Sand Springs weekly sports roundup: Journey Armstead signs with Hutchinson CC

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Charles Page High School celebrated three athletes Wednesday, April 13th at the Ed Dubie Field House, who signed collegiate letters of intent.

Journey Armstead signed to play basketball at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. The Blue Dragons went 29-6 this past season, making it to the second round of the NJCAA tournament.

Armstead finished her career as one of the most accomplished Lady Sandite basketball players in school history, scoring 1525 points, and was named to the All-State team. 

Ashley Blake signed to cheer and Alyssa King signed to dance at Oklahoma Baptist University, an NCAA Division II school in Shawnee.  

Baseball

The Sandites’ nine-game win streak came to an end in a 2-0 upset against Southmoore (9-16, 3-7) on Monday, April 11. They won the second district meeting 1-0, however, and went on to beat Bartlesville and Glenpool in non-district action.

Sand Springs (22-4, 7-3) is off to its best start since 2012, but even district-leader Owasso couldn’t get past Southmoore.

The Sabercats played spoiler once again on Monday despite being out-hit six to two. The Sandites stranded two in the first, three in the fourth, two in the fifth, and two in the seventh. 

Jabe Schlehuber (4-1) struck out 11 while giving up only two hits and three walks in his first loss of the season.

The Tuesday rematch was equally close with the Sandites stranding two in the second, three in the third, and two in the fifth before Gabe Glenn hit his third home run of the season to lead off the sixth.

Southmoore loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning but Kayden Campbell (2-0) struck out the side to earn a save. Carson Seabolt (4-1) struck out six batters in five innings with three hits for the win.

The Sandites’ bats got hot again on Thursday with a 5-0 shutout of Bartlesville (19-9) that saw Keaton Campbell hit his fourth homer of the year. Jace Arnold (5-0) tossed a complete game with seven strikeouts and only two hits.

Dom Ornelas blasted his team-leading sixth homer of the year in a 10-1 five-inning run-rule win over Glenpool (9-19) on Friday. The Sandites combined for 11 hits in the win.

John Keim (4-0) tossed three strikeouts, three walks, and two hits in four innings, and Kayden Campbell tossed one strikeout and one walk in an inning of relief.

Sand Springs will return to action Monday with a district double-header at U.S. Grant (1-10, 0-6) before traveling to Oologah (13-7) on Thursday, hosting Bixby (24-5) on Friday, and traveling to Tahlequah (8-15) on Saturday.

Girls Golf

Gina Foster shot a 111 and Madison Chambers shot 119 at the Union tournament on Tuesday, then Foster shot 103 and Chambers scored 106 at Sapulpa on Wednesday. 

Slow Pitch

The No. 15 Sand Springs softball team (6-10) ended a tough week on a high note, beating Bartlesville 9-6 on the back end of a double-header. 

The Bruins won the first game 8-6 after a sixth inning rally spoiled the Sandites’ 6-3 lead. Earlier in the week the Sandites fell 16-6 to both Berryhill and No. 5 Jenks.

The Sandites will host Bixby and Union in a double-header on Tuesday before traveling to Jenks on Thursday to wrap up the regular season against the Trojans and Pryor.

Boys Soccer

The Sandites’ Tuesday Senior Night district match with Putnam City was rescheduled for April 25th at 6:00 p.m. due to inclement weather. They fell 3-0 to Stillwater (7-6, 1-4) on Friday and dropped to 0-9 on the season.

Tennis

The Sandite girls tennis team won a quad meet with Rejoice Christian on Tuesday. 

Abbie Dubb won the No. 2 Singles battle 2-1 against Reagan Cherry, with sets of 10-7, 5-7, and 10-7. 

The No. 1 Doubles team of Caitlin Shipman and Daffaney Snyder won their match 2-1 with sets of 6-4, 2-6, and 10-6.

Track & Field

The girls track team placed fifth and the boys took eighth at the Broken Arrow Track Classic on Friday.

Layne Kirkendoll won the high jump with a mark of 5 ft. 6 in. and the long jump with a distance of 17 ft. 11.25 in. Jestin Rawlins was runner-up in discus throw with a mark of 164 ft. 8 in.

