CPHS Softball: Taber strikes out 11 in 6-0 shut out of Jenks

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The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (8-2 overall, 4-0 district) bounced back from a 6-4 loss to 2A No. 1 Dale (14-0) with a 6-0 shutout of Jenks (7-6) Tuesday afternoon at the Sandite Sports Complex, outhitting their foes 11-5 with eleven strikeouts from University of Northern Iowa-commit Jacie Taber (6-0 season, 19-7 career). 

The Lady Trojans put two on base in the first inning with a walk and a single, but stranded both after Taber struck out two. The Lady Sandites got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning as Sabrina Usher reached on a fielder's choice and scored on hit from Madelyn Blair. Elizabeth Luttrell brought home Blair with a single for the 2-0 advantage.

The girls had a big third inning with singles from Kimi Presnell, Makenna Skaggs, and Usher, the latter of whom scored Presnell. Skaggs and Usher both came in on a double from Blair, who was left stranded. 

The Sandites gave up a single in the top of the fourth, but Blair sent a ground ball to Presnell at second, who passed it to Luttrell at first for a double play. Taber struck out the third batter.

Jenks threatened in the sixth, loading the bases with a single and a pair of free bases, but Taber made up for the walks with three-straight strikeouts to save the inning. Felicity Horn scored on an error in the bottom of the inning for the final score of 6-0. 

On Friday the girls traveled to Stillwater for a festival. They took on the top-ranked undefeated team in class 2A and fell 6-4, bringing an end to their six-straight win streak, and had their second game rained out. 

Blair (2-2, 15-4) got the loss on the mound, giving up nine hits and three walks with two strikeouts against the defending 2A Fast-Pitch State Runners-Up and 4A Slow-Pitch State Champions.

Dale scored four runs in the top of the fourth with a grand slam from Skyle Thompson and added two more in the next inning. 

In the bottom of the sixth the Sandites staged a rally attempt with four straight singles. Taber scored Horn, Blair scored Skaggs and Taber, then Presnell doubled to bring in Usher. Madison Lee hit a double in the bottom of the seventh, but was left stranded on third as Dale secured the win.

The Lady Sandites will return to action Thursday on the road with a Highway 97 Rivalry district match-up against Sapulpa (3-9, 2-4) who they previously defeated 12-1 last week.

CPHS Volleyball: Mutiri scores 23 kills in 3-2 loss against No. 5 Bishop Kelley

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BK 3 CPHS 2
Set One: 25-20 CPHS
Set Two: 25-22 CPHS
Set Three: 26-24 BK
Set Four: 25-19 BK
Set Five: 15-10 BK

Kills: BK 50, CPHS 42.
Blocks: CPHS 8, BK 4.
Aces: CPHS 9, BK 8.
Service Errors: CPHS 14, BK 13.

(CPHS only)
Kills: Mutiri 23, Youngblood 7, Burris 5, Cypert 3, Bradshaw 2, Campfield 1, Neely 1.
Assists: Burris 33, Bradshaw 2, Campfield 1. 
Aces: MaKenzie Ward 3, Youngblood 2, Campfield 2, Burris 1, Madison Ward 1. 
Solo Blocks: Mutiri 3, Neely 2.
Block Assists: Neely 2, Cypert 2, Youngblood 1, Mutiri 1.
Digs: Mutiri 3, Campfield 3, Wise 3, Taylor 3, Madison Ward 2, Youngblood 1. 

The No. 15 ranked Charles Page High School volleyball team (5-10) hosted Frontier Valley Conference foe 5A No. 5 Bishop Kelley (5-4) Tuesday evening at the Ed Dubie Field House. The Kelley Comets defeated Sand Springs 3-0 (15-25, 12-25, 20-25) two weeks prior at the Union Tournament. This time it looked like Sand Springs would get some payback, but after falling in a 2-0 deficit, the Comets surged back for the win.

Sophomore Devree Youngblood scored the first point of the match with an ace, then turned the ball over with a service error. The teams traded punches from there till the visitors took the first substantial lead at 7-3 after winning four straight rallies. The teams exchanged errors, then it was the Sandites' time to shine with five straight points to take the lead at 9-8. Youngblood scored twice, Gloria Mutiri and Kenzie Bradshaw scored once apiece, and Madison Burris got the assists for all four.

