Sand Springs Weekly Sports Roundup: Lady Sandite Soccer Routs Muskogee 7-0

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Sand Springs Baseball (3-2, 0-2) hit a hiccup against the top-ranked Owasso Rams (7-0, 4-0) to start district action, falling 5-0 on Monday and 2-0 on Tuesday.

Oklahoma State commit Brennan Phillips tossed eight strikeouts and no walks against the Sandites on Monday, with Jacob Shields recording the Sandites’ only two hits. 

Jabe Schlehuber threw eight strikeouts for the Sandites on Tuesday and the Sandites combined for five hits but couldn’t bring anyone home. 

They got back in the win column on Thursday with a 7-1 win over Carl Albert (3-4) at the Owasso Festival. 

Jace Arnold surrendered only three hits over five innings while Ty Pennington went three-for-three at the plate with two runs and two RBI.

The Sandites had their Friday game against Berryhill canceled and will return to action Monday at the Best of the West tournament in Arizona.

Golf

The boys golf team competed at Muskogee on Monday and Skiatook on Wednesday. Mason Ward led the team with a score of 85 at each event. 

Muskogee (374): Mason Ward 85, Zane Downey 90, Seth Benton 96, Drew Paden 103, Cameron Villines 105.

Skiatook (346): Mason Ward 85, Zane Downey 86, Cameron Villines 87, Seth Benton 88, Drew Paden 97.

Soccer

The boys soccer team is still looking for its first win of the season after falling 3-2 Tuesday against Muskogee and Thursday at Bartlesville.

The Lady Sandites won a 7-0 rout of Muskogee led by a four-goal performance from Ava Watts and three assists from Karsen Lynch. Evelin Marino, Carson Sargent, and Alyssa Cunningham also scored goals, and Allie Wright and Kasandra Burgess also had assists.

On Thursday they suffered their first loss 3-2 in an injury-ridden trip to Bartlesville despite a two-goal effort from Stanfill with an assist from Watts.

The Sandites will take spring break off and return to action on the 22nd at Bixby.

Lady Sandite Dream Season Comes Up Short; Future Looks Bright

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

For the first time since 2017, the Sand Springs girls basketball team made it as far as the State semifinals before its season came to an end.

The Sandites (23-4) won a 48-38 quarterfinal matchup with West No. 2 Choctaw (22-3) Thursday night at the Carl Albert Field House before falling 55-35 to No. 1 Edmond North (28-1) Friday afternoon at OU’s Lloyd Noble Center.

The Sandites trailed 8-7 after the first quarter against Choctaw, but early in the second period uncommitted senior star Journey Armstead hit a three-pointer to surpass 1,500 career points, and Layne Kirkendoll hit a putback for their first lead of the game.

The bucket was Armstead’s first of the game after going scoreless in the first quarter, but she was unstoppable after that.

“I kept on shooting but my shots weren’t falling,” said Armstead. “We were nervous at first but I had to get our rhythm going, step up, and when I got the opportunity to shoot I had to take it.”

“She’s special,” said Sandite head coach Josh Berry. “She doesn’t get the credit she deserves…the girl just keeps rolling.”

Mya Purifoy briefly lifted her team back on top, but Kirkendoll added another basket, Armstead hit two layups, and the Sandites never trailed again. 

The Sandites took a 24-17 advantage into halftime and won the second half 24-21.

Armstead hit the final bucket of the evening to finish the game with 17 points, and Kirkendoll added a career-high 14 for the Sandites.

On Friday the Sandites had to face the tournament frontrunners from Edmond North (28-1) who previously defeated Sand Springs 56-32 at the Jenks/Union Invitational in January. 

The Huskies routed Stillwater 72-37 in their quarterfinal game, then beat East No. 1 Bixby 59-57 in overtime for their first-ever State title on Saturday.

Taiona Morris hit a three-pointer to open the game but the Huskies scored six in a row and never trailed again. 

Down 18 after three quarters, the Sandites went on a 10-2 run to make it 43-33 with 4:02 to play, but the Huskies went on a 12-2 run of their own to end the game.

Jackson scored 11 to lead the Sandites and Armstead added 9.

The Sandites will graduate Armstead, Kirkendoll, and Leyshia Morris this year. 

Armstead scored 1525 points in her career, including 1153 in her three years at Sand Springs after playing for East Central as a freshman. She averaged 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.7 steals this year.

Kirkendoll averaged six points, 6.5 rebounds, and two blocks per game with a team-best field goal percentage. Morris averaged 3.3 points and 2.4 rebounds.

