CPHS Cross Country: Sandites place sixth at Owasso Relays

The Charles Page High School Varsity Cross Country program competed at the Owasso Ram Charge Relays Thursday afternoon at Mohawk Park in Tulsa. The athletes took part in a six-mile run with each team member running 1.5 miles apiece. 

The varsity boys had the best showing with a sixth-place finish in 34:54.3, just 2:02 behind the champions from Jenks. The host school was the most stacked from top to bottom, placing second with their A-team and fourth with the B-team. 

The Sand Springs B-team placed 26th in 39:16.6 and the C-team placed 45th in 44:00.8. 

The Varsity Lady Sandites placed nineteenth in 47:28.4. Jenks also won the girls' competition in 40:04.6 followed by Owasso in 40:14.9. The Lady Sandite B-Team placed 29th in 51:12.6.

Sand Springs Cross Country will return to action Saturday, September 1st at the Westside Sports Complex in Sapulpa. There will be both one and two-mile runs for girls and the boys will run two miles. 

CPHS Softball: Madelyn Blair pitches 10-0 shutout of Sapulpa

Sand Springs - The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (10-4, 2-0) notched their fourth shutout of the season Thursday evening with a 10-0 rivalry beatdown of Sapulpa (2-14, 2-5) to remain undefeated in district action. 

Their second meeting of the season went much like the first, which Sand Springs won 11-0. The Sandites outhit the Chieftains ten to four and benefited from a handful of Sapulpa errors. University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma-committed senior Madelyn Blair (5-1, 24-6) got the win on the mound with three strikeouts and one walk.

Half of Sapulpa's hits came in the top of the first; a single from Jessica Hobbs and a double from Morgan DeGraffenreid. Blair had a hand in all three outs, sending two ground balls to first and catching a line drive. Makenna Skaggs scored the first run of the game on a double from Sabrina Usher in the bottom of the inning.

Felicity Horn scored on an error in the second and Kimi Presnell doubled to bring in Reagan Rector. Usher reached and scored on a pair of errors in the third. Presnell singled in the fifth to score Cameron Clemons and Rector scored on a passed ball.

Taber scored on a passed ball in the fifth, Skaggs scored Presnell and Elizabeth Luttrell on a single in the sixth, and Taber singled in Skaggs for the run rule victory.

Sand Springs Softball will take a week off before traveling to district road game in Stillwater (11-3, 1-2) next Thursday at 5:00 p.m.

OSSAA District 6A-4 Standings
4-0 Broken Arrow (13-3)
2-0 Sand Springs (10-4)
2-2 Ponca City (15-6)
2-4 Sapulpa (2-13)
1-2 Stillwater (11-3)
0-2 Putnam City North (4-15)

Jacie Taber commits to Missouri State University for softball

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This story was originally written for Vype.

Charles Page High School senior standout Jacie Taber is headed to Missouri State next summer, and hopefully to the 6A State Tournament this fall. 

Previously committed to the University of Northern Iowa, Taber decided to stay close to home and recently announced her decision to attend Missouri State University instead. 

“From the moment I went on my visit to Missouri State I fell in love with it,” says Taber. “The coaches are amazing. I knew that if I went there I would 100% succeed. Not only as a softball player but in the classroom, they do all they can to make school the biggest priority.”

Missouri State is coming off a 32-20 season with a 17-8 second place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference standings. The Bears are coached by Holly Hesse in her thirtieth season at the helm with a 749-747-2 record, five MVC regular season titles, five MVC tournament titles, and five NCAA Tournament appearances. 

“It’s such a family environment and there’s so much love shown between the coaches and the players. The emphasis they continue to put on your future and succeeding in life is so helpful. Going on my visit there felt like home and I realized that is where I want to be.”

Before she heads to Springfield, she has unfinished business in Oklahoma City. The Lady Sandites have won three-straight Regional Championships, making it to the quarterfinals the last two seasons and the finals in 2015. 

Taber finished the 2017 season with a .368 batting average, .471 slugging average, and .385 slugging average, and led her team with 32 RBI. On the mound she amassed a 2.04 ERA and 1.35 WHIP, throwing 64% strikes for a 16-3 record. She is currently .476 after 21 at-bats this season and holds a career pitching record of 30-10.

In addition to Northern Iowa and Missouri State, Taber also received offers from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, Butler Community College, Oklahoma Christian University, and the University of Southern Arkansas. 

Taber has interests in psychology and social work, but hasn’t yet decided on a major. For now, her main focus is finishing high school strong, both academically and on the diamond. 

