CPHS Softball: Destanie Garrett signs with Southwestern Christian University

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Charles Page High School senior softballer Destanie Garrett signed a letter of intent Wednesday morning to play collegiate ball for Southwestern Christian University in Bethany, Oklahoma.

The Eagles are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and compete in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC). They also compete in the National Christian College Athletics Association (NCCAA) Division One. 

The Southwestern softball team went 11-39 in the 2016-2017 season and finished last in the SAC. They are led by seventh-season head coach Kent Williams who has amassed an 80-209 record in his time with the program. 

CPHS Golf: Carson Griggs signs with University of Denver

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Charles Page High School senior and OSSAA 6A State Runner-Up golf star Carson Griggs signed a letter of intent Wednesday morning to play for the University of Denver (DU).

DU is a four-year private university participating in NCAA Division One athletics. The Pioneers have been members of The Summit League since 2013 and they placed sixth in the conference championship this past season. Their last conference title was in 2014 and their last NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2011. They are led by Head Coach Erik Billinger in his fourth season. 

Griggs is coming off a second-place finish in the OSSAA 6A State Championship last May, finishing just two strokes behind the Champion in a field of 72 competitors. He shot four strokes under par in a three-round tournament at the Golf Club of Edmond. He tied for 20th place as a sophomore and 19th place as a freshman.

Last year Griggs took first place at the 6A State Preview at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, but the Championship location was relocated due to spring flooding at its usual site. He also won the Sand Springs Invitational and the Frontier Valley Conference Championship, and placed second at the Bartlesville Bruin Invitational.

CPHS Track: Tiqvah Soap signs with Friends University

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Charles Page High School senior Track and Cross Country star Tiqvah Soap signed a letter of intent Wednesday morning to run for Friends University in Wichita, Kansas.

Friends is a four-year non-denominational Christian private school competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC). 

The Falcons finished last season with a KCAC Championship in Cross Country and placed thirtieth at the NAIA Championships. They placed first in the KCAC Indoor Track Championships and tenth at the NAIA Championships. They also placed first at the KCAC Outdoor Track Championships and finished fourteenth at the NAIA Championships.

Soap led the Lady Sandites on three occasions this past fall. At the Pryor Invitational she had a 25th place finish, running an 1850-meter course in 8:09 and placed eighth at the Sapulpa Invitational with a 5:50 mile. At the Holland Hall 5K she took 35th place in 24:24. In 2016 the Lady Sandites qualified for State as a team and Soap placed 25th in 20:29.5. 

Last spring Soap took sixteenth in the 800-meter run at the State Championship with a personal-record performance of 2:30.79. Her season-best 1600-meter run was 5:54.3. She was also a member of the State-qualifying 3200-meter relay team that placed eleventh with a time of 10:29.79. 

Youth Wrestling: Sandites crown eleven champions at Claremore Invitational

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The future of Sandite wrestling is looking as bright as ever as the 2017-2018 youth wrestling season kicks off. A few weeks into the season, the Sandites have had strong showings at each tournament with several first and second place finishes.

The Sand Springs Team Big wrestling club crowned eleven champions at this past weekend's Claremore Youth Invitational and had seven runners-up. 

Champions

Michael Johnson (4-0) took first place in Division Four at 64 pounds. He pinned Jackson Martin in 1:33 and Simon Hartline in 0:22, and scored decisions of 6-0 and 4-0 against Jagen Jones and Iziah Tusler, respectively. 

Bentley Furr (4-0) took first place in Novice Division Two at 64 pounds. He pinned Hayden Smith in 23 seconds, Mateo Baldez in 2:29, and Colton Waldon in 28 seconds before scoring a 9-4 decision against Zavier Campion in the finals.

Chris Kirby (3-0) pinned Veronica Cooper in 22 seconds and Jose Flores in 24 seconds before scoring a 16-1 tech fall over Jonathan Gatz in the Division Five 155-pound finals.

Clayton Giddens (3-0) breezed through Division Four, pinning Joaquin Moralez in 2:48 and Keith Sanders in 3:52 before teching Dylan Abbott 18-3 in the finals.

Jaxon Grigsby (3-0) won Division Three at 58 pounds in dominating fashion. He pinned Owen Kiesel in 1:20 then teched Zane Filtz and Ty Michael Clark 15-0 each. 

Blayton Collins (3-0) took first place in Novice Division Two at 61 pounds with a thirty-second pin of Hunter Belcher and a 12-4 major decision against Maleah Zinn.

Owen Martin (2-0) took first place in Division Five at 84 pounds, pinning Korbyn York in 1:52 and teching Julian Briones 17-2. 

Skyler Wood (2-0) took first place in Novice Division Three at seventy pounds with a 1:57 pin of Edward Jones and a 15-2 major decision against William Laffoon.

