.8 points per game for 70 career points. 

At Sand Springs he coached football from 1952-1954 and amassed a 15-10-4 record with a 1952 District Championship and playoff appearance. He coached future three-time MLB World Series Champion Jerry Adair as quarterback, who went on to play basketball at OSU under Iba. He coached basketball from 1948 through 1957. Sandite Pride is missing the 1948-1949 season record, but his final eight years Hankins went 144-59-1 and led his team to four-straight Verdigris Valley Conference Championships.

Hankins will be inducted along with Jack Begley, Ron Murphey, Robert Sprague, and Bailey Van Zant. Begley coached at Texhoma High, Clinton High, and Panhandle State. He won two State Championships at Clinton. Murphey coached at Felt and Texhoma and won one State Championship at Texhoma. Sprague coached at Daniel Webster, Nathan Hale, and Tulsa Memorial. Van Zant coached at Pond Creek and Pryor, started the basketball program at Seminole Junior College, then coached fourteen years in Texas.

Sandite of the Week: Daton Fix competes in Times Square, receives National award

/

Many high school athletes participate in club sports in the summer, but few participate at the level of Sand Springs Class of 2017 graduate Daton Fix. The Oklahoma State University-bound Sandite just wrapped up his high school career as an undefeated four-time State Champion, helping his team to State and Dual State titles, and he hasn’t taken any time off since then.

Earlier this month he won an OKUSA Freestyle State Championship in Cushing, and last week he traveled to Times Square in New York for an exhibition match against USAW Folkstyle National Champion Joey Melendez, who is ranked fourth in the country at 113 pounds. In his second year at the outdoor Beat the Streets benefit he rolled to a decisive 14-1 technical fall against the Illinois star.

This upcoming weekend he will be receiving the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award at the Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater. Each year the award is presented to a high school senior from each state for outstanding wrestling success, scholastic achievement, and citizenship or community service. Not only was he selected as the recipient from Oklahoma, he was also selected as one of five Regional recipients, and the overall National recipient. He is only the second wrestler from Oklahoma to receive the national award since its inception in 1996

Fix was named to the Oklahoma Junior Dual team alongside fellow Sandite Riley Weir and cousin Jack Karstetter, as well as future OSU teammate and fellow four-time undefeated State Champ Kaden Gfeller. Fix's dad, Derek, is an assistant coach on the junior team. Junior Dual Nationals will be held June 20th through 24th at the Tulsa Convention Center for the third-straight year. 

Click here to view former Sandites of the Week.

To nominate a Sandite of the Week, please fill out the form on our home page.

Sandites of the Week: Caden Pennington and John Miller qualify for two National Championships

/

Photo courtesy of Tador Miller.

The Sand Springs High School fishing club recently brought home the club trophy from the Oklahoma Bass Nation High School State Championship. Three Sand Springs teams placed in the top fifteen and one duo took second place overall to qualify for the National Championship.

Sand Springs has eleven fishing teams, each consisting of two student anglers and one adult coach/captain. The sport is not officially recognized by the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association, nor is it funded by Sand Springs Public Schools, but it has grown tremendously in the past few seasons. 

Noah Daczewitz and Hunter Hilger started the club last year and were soon joined by two other teams before the season concluded. Now, Sand Springs is one of the largest clubs in the state. The sport as a whole has tripled in size from 42 teams last year to more than 150 at present time. There are no divisions based on school or town size.

94 boats launched on Lake Texoma Sunday morning and only 69 even caught a single fish. Fifteen teams caught the five-fish limit and Washington High School's Dale Rigsby and Will Manning came in first place with 15.74 pounds. Sand Springs's Team 2, John Miller and Caden Pennington, were right behind them with five fish totaling 15.46 pounds, the second-largest catch in Sand Springs history and the largest catch for Team 2. 

Daczewitz and Hilger came in twelfth place with five fish totaling 9.67 pounds, Ty Steelman and Braden Millican took fifteenth place with five fish totaling 9.22 pounds, Jerret Haley and Corbin Williams took 39th place with two fish totaling 5.16 pounds, and Seth Kearns and Cole Scott brought in 62nd place with one fish weighing 2.46 pounds. With the top two teams combining for 25.13 pounds, Sand Springs defeated Broken Arrow for the club trophy by 3.86 pounds. 

Miller and Pennington will get to compete at the Costa Bassmaster High School National Championship June 19th on Barkley and Kentucky Lakes. They also recently won the Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) Missouri Open on Stockton Lake to qualify for the FLW Nationals June 27th at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama. They caught four bass weighing 9 pounds even, defeating the Runners-Up by one ounce. The Second-Place team caught the five-fish limit.

