CPHS Softball: Sandites go 1-2 at Kellyville Festival, run-rule Okmulgee 13-0 in two innings

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The Class 6A No. 13 ranked Charles Page High School slow pitch softball team (1-2) made their season debut last week, placing third out of four teams at the Kellyville Festival.

The Lady Sandites fell 15-11 to 5A No. 7 Kellyville (8-2) and 12-8 to 5A No. 2 Heavener (7-0) before winning a 13-0 shutout against Okmulgee (0-5) on Tuesday. 

Felicity Horn doubled to score Madelyn Blair, Rachel Jones scored Makenna Skaggs, and Kimi Presnell scored Horn in the second inning against Kellyville. Presnell hit a home run to score Jensen Arnold in the fourth, then Arnold hit a homer in the top of the fifth. Horn doubled again to score Skaggs in the fifth and the girls went runless in the sixth. Skaggs singled in Arnold and Elizabeth Luttrell in the seventh, but it wasn't enough and the Ponies prevailed 15-11. 

Heavener worked up a 9-0 lead with three home runs by the time the Sandites got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Jacie Taber hit a solo home run to kick things off, then Sabrina Usher scored Kinsey Skaggs and Presnell in the fifth. Luttrell scored Usher and Madelyn Blair scored Drew Hawkins to cut the gap to 9-5. Heavener hit two more homers for a seven-run lead, and it came down to the bottom of the seventh. Arnold homered in Taber, then Luttrell hit a homer for the final run of the game before the comeback attempt fell short.

The final round of the festival was a slaughter as Okmulgee fell 14-0 in only two innings. Presnell and Usher hit back-to-back home runs on the first two pitches of the game to set the tone for the battle to come. Arnold doubled in Taber, Jones walked on loaded bases, Hawkins scored two on a single, then Mackenzie Bechtold scored a sacrifice for a 7-0 lead. In the second inning Arnold scored a 3RBI homer to put the game in double-digits, Bechtold and Taber batted in runs, and the Bulldogs went runless in the second inning to end the game by run-rule. 

CPHS Softball: Kimi Presnell commits to Rogers State University

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Charles Page High School junior Kimi Presnell recently announced her commitment to play collegiate softball at Rogers State University. 

RSU is an NCAA Division II program based in Claremore, Oklahoma that currently competes in the Heartland Conference. Heartland is slated to dissolve in the 2019 season, at which point the Hillcats will join the Lone Star Conference.

The Hillcats went 28-24 in 2017 and finished seventh in conference standings. At press time the 2018 Hillcats are 23-5. Head Coach Andrea Vaughan is in her third year leading the program, taking over in 2016 after the team went 14-31. She is 68-64 overall and led the 2017 team to their first winning record since 2013. 

Presnell batted an incredible .522 during the 2017 fall fast pitch season with a .761 slugging average and .532 on-base percentage. She hit thirty singles, fifteen doubles, two triples, one home run, sixteen RBI, and seven sacrifices. She also stole twelve bases and scored 32 runs. 

A three-year varsity team member, Presnell has seen the OSSAA 6A State Tournament all three years. The Lady Sandites made it as far as the Finals in 2015, falling 4-3 to Choctaw in the Championship. She also plays for the Tulsa ELITE amateur softball organization.  

CPHS Softball: Cameron Clemons commits to Southern Arkansas University

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Charles Page High School junior Cameron Clemons on Wednesday announced her commitment to play collegiate softball for Southern Arkansas University. 

The SAU Muleriders are an NCAA Division II program based in Magnolia, Arkansas, competing in the Great American Conference which includes six Arkansas schools and six Oklahoma schools. 

Head Coach Jason Anderson is in his fourth year at SAU, holding a 125-53 record with the Muleriders, and a 432-126 record over ten years of coaching. In the 2017 season the Muleriders went 46-18 and finished second in conference play. They went 1-2 in last season's NCAA Central Region Tournament. At press time, the 2018 program is 21-3 overall and 10-2 in conference.

Clemons batted .271 in the 2017 fast pitch season with a .386 slugging average and .326 on-base percentage. She hit thirteen singles, five doubles, one home run, thirteen RBI, and eleven sacrifices, and scored twenty runs. 