Next year’s Sandites will be led by Jackson, who averaged 13.9 points, six rebounds, and 1.5 steals in her junior year. She led the team on 12 occasions with three double-doubles and a career-best 31-point performance against Broken Arrow.

Sophomores Taiona Morris, Sakauri Wilson, and Kiaryn Taylor will also be expected to make a big impact. Morris averaged 5.7 points, Wilson added 5.6, and Taylor had 2.9. Taylor and Fayth Walker will be the frontrunners to compete for the two vacant starting spots. 

CPHS 48 Choctaw 38
1Q: Choctaw 8-7.
2Q: CPHS 17-7.
3Q: Choctaw 11-10.
4Q: CPHS 14-10.

Scoring: (CPHS) Armstead 17, Kirkendoll 14, Jackson 7, T. Morris 3, Taylor 3. (Choctaw) Hunt 12, Adams 8, Jackson 7, Gasaway 5, Smith 4, Purifoy 2. 

EDN 55 CPHS 35
1Q: EDN 10-5.
2Q: EDN 20-7.
3Q: All 11-11.
4Q: EDN 14-12.

Scoring: (CPHS) Jackson 13, Armstead 9, T. Morris 6, Wilson 4, Kirkendoll 3. (EDN) Steele 21, E. Papahronis 14, Heathcock 9, T. Papahronis 7, Franklin 4.

Lady Sandites Place Fourth at First Girls Powerlifting State Meet

Courtesy of Kevin Avey.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Anyone who watched Jaden “JJ” Jordan on the softball field as a sophomore can testify to the strength of the .743 slugger. Now a junior, Jordan is starring in a brand new sport. 

In her first year of competition in girls powerlifting, Jordan finished as a State runner-up and led her team to a fourth-place finish at the State meet. 

When strength and conditioning coach Kevin Avey saw her strength in the gym last winter, he knew she was special. In fact, her numbers on squat, bench, and deadlift were higher than last season’s state champion in girls powerlifting. 

“I looked it up and last year, she would have won State,” said Avey. “So I said, you know what, next year we’re going to do this. And then it just kind of expanded.”

Mikah Hampton and Melanie Skelly joined up and the Sandites competed at their first OGPCA meet in Nowata this January. 

“I realized that with three girls we weren’t going to do very well as a team,” said Avey. “So I started recruiting even more and I got four more right at the end of January.”

As the strength coach for all of the district’s athletic programs, Avey already knew which girls would be the most competitive in their weight classes, and who would be most interested.

He recruited Ashley Blake and Madison Thompson from cheer, Kasidy Holland from volleyball, and Carson Sargent from soccer in time for the Catoosa Invitational. There, the Sandites took seventh place with Jordan winning all three events.

The team improved to fourth place at the Dickson Invitational with Jordan and Holland finishing as runners-up. 

Then, at the North Regional, the team finished second with Jordan winning deadlift and squat, and placing second in bench. 

Jordan, Hampton, and Thompson all qualified for the 6th annual State meet on Monday, March 7th, at Dickson High School in Ardmore.

Jordan was second overall at heavyweight, placing fourth in squat, third in bench, and second in deadlift at 405 pounds.

Hampton placed sixth overall at 108, third in squat, and was first in bench with 120 pounds. 

Thompson was just ten pounds shy of placing in the top-ten at 198 pounds.

The Sandites are also poised to see increased participation next year. Avey coaches more than 60 girls in the high school strength program and has a growing junior high program as well. Several underclassmen have already expressed interest in joining the powerlifting team next year.

“After Jaden, there were two other girls that had quit their sports and were still wanting to do something. And I’ve got seven already that have asked about it for next year, and I know one of them doesn’t do any sports.”

“So my idea is just for more athletes to just come and do something as opposed to nothing. Yeah Carson Sargent and Kasidy, they can do another sport - we all welcome them in. But my real main focus is let’s get more people involved and get them lifting and exercising. It opens up so many avenues while they’re in high school but especially when they graduate.”

The program is also a great opportunity for athletes who want to compete but aren’t seeing a whole lot of minutes in their primary sports. 

“In whatever sport it is, there’s only nine, five, eleven players on the field at a time,” said Avey. “In powerlifting, you can take as many as want to go.”

For now, there’s no immediate plans to start a boys team, though a few guys have expressed interest.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” said Avey. “I started with Jaden then went to two girls, then went to seven, now there’s seven more wanting to do it. I’m just trying to figure out how to make it better.”