Kasen McAffrey (2-0) won Division Two at 70 pounds, pinning Noah Boulware in fifteen seconds and Ethan Starks in 3:29. 

Rollin Fish (2-0) won Division One at 66 pounds, defeating David Tusler 13-9.

Connor Beals (2-0) won Novice Division Three at 76 pounds, pinning Mia Adams in 2:41 and scoring a 14-6 major decision against Bobby Brockman.

Runners-Up

Abraham Flores (2-1) took second place in Division Four at 120 pounds. He pinned Adrian Flores in 0:32 and Cameron Braswell in 0:21 but fell 2-0 to Blake Gilkey of Collinsville.

Carter Wood (2-1) pinned Josiah Moss in seventeen seconds and Caiden Estrada in 24 seconds, but fell 9-0 to Mason OBanion in Division Two at seventy pounds.

Ethan White (1-1) was majored 10-0 by Nathan Dekker in the Division Five 134-pound bracket, but pinned Thomas Moralez in 2:14 for second place.

Zander Grigsby (1-1) pinned Kynndrick Brooks in 3:31 but fell 2-0 to Bryson Humphries in the finals.

Ethan Starks (1-1) competed in Division Two at seventy pounds and teched Noah Boulware 18-3 before falling to teammate Kasen McAffrey.

David Cline (1-1) placed second in Novice Division Three at eighty pounds, edging out Drake Blue 6-5. 

Taytum Parker (1-1) placed second in Novice Division Two at 52 pounds with a pin of Tucker Daniels in 1:19.

Consolation Champions

Mitchell Smith (4-1) took third in Division Four at 84 pounds. He pinned Jim Watkins in 1:50 and defeated Jaxson Humphries 6-2 before falling 6-3 to Blade Walden. In the consolation bracket he pinned Dayton Moison in 44 seconds and repeated against Humphries with a 10-7 decision.

Robert Burke (3-1) took third in Division Three at seventy pounds, pinning Jace Simms in 1:55 and teching Aaron Wyrick 20-5. His lone loss was a close 7-5 decision to Daxton Sullivan. 

Asher Giddens (3-1) competed in Division One at 46 pounds. He defeated Rowden Benavidez twice, once in the first round and once in consolation. He was pinned by Parker Ingram but scored an 11-0 major decision against Kyson Buckner and a 9-0 major decision against Venvidez to win consolation.

Matthew Moore (2-1) competed in Division Three at 64 pounds. He defeated Jack Hooe 5-2 and Jimmy Groden 9-0. 

College Wrestling: Jack and Cody Karstetter place 1st and 3rd at OCU Open

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2017 State Champion Jack Karstetter won his first college tournament this past weekend. (Photo: Scott Emigh). 

Charles Page High School graduates and All-State wrestling brothers Jack and Cody Karstetter have been reunited at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College after two years apart. 

Jack (5-0) graduated CPHS in 2017 and made his college debut with a 133-pound First Place finish in the Freshman/Sophomore division. The former 6A State Champion swept the competition with two pins, two decisions, and one major decision. He took down Waylon Holman in 2:57 and Gage Gomez in 3:47, then decisioned Marcelino Lopez 8-4. In the semifinals he majored Ryan Chavez 19-7, then topped James Tann Cole 11-4 in the championship round.

Cody (5-1 season, 12-6 career), a 2015 CPHS graduate and State Runner-Up, spent two seasons at the NCAA Division I level. He signed with the University of North Carolina TarHeels and went 6-3. He placed sixth at the Virginia Tech Hokie Open, then took second at the Wolfpack Open. He transferred to the University of Oklahoma last season and went 1-2 after a season-ending injury.

On Sunday he competed at 141 pounds in the Freshman/Sophomore division and took third place. He pinned his first two opponents, Ernest Caldwell in 1:49 and Jacob Blumenthal in 4:18, and won a 6-4 decision over Nate Keim. In the semifinals he was majored 13-2 by Oklahoma State University freshman and four-time undefeated State Champion Kaden Gfeller, who went on to win the bracket with a 14-2 major decision. In the Consolation bracket he pinned Darian Manzanares in 1:14 and Brandon Conrad in 6:23. 

NEO is a two-year junior college in Miami, Oklahoma. The Golden Norsemen finished last season with a 14-1 record and placed third in the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) National Championships. They will return to action this Saturday at the Bethany Swede Open in Lindsburg, Kansas and will host Neosho County Community College in their first dual on Tuesday, November 14th. 

Class of 2015 graduate and Oklahoma Wesleyan freshman Kyler Childers (0-3) competed at 285 pounds in the Freshman/Sophomore division. Childers was a three-time State placer for the Sandites and signed with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M his senior year but never competed. This is the first year of the Wesleyan wrestling program, which competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes and Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Eagles will travel to Bristol, Tennessee next weekend for the King University Open.