Not to be outdone, the Comets retaliated with six points in a row, then Sand Springs tied it up at 14-14 with kills from Youngblood and Chelsea Neely, plus a pair of aces from MaKenzie Ward. The close affair tied twice more before Sand Springs took the lead once and for all. The Comets threatened at 21-20, but the home team won the next four rallies for the win.

The second game started much like the first, but this time it was Sand Springs who jumped out to the early lead with six straight rallies to make it 9-3. Kelley scored five in a row to make it 12-9, but Sand Springs did the same for a 17-9 advantage. Cloe Campfield scored a kill and Neely added a solo block for the biggest lead of the game at 20-11.

The Comets began to close the gap late in the game, winning four in a row to cut the deficit to 24-22. After a brief timeout, the Sandites secured the win with a tipped ball from Burris.

The third set was the most competitive of the four. The score tied eleven times and the lead changed eight times before the Comets closed out with three-straight for the 26-24 win. Kelley took a 23-22 lead before Mutiri scored a kill to tie it and Youngblood aced for the lead. Neely looked to have clinched the set with a solo block before the call was reversed in favor of the visitors. Mariana Hightower and Parker Ross scored a pair of kills for the Comets' first set win.

Sand Springs played from the hole for most of the game four. They went on a six-point run for a brief 11-9 lead, but Kelley came right back with four of their own. Mutiri tied it at 13-13, but Kelley took the lead back once and for all with a kill from Hightower. The visitors went on a five-point run towards the end, Sand Springs won three of their own, then Kelley finished it up at 25-19 to tie the match.

The Comets jumped out to a quick lead in the final stanza with two kills from Ross, a kill from Katherine Barlow, and back to back aces from Sadie Baumann. Mutiri broke things up with a kill, but Kelley went right back to work with three more. After a brief timeout the Sandites scored three in a row with a kill and block from Mutiri and an ace from Burris, but they were unable to close the gap the rest of the way. Ultimately the visitors prevailed 15-10 to return to a winning record. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action Thursday with a home match against 5A No. 7 Coweta (13-2).

CPHS Boys' Cross Country Team wins Pryor Invitational, led by Aden Baughman in 1st Place

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The Charles Page High School Cross Country teams started the season this past weekend at the Mid-America Tiger Cross Country Invitational in Pryor. The Boys' team took first place, led by Aden Baughman with a 10:40 time to win the two-mile run. 

Baughman, a junior State Qualifier, is coming off a USATF 800-meter National Championship win just under a month ago. Varsity Cross Country meets typically are 5 kilometers, but the two-mile start to the season gave the mid-range runner an advantage for his first win of the season with a five-second margin of victory over the runner-up.

Two other Sandites made the top-five. Ian Baustert took third place with a 10:57 finish and Nelson Yazzie was right behind him in fifth place at 10:58.

Landin Green placed ninth in 11:10, Jaelyn Jackson took 17th place in 11:30, Kaegan Murray placed 23rd in 11:45, and Phillip Elleman placed 24th in 11:46. Ten schools participated in the event and Tahlequah Sequoyah came in runner-up.

The Lady Sandites were led by Tiqvah Soap in 25th place with an 8:09 performance in the 1850-meter run, followed by Sara Abbet in 28th place with an 8:13 performance. Elizabeth Watts placed 31st in 8:24, Stephanie Genn placed 42nd in 8:35, Chezney Kelley placed 46th in 8:43, and Madelynn Adams placed 66th in 9:41. The girls placed seventh out of eight teams. Tahlequah Sequoyah took first place.

The Sandites will return to action Saturday, September 2nd in a Highway 97 rivalry run at Sapulpa. The race will be one mile for the girls and two miles for the boys. It will be held at the Sapulpa Westside Sports Complex 

Sandite of the Week Gloria Mutiri scores 98 points in 17 sets at BA Tournament

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Charles Page High School senior Gloria Mutiri was selected as our Sandite of the Week for her performances over the past week, helping her team win three of their six matches, including a 3-2 upset of the defending State Champions. Mutiri's consistently outstanding abilities have earned her Division I attention and she committed to the Ohio State University last season. 

The Lady Sandite Volleyball team (5-9) improved from the No. 19 ranking in Class 6A to No. 15 after placing third in the Broken Arrow Tournament. 

Last Tuesday the Sandites fell 3-0 to No. 7 Jenks. Mutiri scored twelve kills, two blocks, and an ace. 