CPHS Softball: Jenks doubles Sand Springs 10-5 thanks to Sandite errors

Jenks - After a successful weekend at the Stillwater Festival, the Charles Page High School varsity softball team saw a four game win streak come to an end at the hands of Jenks High School (11-5). Four errors and nine unearned runs handed the Trojans the non-district victory. 

Sand Springs (9-4) was first on the board as Rogers State University-commit Kimi Presnell reached on a single and scored on a ground ball from Jensen Arnold in the top of the first. They gave up that advantage immediately, allowing three runs on two errors in the bottom of the inning. 

Makenna Skaggs and Sabrina Usher hit back-to-back doubles in the third, the latter scoring the former, and Usher came home on a ground ball from Jacie Taber to tie it up. Jenks hit four singles for a pair of runs in the fourth and Dacia Sexton hit a grand slam in the fifth.

Usher scored Presnell on a single in the seventh and Taber brought in Skaggs, but a pop fly to second brought the game to an end. 

Aliyah Taff (2-2, 2-4) pitched the first five innings, tossing twelve hits and one walk. Mackenzie Bechtold (1-0) threw no hits, two strikeouts, and one walk in the sixth inning.

Sand Springs Softball will return to action Thursday at 5:30 p.m. with a district home game against their Highway 97 rivals from Sapulpa (2-13, 2-4). The Sandites are 1-0 in district action. 

CPHS Volleyball: Jenks knocks off Sand Springs 3-0

Sand Springs - The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (4-12, 3-1) suffered a 3-0 sweep at the hands of 6A No. 7 ranked Jenks (7-6) Tuesday evening at the Ed Dubie Field House, but it was far from a beat down. After losing a tough 25-14 first set the Sandites kept the Trojans on their toes in the next two. 

Sand Springs benefited from a pair of Jenks errors before falling in a 4-2 hole in set two. The Trojans scored a pair of blocks and the Sandites had a hard time keeping their powerful attacks in the court. After some quick adjustments they soon began to battle back.

A kill from Rachel Hines tied it up at 9-9 and a pair of Jenks errors gave the home team the lead till kills from Alana Broedel and Sophie Bufogle flipped the script at 16-14. Sand Springs led once more at 18-17, but Jenks took advantage of Sandite communication errors and only gave up one more point on a tipped ball from Madison Burris.

The final set was the closest of the three and the Sandites led on several occasions with eight tie scores. Cheyenne Henry and McKenzie Harris combined for a block to lead 14-13 before the Trojans claimed the edge for the duration of the bout. Jenks won the final set 25-21.

Sand Springs Volleyball will return to action Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with a non-conference road game at 5A No. 5 Coweta (10-2).

Frontier Valley Conference Standings
No. 7 Jenks (3-1)
Sand Springs (3-1)
No. 9 Broken Arrow (2-0)
Bartlesville (2-1)
No. 12 Owasso (2-1)
No. 19 Union (2-2)
No. 15 Bixby (1-1)
Booker T. Washington (0-2)
No. 16 Muskogee (0-3)
Sapulpa (0-3)

CPHS Volleyball: Lady Sandites finish sixth at Broken Arrow Tournament, beat Bartlesville 3-1

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (4-11) has been in a rough patch lately due to brutal scheduling and an unrelenting string of top-tier competitors.

They placed sixth of seven teams at the round-robin Broken Arrow Invitational this past weekend, but all five losses came to top-ten ranked 6A programs, and in the last three days they have met three top-five opponents. 

On Thursday the Lady Sandites were swept 3-0 by 4A No. 2 Victory Christian (9-3) with sets of 25-12, 25-19, and 25-13. 6A No. 2 Norman North (11-3) got a sweep Friday (25-13, 25-14, 25-14), as did No. 3 Edmond Memorial (10-1) (25-20, 25-13, 25-13). They won set three 25-23 against No. 7 Broken Arrow (4-5), but lost the others 25-9, 25-20, and 25-15. 

The streak finally came to a close with a 3-1 win over Bartlesville (2-6), who they also defeated in conference play earlier this month. After suffering a 25-9 clobbering in the first set, the Lady Sandites surged back to win 25-20, 25-19, and 25-22. That momentum carried into the rest of the day and they made a commendable effort against their next two opponents. 