Lady Sandites top Choctaw 48-38 in State Quarterfinals, Armstead surpasses 1500 career points

For the first time since 2017, the Sand Springs girls’ basketball team is headed to the State tournament semifinals after a 48-38 Thursday night win over 6A-West No. 2 Choctaw (22-3) at the Carl Albert High School Field House.

The Sandites trailed 8-7 after the first quarter, but early in the second period uncommitted senior star Journey Armstead hit a three-pointer to surpass 1,500 career points, and Layne Kirkendoll hit a putback for their first lead of the game.

The bucket was Armstead’s first of the game after going scoreless in the first quarter, but she was unstoppable after that.

“I kept on shooting but my shots weren’t falling,” said Armstead. “We were nervous at first but I had to get our rhythm going, step up, and when I got the opportunity to shoot I had to take it.”

“She’s special,” said Sandite head coach Josh Berry. “She doesn’t get the credit she deserves…the girl just keeps rolling.”

Mya Purifoy briefly lifted her team back on top, but Kirkendoll added another basket, Armstead hit two layups, and the Sandites never trailed again.

Ranked No. 2 on the East side of the state, the Sandites improved to 23-3 after taking a 24-17 advantage into halftime and winning the second half 24-21.

Sakauri Wilson took a steal coast to coast with 50 seconds left to make it 46-36. Kylee Hunt hit a pair of free throws for the Yellowjackets, then Armstead hit the final bucket of the evening to finish the game with 17 points.

Kirkendoll added 14 for the Sandites, and Hunt was the only Yellowjacket in double digits with 12.

Sand Springs will get a rematch with West No. 1 Edmond North (26-1) who previously defeated the Sandites 56-32 at the Jenks/Union Invitational in January. The Huskies routed Stillwater 72-37 in their quarterfinal game.

“It’s like David going against Goliath out there,” said Berry. “We lace them up just like they do. It’s the State tournament. It’s one game, one day; anything can happen. We’re going to go out there and play hard and we’re gonna see what’s going to happen.”

“The first game, you learn from it. And hopefully we do and we’ll see if we get better from it.”

The semifinal matchup will be played at noon at the Lloyd Noble Center on the campus of the University of Oklahoma.

CPHS 48 Choctaw 38
1Q: Choctaw 8-7.
2Q: CPHS 17-7.
3Q: Choctaw 11-10.
4Q: CPHS 14-10.

Free Throws: CPHS 5-of-11, Choctaw 12-of-17.
Field Goals: CPHS 20-of-39, Choctaw 12-of-38.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 3, Choctaw 6.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 13, Choctaw 12.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 16, Choctaw 18.
Steals: CPHS 6, Choctaw 2.
Blocks: CPHS 2, Choctaw 2.
Fouls: CPHS 15, Choctaw 13.

Scoring: (CPHS) Armstead 17, Kirkendoll 14, Jackson 7, T. Morris 3, Taylor 3. (Choctaw) Hunt 12, Adams 8, Jackson 7, Gasaway 5, Smith 4, Purifoy 2.

Sand Springs Weekly Sports Roundup: Baseball Starts Season With Wins

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Baseball

The Sandite baseball team is off to a strong start on the season, winning its first two games 11-0 against Shawnee and 9-2 against Yukon. 

Jabe Schlehuber and Kayden Campbell combined for eight strikeouts in a no-hitter against the Wolves in Friday’s season-opener. Dom Ornelas went three-for-three at the plate with a double and a home run for 5 RBI.

Schlehuber went four-for-four at the plate on Saturday with two doubles and a homer, and Ornelas and Keaton Campbell also hit home runs.

Boys Basketball

The Sandites wrapped up a 5-18 season with a 69-54 loss at Putnam City West in the Regional playoffs. Cale Askew scored 14 points, Ethan Oakley scored 12, and JD Dickson added 10.

Soccer

The Lady Sandite soccer team won its opening week of matches, coming back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to beat NOAH 4-3 on Tuesday before routing Coweta 5-1 on Thursday.

Karsen Lynch scored two goals, and Lauren Foster and Lainey Stanfill also scored against NOAH. Ava Watts posted a hat trick against Coweta and Stanfill scored twice. Christina Thompson got the wins at goalie.

The boys are still looking for their first win of the Brent Lollis era, falling 4-2 to NOAH and 2-0 to Coweta.

Golf

The boys golf team placed sixth at the Olive Wildcats Golf Classic in Sapulpa. Mason Ward shot 81 to tie for tenth, Seth Benton shot 87, Drew Paden 93, Zack Downey 93, Hunter Brenner 99, Sidney Horton 101, Jacob Halpain 116. Madison Chambers shot 114 as the lone Lady Sandite.