Kelsi Hilton placed third in the 3200 in 12:52.42 and Gracie Gifford took sixth in 13:51.81.

Caleb Goodman placed fourth in the 110 hurdles in 19.1 seconds. Preston Kennedy was seventh in the high jump with a mark of 5 ft. 6 in. Matthew Shelton was eighth in the shot put with a distance of 41 ft. 11.25 in.

The girls relay teams placed third in the 1600 sprint medley, fourth in the distance medley, fourth in the 4x200, and seventh in the 4x100.

The boys relay teams placed sixth in the distance medley, seventh in the 1600 sprint medley, 11th in the 4x100, and 14th in the 4x200.

Lady Sandite Soccer enjoying winningest season in school history

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Ten wins down, seven to go.

The Charles Page High School girls’ soccer team reached ten wins for the first time in school history Friday night at Pioneer Stadium, beating Stillwater 2-0 in district action to improve to 10-3. 

In the post-game huddle, after getting doused by the team’s water bottles in celebration, a soaking wet Cisco Chavez had a simple request for his Lady Sandites. 

“Win out.”

A tall order for a program that has only sniffed the post season a few times in school history, but Chavez has insisted from the beginning of the season that this team has the potential to do something special.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Chavez. “I’m so proud of the girls and the coaching staff.”

The previous best mark for the Sandites was 9-6, first accomplished under Lucas Gray in 2010 and repeated by Bobby Behrens’s team in 2016. 

More important than the team’s ten wins overall is its 3-1 record in district play. The Sandites haven’t pulled off that feat since 2012, the last time they qualified for the postseason.

“I’m just proud,” said Chavez. “There’s no words. I’m emotional because these girls have been working hard through everything and I’m so proud of them. “It doesn’t matter who I call on, they all give me their everything.”

Sand Springs dominated the Pioneers (5-8, 2-3) offensively and spent 59 minutes of play on Stillwater’s half of the field. However, they had few shots on goal thanks to a stingy Stillwater defense.

The game remained scoreless until sophomore Ava Watts snuck in a lefty shot with only 56 seconds left in the half for her 16th goal of the year.

Stillwater opened the second half much more aggressively and Chrissen Harland broke through the Sandite backfield 12 minutes into the half to threaten an equalizer, but Christina Thompson made the save on Stillwater’s only shot on goal.

Freshman Lainey Stanfill connected on her 19th goal of the season in the 57th minute and nearly added another nine minutes later but put it just a hair over the top. 

The Sandites have now outscored their opponents 46 to 16 this season with six clean sheets. 

“We have an outstanding defense,” said Chavez. “We continue to tell them that they’re one of the best in the state. They’re one of the youngest in the state defensively. That D is really no joke.”

The Sandites’ schedule won’t get any easier in the coming week. Next up is a home battle with district leader Union (10-5, 5-0) on Tuesday before traveling to Edmond North (9-1, 4-1) on Thursday.

“We’ve got Union Tuesday, it’s going to be a really tough game. Hopefully we can pull out a victory and try to secure a home playoff game.”

Weekly sports roundup: Sandites win OBN fishing tournament at Lake Texoma

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Two teams of Sandites won first place in their divisions at the Oklahoma Bass Nation trail event on Lake Texoma, Sunday, April 3rd. 

Eli Rogers and Carrick Cooke won the high school division with five fish weighing 12.45 pounds for a $656 payout. 

Caden Strawn and Drew Turner won the youth division with four fish weighing 9.8 pounds. 

Softball

The No. 14 Sandite Slow Pitch team (5-7) went 0-3 this week, falling 13-10 to No. 4 Moore (11-5), 18-0 to No. 1 Southmoore (15-2), and 14-12 to Kellyville (5-12).

Soccer

District leader Jenks (6-1, 3-0) spoiled the Lady Sandites’ five-match win streak 4-0 on Tuesday but Sand Springs bounced back on Friday with a 9-0 road win against Choctaw (1-7, 0-3).