Sand Springs got off to an incredible start against No. 6 Edmond North (9-5), taking a 5-0 lead with two aces from Madison Burris and two kills from Vanessa Wyrick with Devree Youngblood assisting. Cloe Campfield made it 7-1 with an ace and the Sandites held their distance comfortably till a five-point run made it 16-15. Wyrick broke that steak up with a kill, but the Huskies went right back to it and came from behind for a 25-19 victory.

Morgan Goerke served an ace and an error to start the second set, then Lily DeGrace and Youngblood traded kills. Campfield notched an ace for a 3-2 lead and the game tied three times before the Huskies put it in the bag. An eight point run put it at 17-7 in Edmond’s favor and the Sandites never recovered, falling 25-14.

Game three was a beat down right out of the gate. Edmond took a 2-0 lead, Raylynn Mong aced to tie it, DeGrace posted a block and Cheyenne Henry tied it with a kill. Then the Huskies went on an eight point run with four aces from Sarah Holmes. Holmes finally made an error, but Kamryn Bacus picked it up from there with a kill and three aces before Youngblood hit a kill.

The Lady Sandites began to stage a comeback with a four-point run and a pair of kills from Henry, cutting it to 18-12. DeGrace scored two of her own, then Sand Springs went on a ten point run. Henry scored a kill and a block, Youngblood scored a pair of kills, and Mong served three aces for the 22-20 lead. The Huskies wouldn’t have an upset on their hands, however, and surged back for the 25-23 win.

No. 10 Southmoore (4-6) took a commanding 8-3 lead in their first game against the Sandites and rolled steadily forward for a 25-16 victory. .

The second set was far more competitive with the Sandites in control for most of the action. Mong scored back to back aces for the lead at 5-3 and Sand Springs looked to be in good shape in the final stretch. But the Sabercats came from a 19-13 deficit to win it 25-22. 

Westmoore took an 11-8 lead in the final game with a four point run and never looked back in another 25-16 win. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. with a home battle against Frontier Valley foe No. 8 Jenks (7-6, 2-1). 

Tournament Match Results
Norman North 3-0 Sand Springs (25-13, 25-14, 25-14)
Norman North 3-0 Bartlesville (25-12, 25-21, 25-13)
Norman North 3-0 Southmoore (25-14, 26-24, 26-24)
Norman North 3-2 Edmond Memorial (25-22, 15-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-13)
Norman North 3-2 Edmond North (25-22, 25-18, 20-25, 22-25, 15-12)
Edmond Memorial 3-1 Southmoore (15-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-14)
Edmond Memorial 3-0 Sand Springs (25-20, 25-13, 25-13)
Edmond Memorial 3-0 Broken Arrow (25-23, 25-23, 27-25)
Edmond Memorial 3-0 Edmond North (25-20, 25-13, 25-16)
Edmond Memorial 3-0 Bartlesville (25-13, 25-16, 25-11)
Edmond North 3-2 Broken Arrow (25-19, 22-25, 22-25, 25-16, 16-14)
Edmond North 3-2 Southmoore (22-25, 25-20, 24-26, 25-13, 15-11)
Edmond North 3-0 Bartlesville (25-18, 25-11, 25-14)
Edmond North 3-0 Sand Springs (25-19, 25-14, 25-23)
Broken Arrow 3-1 Sand Springs (25-9, 25-20, 23-25, 25-15)
Broken Arrow 3-1 Southmoore (25-11, 25-14, 19-25, 25-18)
Broken Arrow 3-0 Bartlesville (25-13, 25-11, 25-18)
Southmoore 3-1 Bartlesville (22-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-11)
Southmoore 3-0 Sand Springs (25-16, 25-22, 25-16)
Sand Springs 3-1 Bartlesville (25-9, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22)

Tournament Placement

1. 6A No. 2 Norman North (6-0)
2. 6A No. 3 Edmond Memorial (5-1)
3. 6A No. 6 Edmond North (4-2)
4. 6A No. 7 Broken Arrow (3-3)
5. 6A No. 10 Southmoore (2-4)
6. Sand Springs (1-5)
7. Bartlesville (0-6)

Frontier Valley Standings
(3-0) Sand Springs (4-11)
(2-0) No. 7 Broken Arrow (5-6)
(2-1) No. 8 Jenks (7-6)
(2-1) No. 11 Owasso (3-2)
(2-1) Bartlesville (2-9)
(2-2) No. 18 Union (3-7)
(1-1) No. 15 Bixby (5-4)
(0-2) Booker T. Washington (2-4)
(0-3) No. 20 Muskogee (10-5)
(0-3) Sapulpa (0-3)