A three-year varsity team member, Clemons has seen the OSSAA 6A State Tournament all three years. The Lady Sandites made it as far as the Finals in 2015, falling 4-3 to Choctaw in the Championship. She also plays for the Tulsa ELITE amateur softball organization.  

CPHS Basketball: Colt Savage named All-Conference First Team, Eric Savage Coach of the Year

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Cale, Colt, and Eric Savage celebrate after qualifying for the Sandites' first State Tournament appearance in half a century. (Photo: Morgan Miller).

The Charles Page High School boys' basketball team is still celebrating their most successful season in more than half a century. After making their first State Tournament appearance since 1963, the Sandites saw their leading scorer named to the Frontier Valley All-Conference First Team, and their Head Coach named the Conference Coach of the Year. 

Eric Savage, in his fifth season at the helm of the Sandite program, was named Frontier Valley Conference Coach of the Year after taking the boys to a 19-8 record. The three-time 5A State Champion coach came from Tulsa Memorial High School with a 305-93 record to take over a program that had gone 1-21 the year prior. Since then he has gone 65-62 overall and 6-9 in the playoffs. 

Savage's sidekick through the past four years was his eldest son, University of Central Oklahoma-committed senior Colt Savage, who was named to the All-Conference First Team. Sophomore standout Davon Richardson was also key to the Sandites' success, and was named to the All-Conference third Team.

The Sandites finished the season ranked tenth in Class 6A. They went undefeated at the Tulsa Memorial Invitational, placed third at the Duncan Holiday Classic, second at the Regional Tournament, and won the Area Consolation Championship 55-53 over No. 8 Owasso. They gave No. 2 Norman North a run for their money before falling 51-44 in the State Quarterfinals. The Sandites finished fourth in conference standings.

Top Ten Sandite Performances (Points)
44 Richardson 2/9 vs. Owasso
35 Savage 12/15 vs. Redemption
34 Savage 12/19 vs. Owasso
31 Savage 1/30 vs. Bixby
28 Savage 12/5 vs. Sapulpa
27 Savage 12/27 vs. U.S. Grant
25 Richardson 2/16 vs. Bishop Kelley
25 Savage 1/12 vs. Ponca City
25 Savage 2/2 vs. Sapulpa
25 Savage 2/13 vs. Jenks
25 Savage 2/24 vs. Jenks

Frontier Valley Conference Results
13-1 Broken Arrow (25-3)
12-2 Union (22-5)
11-3 Owasso (21-6)
9-5 Sand Springs (19-8)
6-8 Muskogee (9-15)
6-8 Sapulpa (14-10)
4-10 Bishop Kelley (13-14)
4-10 Bartlesville (9-17)
3-11 Jenks (8-16)
2-12 Bixby (7-17)

The Central Oklahoma Conference went 19-18 in the post-season and had the most first-round success of any conference. Norman North, Edmond Santa Fe, and Edmond Memorial won Regional Championships while Edmond North, Westmoore, Norman, Southmoore, and Deer Creek came in runner-up. Norman North and Edmond Santa Fe won Area titles and Edmond Memorial won Area Consolation. Norman North made it to the State semifinals and Santa Fe came in State Runner-Up.

The Big Ten went 11-9 in the posts-season. Putnam City West and Putnam City North won Regional Championships and Midwest City came in Runner-Up to place three in Area. All three lost their first-round Area games. The Putnam schools won the Consolation brackets and North went on to win the State Tournament 65-58 over Edmond Santa Fe.

Frontier Valley went 13-12 in the post-season with Regional Champions in Broken Arrow, Union, and Owasso. Sand Springs came in Runner-Up at Regionals and won the Area Consolation bracket 55-53 over Owasso. Broken Arrow and Union won Area titles and Broken Arrow advanced to the semifinals at State.

Shawnee, the only 6A team in the Suburban Conference, went 0-1 in their first season at the highest division. U.S. Grant and Capitol Hill went 0-2 as the only 6A teams in the All-City Conference.