CPHS Football: Sandites fall 42-21 to No. 6 Bixby on Senior Night

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The No. 8 ranked Charles Page High School football team (5-5, 3-3) suffered a 42-21 defeat in their regular season finale Friday night at Memorial Stadium. The three-time defending State Champions from No. 6 Bixby (6-4, 5-1) won their fourth-straight encounter with the Sandites to clinch a home playoff game, sending the Sandites to take on the District 1 Champions next week.

BHS 42 CPHS 21

1Q All 7-7
2Q BHS 14-0
3Q CPHS 14-0
4Q BHS 21-0

Passing: BHS 19-29-212-1, CPHS 3-12-19-1.
Rushing: BHS 42-232, CPHS 43-159.
Plays-Offense: BHS 73-444, CPHS 55-178.
First Downs: BHS 23, CPHS 15.
Penalties: BHS 4-40, CPHS 4-32.
Fumbles/Lost: BHS 0/0, CPHS 0/0.

The Sandites’ opening drive could not have been more perfect. Luke Bratcher picked up the longest kick return of the season at 45 yards, then the talented Offensive Line paved the way for Payton Scott to march the remaining 52 in only nine plays. The drive was capped by a three-yard run and Jaden Weiser kick for the 7-0 lead.

It was the Spartans’ show from there. They scored on their first possession with a ten-yard run from Tucker Pawley to conclude a seventy-yard twelve-play drive.

The Sandites punted their next possession, the Spartans turned the ball over on a fourth-down pass attempt broken up in the red zone by Lucas Adcock, and the first quarter ended 7-7.

The second quarter was a 14-0 shutout on the part of the visitors. They scored a four-yard run by Pawley on a seven-play 54-yard march. The teams exchanged punts and the Spartans marched 63 yards in eight plays with a one-yard scoring run from Pawley. Reis Vernon was three-for-three on point-after kicks, but bounced a thirty-yard field goal attempt off the uprights shortly before halftime.

After some halftime adjustments, the Sandites came out ready for action and a third-quarter shutout. Kaiden Cox’s onside kick was recovered by Garrett McCallie and the Sandites scored soon after on a four-yard run from Scott. Hayden Cramer picked off a pass on the Spartans’ drive and the Sandites scored once again on a twenty-yard run from Scott to tie the game.

The visitors went right back to work in the fourth with a shutout of their own to sabotage the Sandites' Senior Night. Pawley scored on a one yard run, Staton King sent a 47-yard touchdown pass to Cade Cavendar, then Pawley scored his fifth and final touchdown from seven yards out. 

Pawley led all offensive players with 229 yards and five touchdowns, all on the ground. King was 19-29-212-1 by air and Scott was 29-148 rushing with all three Sandite touchdowns. Cramer led the Sandite defense with thirteen tackles, closely followed by Dash Fleischman with eleven. 

The Sandites will take the No. 4 seed in District Two, meaning they will travel to No. 2 Midwest City (9-1) for the playoff quarterfinals next Friday. Midwest City went undefeated in district play and their only loss this season was a 27-24 overtime battle with No. 1 Booker T. Washington (9-1, 6-0). Bixby will play host to No. 4 Stillwater (8-2). The winners of those two games will meet at a neutral location in the semifinals. 

Sand Springs Individual Statistics

Passing: Pennington 3-12-19-1.
Receiving: McCallie 3-19.
Rushing: Scott 29-148, 3TD. Pennington 9-8. McCallie 3-2. Nortey 2-1.
PAT: Weiser 3/3.
Kick-AVG: Cox 3-28, Weiser 1-30.
Punt-AVG: Smith 5-31.
Kick Return: Bratcher 2-51, Denton 1-10, McCallie 1-10.
Tackles: Cramer 13, Fleischman 11, L. Adcock 7, Finch 6, Askew 6, Edwards 5, Mackey 5, Fain 4, Lyons 3, Bratcher 2, Naugle 1, Krotzer 1, Mock 1, Cartwright 1, Denton 1, Moyer 1, Evans 1.
Tackles For Loss: Finch 2-5, Mackey 1-4, Cramer 1-3, Moyer 1-1. 
Interceptions: Cramer 1-7.
Breakups: Edwards 2, L. Adcock 1, Lyons 1, McCallie 1.

Bixby Individual Statistics

Passing: King 19-29-212-1, 1TD.
Receiving: Cavendar 3-70, 1 TD. Presley 7-50, Riddle 6-49, Calton-Wakins 2-33, Barbour 1-10.
Rushing: Pawley 41-229, 5TD. Roller 1-4, King 2-(-1).
PAT: Vernon 5/5.
Field Goals: Vernon 0/1.
Kick-Avg: Vernon 6-42.
Punt-Avg: Vernon 1-39.
Tackles For Loss: King 1-6, #99 1-5, Farley 1-2.
Sacks: #99 1-5.
Interceptions: Tillman 1.