Weir/Karstetter compete at Greco-Roman National Duals, place 6th

Jack Karstetter competes against a Perry wrestler at the 2nd Annual Ram Duals. (Click to view full gallery).

Two of Sand Springs’s folkstyle State Champions competed on the Oklahoma Junior Dual Team at the USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Nationals. Riley Weir (0-2) and Jack Karstetter (7-7) both won scholastic State Championships this past season for Charles Page High School, helping their team to its first State Title since 1971. Karstetter graduated this year, while Weir will be a junior in the fall.

Click here to view the Sandite Pride special edition wrestling magazine commemorating the 2016-2017 season.

The Greco-Roman style of wrestling differs from high school folkstyle primarily in that it forbids holds below the waist. 

The Junior Duals were held in downtown Tulsa at the Cox Convention Center. Thirty teams from twenty-three states vied to wrestle the title away from Minnesota. The results were a familiar site as Illinois and Minnesota ended up in the finals for the third-straight year. This year it was Illinois’s time to shine with a 41-21 victory. Oklahoma took sixth place for the second-straight year.

The Outlaws got off to a great start, going undefeated in Pool C. They defeated Texas Blue 41-26 with help from Karstetter’s 3-1 decision over Colton Williams. Next to fall was Utah Blue, though neither Sandite won their matches. Weir was defeated 11-0 by Jordan Haskins in the Texas dual and went down in a 26-24 affair with Braydon Mogle in the Utah dual. Karstetter lost his second match 5-2 to Utah State Champion Stockton O’Brien. In the final dual, Oklahoma defeated Nebraska Blue 55-11.

After earning their way into the Gold pool, the competition was far tougher. They lost their first dual 33-29 to Kansas Blue and Karstetter fell by a close 6-6 decision to three-time State Runner-Up Conner Ward. Both the Sandite and his team rebounded with wins against Tennessee. Karstetter won his match 13-0 against Garrett Bowers and the Okies prevailed 52-16.

The next dual was another close one and Minnesota came out on top, 36-33. In the fifth-place dual Karstetter won another tech fall, 10-0 against Hunter Kosco, but Ohio won the dual 33-30.

Karstetter finished with a 3-2 record while Weir went 0-2. 

Cheyenne Walden receives "Heart of the City" award from Mayor Mike Burdge

Cheyenne Walden is presented with the "Heart of the City" award. Click to view full photo gallery.

The City of Sand Springs met in a regular monthly meeting Monday night at the City Municipal Building.

Mayor Mike Burdge presented recent Charles Page High School graduate Cheyenne Walden with a Mayoral Proclamation and the "Heart of the City" award to recognize her many accomplishments on the school's running team. Walden is the most decorated athlete in school history with nine OSSAA State Championships. She won four Cross Country titles and five Track titles and is signed to run for Oklahoma State University this fall.

Walden was named the Gatorade Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year for four consecutive years. She is the only Sandite ever to win the Jim Thorpe Player of the Year award, and she won it in both 2016 & 2017. She was named the All-Metro Runner of the Year and All-Metro Athlete of the Year in 2016 and was thrice named the Tulsa World All-Metro Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Sand Springs High Schoolers compete at Bassmaster National Championship

Three Sand Springs High School fishing teams traveled to Kentucky Lake this past weekend for the Costa Bassmaster High School National Championship in Paris, Tennessee. Rough weather, rain delays, and mechanical failures prevented the Sandites from making a run at the title, but the experience will undoubtedly prove valuable in future seasons.

231 teams turned out, representing 34 states and one Canadian providence. The tournament was initially planned with two days of fishing for the full field, with the top twelve advancing to a final round on Saturday. Heavy rains moved in Friday, however, and the day’s events were postponed with the final-twelve round canceled.

Noah Daczewitz and Hunter Hilger placed in the top 90 boaters on day one, finishing with five fish totaling 13 pounds and 6 ounces. Their single-day catch ended up being greater than the two-day totals for more than 80 teams.

Cole Scott and Seth Kearns caught two fish weighing 4-15 on day one. John Miller and Caden Pennington caught one fish weighing 2-1.

Tragedy struck the Sandites on Saturday as the Daczewitz-Hilger team lost their lower unit and had to toss back their catch two hours before weigh-in. Even without getting to weigh in their day-two catch, they still finished 162nd overall thanks to a successful first day.