Top Offenses (Avg. Points Scored)
74.2 Putnam City West
73.6 Midwest City
71.1 Putnam City North
69.4 Edmond Santa Fe
68.3 Broken Arrow
60.0 Norman North
67.8 Sapulpa
67.1 Capitol Hill
66.7 Owasso
66.3 Putnam City

Avg. Margin of Victory
18.0 Broken Arrow
15.7 Union
13.9 Putnam City West
12.9 Norman North
12.1 Owasso
11.5 Putnam City North
10.8 Midwest City
9.8 Edmond Santa Fe
7.0 Sand Springs
6.2 Putnam City

Top Defenses (Avg. Points Allowed)
50.2 Union
50.2 Broken Arrow
50.3 Edmond Memorial
51.1 Stillwater
54.3 Westmoore
54.5 Sand Springs
54.6 Owasso
55.1 Norman North
55.3 Mustang
55.9 Edmond North

Winningest Teams
25-3 Broken Arrow
25-3 Norman North
25-5 Putnam City North
22-5 Union
21-6 Owasso
22-7 Edmond Santa Fe
20-7 Putnam City West
19-8 Midwest City
19-8 Sand Springs
15-9 Norman

CPHS Basketball: Kersgieter and Johnson named All-Conference First Team

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Charles Page High School juniors Destiny Johnson (left) and Holly Kersgieter (right) were named to the Frontier Valley Conference First Team for the 2017-2018 season. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

The Charles Page High School girls' basketball team recently wrapped up a successful 18-8 season with a 3-1 post-season record and State Tournament appearance. The team, which didn't include a single senior, had two players named to the All-Frontier Valley Conference First Team, and received two honorable mentions. 

University of Kansas-commit Holly Kersgieter and Destiny Johnson, who also has Division One offers, were both First Team honorees. Isabella Regalado and Jacie Taber were given honorable mentions. All four are juniors. Taber is a University of Northern Iowa softball commit. 

The Sandites started the season with an eight game win streak and won the Bishop Kelley Invitational for the third-straight season. The girls hit a rough patch from there, going winless at the Tournament of Champions as part of a 5-7 run before getting back on track with a five-game win streak on their way to the OSSAA 6A State Tournament. 

2017-2018 Lady Sandite Season Statistics

The No. 13 ranked Lady Sandites won their Regional Tournament 60-51 over the host team, No. 10 Bixby, then upset previously undefeated FVC Champions No. 2 Bartlesville 53-42 at Area before falling 51-38 to the defending State Champions from No. 6 Choctaw in the State quarterfinals. They also finished third in conference action with an 11-3 record, and were 6-1 at home. 

Top-Ten Lady Sandite Performances (Points)
31 - Johnson 11/28 vs. Ponca City
29 - Kersgieter 12/12 vs. Union
28 - Kersgieter 12/5 vs. Sapulpa
27 - Kersgieter 12/9 vs. Norman North
26 - Johnson 1/30 vs. Bixby
25 - Johnson 12/12 vs. Union
25 - Johnson 2/22 vs. Stillwater
23 - Regalado 1/9 vs. Jenks
23 - Johnson 2/6 vs. Jenks
23 - Kersgieter 1/9 vs. Jenks
23 - Kersgieter 2/2 vs. Sapulpa

Frontier Valley Conference Results
14-0 Bartlesville (26-2)
11-3 Owasso (26-3)
11-3 Sand Springs (18-8)
10-4 Bixby (20-8)
7-7 Sapulpa (12-12)
6-8 Jenks (11-13)
5-9 Union (8-16)
4-10 Broken Arrow (6-18)
2-12 Bishop Kelley (5-18)
0-14 Muskogee (2-22)
 

6A Conference Performances

The Frontier Valley Conference had the best post-season performance, amassing a 15-10 record. Bartlesville, Sand Springs, and Owasso won their Regional tournaments, while Bixby came in Runner-Up to advance four to Area. Sand Springs and Owasso won Area Championships while Bixby and Bartlesville won Area Consolation brackets to place four teams in the State Tournament. Owasso won their second State Title ever, and first since 1990.

The Big Ten went 11-9 in the post-season. Putnam City West and Choctaw won Regional Tournaments while Midwest City came in Runner-Up. Putnam City West won the Area Championship and Choctaw won the Area Consolation bracket. Both won their quarterfinal games at State, then Putnam West topped Choctaw to advance to the finals, falling 53-51 to Owasso. 