Tennis

The boys tennis team placed 16th at the Jenks tournament led by Connor Shipman with a 13th finish in #2 Singles.

Track and Field

The Sand Springs girls placed 10th and the boys took 15th at the season-opening Owasso Track Invitational.

Freshman star Lainey Stanfill placed fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.79 and was third in the 200 in 26.69. Jazmin Lopez paced fifth in the 800 in 2:33.38.

Bowling

The Sand Springs boys bowling team placed second at Regionals and third at State.

Girls Powerlifting

The girls powerlifting team placed second at the North Regional with Jaden Jordan winning squat, deadlift, and overall at heavyweight. Jordan squatted 335, deadlifted 380, and benched 155 to qualify for State. Madison Thompson placed fourth at 198 and Mikah Hampton placed fifth at 108 to qualify. 

Sand Springs Girls Basketball wins Area Championship 50-46 against Putnam City West

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

For the seventeenth time in school history and the first time since 2019, the Sand Springs girls basketball team is headed to State. 

The 6A-East No. 2 Lady Sandites (22-3) won their seventh Area Championship in school history 52-46 against No. 3 Putnam City West (19-6) in front of a rowdy Thursday night crowd at Will Rogers High School.

The Patriots trailed 46-35 halfway through the final period but clawed their way back to make it a one-score game in the closing moments. 

Hailey Jackson scored an easy layup for the last bucket of the game on a pass from Leyshia Morris with 19 seconds to play, then the Sandites got a turnover with 12 seconds remaining when Kierra Brown was whistled for palming the ball.

Morris inbounded the ball to Journey Armstead who ran out the clock and cemented her team in the Sandite history books.

It was an emotional night for Sand Springs coach Josh Berry, who got his head coaching start at Rogers in 2010. This will be his first trip to State with a girls’ team since taking the Ropers there in 2011.

“This is a big moment for me, for them,” said Berry. “I’m proud. I told them to just leave it all out there and I think they did that.”

Sand Springs never once trailed in the game and the Patriots only tied it once at 8-8 late in the first quarter. Kiaryn Taylor made a buzzer-beating putback to end the first stanza 12-8.

Sakauri Wilson scored five free throws in a nine-point run early in the second quarter that gave the Sandites their first double-digit lead at 21-10, and they took a comfortable 29-21 advantage into the locker room.

Putnam West hit the gas in the fourth quarter and won the second half, but the Sandites did just enough to stay on top. 

The highly physical game saw 42 fouls, including 24 in the first half. Caya Smith fouled out with 1:43 in the third quarter and Shamar Bert fouled out with 1:09 left to play. 

“I thought we did what we needed to do to win,” said Berry. “I don’t think it was the prettiest game on either side, but I’ll take the win whatever which way we can get it.”

No Sandites fouled out of the game, but most of the team was in foul trouble, and Wilson and Jackson ended the night with four apiece.

“I trust the ones that are coming in off the bench,” said Berry. “They can go in and they can do what they need to do when we do get in foul trouble. We’ve got a little bit of depth over there.” 

All seven Sandites who saw action earned their way into the scorebook, led by Jackson with 16 points and 6 rebounds, and Armstead with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

“That’s what I told them, we’ve got to do it by committee. That’s the beauty of this year’s team; it’s not just one person that has to score all the points. A lot of them are able to do it, and so we’re just proud of them.”

Brooklyn Fisher scored 16 apiece to lead the Patriots, followed by Brown with 13. 

Sand Springs will return to action Thursday, March 10th at the University of Oklahoma’s Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, where they’ll begin the hunt for their first gold ball since 1994.

Putnam West will play No. 9 Stillwater (13-13) in the Area consolation finals Saturday at 3:00 p.m. at Will Rogers. Stillwater won its Area game 75-73 over No. 5 Tahlequah (22-3). 

CPHS 50 PCW 46
1Q: CPHS 12-8.
2Q: CPHS 17-13.
3Q: PCW 10-9.
4Q: PCW 15-12.
Free Throws: CPHS 19-of-29, PCW 10-of-22.
Field Goals: CPHS 15-of-47, PCW 16-of-52.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 11, PCW 9.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 28, PCW 18.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 39, PCW 27.
Steals: CPHS 4, PCW 9.
Blocks: CPHS 2, PCW 2.
Fouls: CPHS 19, PCW 23.

Scoring: (CPHS) Jackson 16, Armstead 14, Wilson 8, T. Morris 7, L. Morris 2, Taylor 2, Kirkendoll 1. (PCW) Fisher 16, Brown 13, Bert 9, McHenry-Guzman 4, Smith 2, Ray 2.