On Friday the girls came from behind to defeat No. 5 Edmond Memorial 3-2. Mutiri recorded her second-highest output of the season with nineteen kills and a season-best nine blocks. She scored seventeen points in a 3-0 loss to No. 9 Edmond North, and twenty points in a 3-0 win over No. 11 Owasso. 

On Saturday Mutiri scored thirteen points in a 3-0 loss to No. 3 Norman North and twenty points in a 3-0 win over No. 17 Southmoore for third place in the tournament. 

This is Mutiri's third time being named Sandite of the Week. She is also a starting player on the defending Frontier Valley Conference Champion basketball team. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action Tuesday with a home match against 5A No. 5 Bishop Kelley (4-4) who defeated them 3-0 at the Union Tournament two weekends ago. On Thursday they will host 5A No. 7 Coweta.

College Football National Championship trophy makes stop in Sand Springs

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The official 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy made a surprise stop in Sand Springs Saturday, on display at Walmart for a few short hours.

The trophy was in Sand Springs for only two hours before making its way to Skiatook. Walmart announced the visit via Facebook just 24 hours before the showcase.

Pictured is John Mark Griffith, owner of the Mark Griffith Funeral Home, in his game-day Sooner gear. 

The trophy is 25.6 inches tall, weighs 35 pounds, and is made of 24-karat gold, bronze, and stainless steel. The CFP trophy design was unveiled in 2014 to accompany the new playoff system. Ohio State University, the University of Alabama, and Clemson University are the only three teams to win the trophy.

Oklahoma has only three NCAA Division I teams.

The University of Oklahoma Sooners are currently ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press preseason poll and No. 8 in the American Football Coaches Association poll. The Sooners finished last season with an 11-2 record, ranked No. 3 by the Coaches and No. 5 by the AP. They went undefeated in the Big 12 for their second-straight Conference Championship, ending the season with a ten-straight win streak and a 35-19 Sugar Bowl victory over No. 17 Auburn. The Sooners are the only Oklahoma team to make the playoffs, falling 37-17 to Clemson in 2015. 

The Oklahoma State University Cowboys are ranked No. 10 in the AP and No. 11 in the Coaches poll. They finished last season ranked No. 11 in both polls with a 10-3 record. They went 7-2 in the Big 12 for a Runner-Up finish. After falling 38-20 to OU in their regular season finale they topped No. 11 Colorado 38-8 at the Alamo Bowl.

The University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane finished the 2016 season with a 10-3 record for second place in the American Athletic Conference West Division standings. They finished the season with three-straight wins including a 55-10 victory against Central Michigan at the Miami Beach Bowl.

Sandite Volleyball places third at tough Broken Arrow Tournament

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The No. 19 ranked Charles Page High School volleyball team (5-9) took third place in the Broken Arrow Varsity Tournament this weekend, upsetting some of the top teams in the state in the process.

On Friday the girls defeated defending State Champs, No. 5 Edmond Memorial (4-2) and No. 11 Owasso (3-5), but fell to No. 9 Edmond North (9-3). In the first round Saturday they were pitted against State Runners-Up, No. 3 Norman North (11-1) and lost 3-0, despite leading for most of two of those sets. In the placement match they took on No. 16 Southmoore (3-6) and won 3-0.

The Lady Sandites brought their A-game, and easily handled the Sabercats. The first set was hotly contested with neither team winning more than three-straight rallies till the final stretch. At 20-17 Sand Springs turned up the power and scored five straight for the win. Sophomore Devree Youngblood scored a kill, Ohio State commit Gloria Mutiri aced, Madison Burris scored a kill, and Chelsea Neely recorded a solo block to clinch the win.

Southmoore notched the first two points of the second set, but Sand Springs went on a six-point run and never looked back. They led by as much as 24-12 before the Sabercats tried to rally, but Mutiri scored a solo block to finish 25-15.

The third set was far closer. Sand Springs only trailed briefly at the very beginning and after an ace from Cloe Campfield at 6-5, they never gave Southmoore the lead again. The game tied ten times, most dangerously at 24-24, but Mutiri scored a kill and a block to seal the deal.

Burris, a sophomore, finished with 21 assists and six kills. Mutiri had 15 kills and five blocks, and Youngblood had five kills.

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday with a conference home game against 5A No. 3 Bishop Kelley (4-4) at 6:00 p.m.