Scott-Kearns caught a 4-3 bass on day two to finish 196th, while Miller-Pennington came up empty and finished 224th.

Oklahoma sent eight teams to the National Tournament. Cascia Hall’s Scott Torkleson and Daniel Anthamatten placed twelfth with ten fish weighing 36-5. Clayton High’s Zachary Bray and Jake Stamps finished 66th with ten fish weighing 27-5. Kiowa High’s Noah Belt and Lane Couch finished 158th with five fish weighing 14-1. Dale Sherrick and Will Manning, of Washington High School, finished 197th with four fish weighing 9-1. Mannford High’s Garrett McCrackin and Jackson Lawless finished 199th with four fish weighing 8-11.

129 teams caught the five fish limit on Thursday, 103 caught the limit on Saturday, and only 79 teams caught the limit on both days. The lowest-weighing full-limit catch was 19-15.

South Florence High’s Tommy Floyd Jr. and James Gibbons, of South Carolina, won the tournament thanks to a 23-2 catch on day two. Gibbons spent the first day alone on the water as Floyd spent his day in the emergency room with a gastrointestinal infection. Even flying solo, Gibbons was able to haul in an impressive 20-1 catch for thirteenth place on day one. Their victory earned them $5,250 in scholarship money from DICK’S Sporting Goods. They also have $48,000 available from Bethel University should they decide to attend the McKenzie, Tennessee college.

Springville’s Logan Henderson and Steven Swann led the pack on day one with a 23-12 catch, but were unable to replicate their success on Saturday when they caught only a pair of fish.

Henry County High School’s Shawn Burkhart and Gavin Gordon caught 22-11 for second place on day one, then caught 20-4 for eighth place on day two and an overall Runner-Up finish.

More than $22,750 of scholarship money was distributed down through the top-placing teams. $500 went to Stephen Cross Mathis of Broome High for his 9-pound largemouth Big-Bass.

Fourteen Sandites named to Tulsa Area All-VYPE Teams

Fourteen Sand Springs athletes received accolades in the latest edition of the VYPE Tulsa magazine.

Daton Fix was third in the voting for Tulsa-Area Boys Athlete of the Year, receiving 5.8% of the vote in a poll with fourteen candidates. Fix concluded his high school wrestling career as a four-time undefeated State Champion with a 168-0 record. He will compete for a Junior World Championship this summer in Finland before wrestling this winter for Oklahoma State University. 

Sydney Pennington was fourth in the voting for Tulsa-Area Girls Athlete of the Year, receiving more than 4,700 votes for 5.6% of the vote in a poll with thirteen candidates. Pennington started every game this basketball season and was the leading scorer with 10.77 points per game to help her team to the State Semifinals. She shot 52.38% on field goals and averaged more than five rebounds, two steals, and two assists per game. She was also given an honorable mention on the All-Tulsa Basketball team. 

Pennington will continue her athletic career at Oklahoma State University on the softball team. In the fall fast pitch season she batted .543 with 57 hits, 45 runs, 38 RBI, and 10 home runs. She went undefeated on the mound for a 6-0 record with a 1.41 ERA, 1.135 WHIP, and 29 strikeouts. She gave up only 23 hits and 8 earned runs to aid her team to the State Semifinals.

Cheyenne Walden was also nominated for Girls Athlete of the Year and was named to the All-Tulsa Track Team. Walden concluded her high school career as a nine-time State Champion. She won 28 Cross Country meets with a 5K personal-record of 17:32 and four State titles. In Track she won 29 3200-meter runs, including three State titles and went undefeated for the past three seasons. Her 3200 PR is 10:45.43. She won twelve 1600-meter runs including two State titles, with a PR of 4:57.07. She will run at Oklahoma State University. 

Ashton Persons was named to the All-Tulsa Area Girls Golf Team. She won the Sand Springs Invitational this year and placed 19th at the OSSAA 6A State Tournament.

Carson Griggs was named to the All-Tulsa Area Boys Golf Team. A junior three-time State Qualifier, Griggs won three tournaments this season, including a Frontier Valley Conference title, and was the State Runner-Up by a two-stroke deficit.

Josh Cordell (P), Mack Thompson (SS), Hunter Greathouse (3B), Treyce Tolbert (OF), and Josh Taber (OF) were named to the All-Tulsa Area Baseball Team. 