Shawnee, in their first year at 6A, was the only top-division team from the Suburban Conference. They represented their mostly-5A conference well, coming in Runner-Up in both Regionals and Area Consolation. 

Central Oklahoma went 15-19 in the post-season and had the most Area performances of any conference. Westmoore, Edmond Memorial, and Edmond Santa Fe won Regional Championships, while Deer Creek, Norman North, Norman, Mustang, and Edmond North came in Runner-Up for eight Area Qualifiers. Edmond Santa Fe won the Area Championship and Edmond Memorial won the Consolation bracket. Santa Fe advanced to the Semifinals and fell 48-43 to Owasso.

U.S. Grant and Capitol Hill went 0-2 as the only two 6A teams from the All-City Conference.

Top Offenses (Avg. Points Scored)
71.8 Putnam City West
62.5 Westmoore
57.5 Edmond Santa Fe
57.3 Ponca City
56.5 Choctaw
55.5 Sand Springs
54.7 Jenks
54.3 Bartlesville
54.0 Yukon
53.8 Deer Creek

Top Defenses (Avg. Points Allowed)
33.0 Shawnee
35.6 Bartlesville
39.4 Moore
39.6 Owasso
41.0 Ponca City
41.3 Mustang
41.4 Choctaw
41.7 Edmond Memorial
42.8 Edmond North
44.2 Bixby

Avg. Margin of Victory
25.3 Putnam City West
18.6 Bartlesville
16.3 Ponca City
15.1 Choctaw
13.6 Shawnee
13.3 Westmoore
13.1 Owasso
9.8 Moore
9.5 Edmond North
8.3 Sand Springs

Winningest Teams
26-2 Bartlesville
26-3 Owasso
24-4 Putnam City West
22-5 Shawnee
23-6 Choctaw
21-6 Westmoore
21-7 Edmond Santa Fe
20-8 Edmond Memorial
20-8 Bixby
18-8 Sand Springs

CPHS Soccer: Sandites split at Edison, boys win 3-2 in shootout

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Jack Bratcher scored the first goal of the night in a 3-2 shootout win over Tulsa Edison. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

The Charles Page High School girls' soccer team (2-1) suffered their first defeat of the season Tuesday evening at LaFortune Stadium, falling 5-0 to Edison Preparatory School (3-3) in a non-district match. The Sandite boys (3-3) won an overtime shootout to avenge last Friday's 2-0 tournament loss.

Cassie Lopez scored in the thirteenth minute with an assist from Jade Belauste, then Claudia Garcia scored on a corner kick with an assist from a strong headwind. 

Freshman keeper Alison Day notched a pair of impressive saves in the 31st minute, but Garcia struck again with 26 seconds left for a 3-0 halftime lead.

Things didn't improve much in the second half as Belauste kicked things off with a goal at 42:10. The Sandites averted any further goals, but Lopez was fouled in the box in the 78th minute and Caroline Fualkner made the penalty kick for the final score. 

The boys' team got off to a great start with a goal from Jack Bratcher at 14:40. Fernando Saldana was pushed down from behind in the middle of a great run and made his penalty kick at 15:35 for the 2-0 advantage. 

Edison (2-3) began to rally from there. William Dedios sent a high-sailing free kick that bounced off a Sandite's head and nearly went in, had it not been for a diving save from freshman keeper Xander Quiroga. Matthew Cuellar scored the first Eagle goal at 18:13 to make it a one-point game.

Luke Jeffus had a beautiful free kick that was well out of reach of the keeper, but it barely nicked the post and spit back out. Instead, Danny Morales tied it up with two seconds left in the half. 

The second half went scoreless for both teams, and Ethan Tippit recorded a save with nine seconds remaining to send the match into a shootout. 

Jeffus and Saldana notched the first two kicks for Sand Springs, while Cuellar and Nathan Ronquillo tied it up for the Eagles. Bratcher's kick was blocked, but Tippit made a one-handed play on Tucker Falling's ball to keep the teams all knotted up. David Fancher scored for the Sandites, John Holder sent his kick over the top of the goal, and Cameron Summerton sealed the victory. 

Sand Springs will return to action Thursday with non-district home matches against Nathan Hale High School. Edison will host Siloam Springs on Thursday.