The rest of the Sandites still have an opportunity to qualify for nationals. Though the State Championship was this weekend, the OBN season doesn't actually come to a close till June 4th. Two more tournaments will be held on Ft. Gibson and Keystone Lakes. Three tournaments have already been held prior to State, and the State catches won't count towards the overall Trail standings.

Daczewitz and Hilger are currently fourth in the standings, followed by Miller and Pennington at eighth, Kyle and Kale Hilligoss in ninth, Kearns and Scott in thirteenth, Haley and Williams in 55th, Millican and Steelman in 68th, and Austin Smith and Joe Nelson in 89th. Four other teams have yet to place in a tournament this season. Jacob Weathers and Bryson Wooten comprise Team 8, Hayden King and Collin Brady are Team 9, Carl McClaflin and Ryan Linquist are Team 10, and Chase Meyers and George Russell are Team 11. 

Before the next OBN events is the Student Angler Federation (SAF) State Championship on May 27th at Lake Eufala.

CPHS Track: Cheyenne Walden and Aden Baughman win Meet of Champions

/

Two members of the Charles Page High School Track and Field team were invited to the Oklahoma Track Coaches Association (OTCA) Meet of Champions in Moore. Oklahoma State University-signed senior Cheyenne Walden and sophomore Aden Baughman both won 6A State Championship gold last week in Yukon and repeated their victories Tuesday against competitors from all classes. 

Walden, a nine-time State Champion, holds one Meet of Champions medal in Cross Country, but has never competed in Track before.

Walden finished the 1600 meter run in 5:02.58, the third-best time of her career, with a 13.66 second margin of victory over the runner-up. She defeated 3A State Champion Mandy Sykora (5:16.79), Class A State Champion Harlie Schmeling (5:20.9), and 3A Runner-Up Aubrey Schmidt (5:25.40). She finished the 3200 meter run in 10:57.45, 54.73 seconds ahead of the runner-up, 3A State Champ Sykora (11:52.18).

Baughman made his first trip to the Meet of Champs after winning his first State Title last weekend in the 800 meter run, running the fastest time of any Oklahoma High School student this season at 1:53.16. His Meet of Champs time wasn't far behind his State time at 1:53.54. He defeated 4A State Champion Dillon Phillips (1:54.26), 4A Runner-Up Tanner Blackmore (1:59.63), and Class A Runner-Up Andres Slaughter (2:05.93).

Walden is one of three members of the Class of 2017 who will continue her athletic career at OSU, while Baughman will have two more years with the Sandites.

6X Sandite of the Week: Cheyenne Walden wins two more State Championships

/

Charles Page High School senior and Oklahoma State University commit Cheyenne Walden won her eighth and ninth State Championship titles last weekend at Yukon High School, wrapping up the most productive high school athletic career in Sand Springs history. The four-time Cross Country State Champion and five-time Track State Champion ran her last race Wednesday at the OTCA Meet of Champions.

Walden has recorded a number of remarkable performances in her time at Charles Page. The six-time Sandite of the Week has won a total of 72 first-place medals during her high school career and is the most decorated athlete in Sand Springs history, when considering only OSSAA sanctioned events. 

In Cross Country she has won 29 total first-place medals. She won two one-mile runs, ten two-mile runs, seventeen five-kilometer runs, including four Conference Championships, four Regional Championships, four State Championships, and one Meet of Champions.

In Track she has won 43 first-place medals. She has won two 800-meter runs, six 1600-meter runs, and 29 3200-meter runs, including four Conference Championships, six Regional Championships, five State Championships, and two Meet of Champions. In the 3200 meter run she has won 25-straight events and hasn't lost since the State Meet her freshman year. 

Walden's personal best in the 800 meter run is 2:17.58, which netted her fourth in State as a junior, only seven seconds behind the all-time Oklahoma State record. Her niche lies in distance running, however, and she only competed in the 800 once this season. She won that event. 

In the 1600 she holds a personal-best of 4:57.07, set just last week in the 6A State Meet. That mark was the all-time best performance at a State Championship meet, and was less than three seconds behind the State record. On average, she won each 1600 run by 5.78 seconds this season.

In the 3200 her personal record is 10:45.43, only seven seconds behind the State record. On average, she won each 3200 run by 52.88 seconds this year.

In Cross Country she holds a PR 5:21 in the one-mile, 11:19.5 in the two-mile, and 17:32 in the 5K.