Cordell pitched a 6-3 record this season with a 3.24 ERA, 1.309 WHIP, and 48 strikeouts. Thompson batted .352 with 43 hits, 34 runs, and 16 RBI. Greathouse batted .350 with 41 hits, 25 runs, 1 home run, and 31 RBI. He pitched a 4-6 record with a 4.37 ERA, 1.850 WHIP, and 32 strikeouts. Tobert batted .381 with 45 hits, 30 runs, 1 home run, 29 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. Taber batted .310 with 39 hits, 26 runs, 15 RBI, and 16 stolen bases. 

Cordell, Tolbert, and Thompson will play for Rose State College, while Greathouse will play for Cowley County Community College.

Jensen Arnold (P) made the All-Tulsa Area Slow-Pitch Softball Team. She batted .418 in the Spring Slow-Pitch season and pitched every game in the team's 11-13 season. 

Colt Savage made the All-Vype Basketball Second Team. Savage was the leading scorer on the team and the second-highest scorer in the entire Frontier Valley Conference with 22.48 points per game. 

Aden Baughman and Colton Washington were both named to the All-Tulsa Track Team. Baughman took first place in seven out of eight track meets in the 800 meter run, claiming his first State Championship with a personal-record 1:53.16. Washington won a Regional Championship in the Long Jump, placed seventh at the State Tournament, and set a PR of 22'01.00".

Sandite of the Week Carter Young goes 11-3 at Dual Nationals

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Incoming Sand Springs freshman Carter Young (27-4 FS, 22-1 GR) was selected as Sandite of the Week for his last week's performance on the Oklahoma Cadet Dual Team in York, Pennsylvania. 

Young, a two-style Schoolboy All-American, made his debut on the Cadet Dual Team and went a combined 11-3 between Freestyle and Greco Roman.

The Oklahoma Outlaws placed seventh in Greco-Roman and fifth in Freestyle.

Some of Young's most impressive wins were against two-style Georgia Champion Tucker Kinsaul, Michigan Freestyle Champion and U.S. Open Runner-Up Sam Freeman, three-style Minnesota Runner-Up Cael Swensen, Junior High Ohio Champion Dustin Norris, and Missouri Champion Korbin Shepherd.

Young was the youngest Sandite of the Week recipient ever when he competed at the Schoolboy Pan American Championship in Colombia last October. He took Gold in Freestyle, Silver in Greco-Roman, and was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. 

Click here to view previous Sandites of the Week.

Oklahoma Cadet Dual Team places fifth at Freestyle Nationals

The Oklahoma Cadet Dual Team finished fifth in the nation in freestyle and seventh in Greco-Roman this weekend in York, Pennsylvania. Incoming Sand Springs freshman Carter Young (27-4 FS, 22-1 GR) represented the Sandites in both styles and finished with a winning record.

SEE RELATED: Oklahoma Dual Team places 7th at Greco-Roman Nationals

Oklahoma got off to a good start in freestyle with a 54-27 win over New Jersey Blue, aided by a 15-4 tech fall from Young over Thomas Fischer. Next to fall was Minnesota Storm Team 2 by a dominating score of 57-18. Young handed three-style State Runner-Up Cael Swensen a 10-0 tech.

Young won his third match 10-0 against Junior High State Champion Dustin Norris, but it wasn’t enough to propel his team past Ohio Red, and the Okies fell 42-32 in the D-Pool finals.

Oklahoma lost their next two duals as well, falling 41-31 to Pennsylvania Red and 60-18 to Minnesota Storm. Young topped Chris Kim 16-6, but fell 17-6 to Minnesota Junior State Champion Paxon Creese.

The Okies finished strong, however, with a pair of close wins. They defeated Missouri Red 45-31 and edged out Washington 39-35 in the fifth-place match. Young won a close 14-13 decision over Missouri State Champion Korbin Shepherd but fell 5-2 to Washington State Champion Yusief Lillie.

Oklahoma went 4-3 in both styles, while Young went 6-1 in Greco and 5-2 in freestyle.

Their fifth-place finish in freestyle was a big improvement over a tenth-place finish in 2016 and is their best result since taking fourth in 2014.

Beginning Wednesday at the Cox Business Center, Tulsa will host the Junior Dual Nationals. Team Oklahoma will feature a star-studded cast of Sandites. Charles Page High School Assistant Coach Derek Fix will also serve as an assistant coach on the Junior Team.

Oklahoma previously placed seventh in freestyle and fifth in Greco Roman last year.