Freshman Lainey Stanfill scored five goals in the rout, and has 18 on the season. Ava Watts scored two, and Alyssa Cunningham and Karsen Lynch scored one each.

The Sandites (9-3, 2-1) are having their best season since 2016 and don’t show any signs of slowing down. They will host Putnam City (3-8, 0-3) on Tuesday before traveling to Stillwater (4-6, 1-1) on Friday.

The boys (0-8, 0-3) are still looking for their first win after falling 10-0 to Jenks and 3-1 to Choctaw. 

Track and Field

The Sandite track teams competed at the Jim Thorpe Invitational in Shawnee on Friday and crowned two champions. The boys took seventh place and the girls finished sixth.

Briona Searcy won the long jump with a mark of 14 ft. 11.5 in. and Jestin Rawlins won the discus throw with a distance of 147 ft. 

Gracie Gifford placed third in the 3200-meter run in 13:15.45 and sixth in the 1600 in 6:38.99.

Hannah George was fifth in the long jump at 13 ft. 3 in. Kelsi Hilton was fourth in the 3200 13:56.44. Brynley Smith finished fifth in the 400 in 1:12.05.

Dalton Wilcox placed second in the 800-meter run in 2:19.19. Noah Hanlon placed sixth in the 3200 in 11:45.99. 

Matthew Shelton placed third in shot put with a distance of 41 ft. 6 in. Alex Turner was fourth in discus with a distance of 105 ft. 1 in. 

The girls placed third in the 4x800 relay and fourth in the 4x100. The boys placed fifth in the 4x100 and fifth in the 4x800.

Layne Kirkendoll competed solo at the Jenks meet that morning and won the high jump at 5 ft. 6 in. She also placed second in long jump at 18 ft. 1 in.

Taya Freese leads seniors to powder puff championship

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Taya Freese doesn’t play any sports, but perhaps if the OSSAA had girls football she might be a household name in Oklahoma. 

The senior put on a show Thursday night at Memorial Stadium, leading the senior powder puff team to wins over the juniors and underclassmen. 

“It was a crazy experience,” said Freese. “I didn’t expect any of it, but it was very fun. It was kind of competitive but fun at the same time; it was a perfect mix.”

The Charles Page High School powder puff games aren’t held every year. COVID-19, lack of volunteers, and low interest have caused it to be canceled in years past, but the Senior Celebration committee pulled off a successful event this time around, raising $2722 for the annual celebration of the school’s seniors. 

Every year, the night of graduation, the town puts on an all-night lock-in celebration with free food, games, entertainment, and giveaways at the Case Community Center. 

The powder puff teams are all coached by high school boys, and the boys also put together all-male cheer teams for the halftime entertainment. 

The juniors won the first game of the evening, 6-0 against a combined underclassmen team of sophomores and freshmen.

After a scoreless regulation, Hailey Jackson made a key interception for the Hoosier Mommyz in overtime, then caught the game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass from Lilly Oakley to knock off the Benchwarmers. 

The juniors met their match in the Bad News Babes, however, and the seniors won 6-0 behind a 22-yard touchdown run from Journey Armstead late in the first half. 

Oakley and Jackson both intercepted Freese to keep the game close, but Karsen Lynch picked off Oakley on the final drive to seal the win. 

In the senior vs. sophomore game, Freese connected on a 40-yard pass to Avery Tanner to set up a 19-yard touchdown run from Lynch. 

Freese also appeared to toss a 43-yard TD to Tanner as the first half expired, but it was called back as the Benchwarmers apparently called for a timeout just before the snap. 

Getting to play together with a team was a special experience for Freese. “I’ve never played a sport before, so playing this was a first for me.”

“I just tried to teach her what I was taught,” said coach Ty Pennington. “She’s got a cannon.”

Pennington just wrapped up a three-year career as the Sandites’ starting quarterback and enjoyed getting to coach. “It was kind of cool, a different experience”

He was most impressed with Journey Armstead. “She played great on both sides of the ball.”

Sandite Baseball wins nine in a row, sweeps Jenks and run-rules Union

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The train keeps rolling for Sandite baseball.

The Charles Page High School varsity team (19-3, 6-2) has now won nine in a row, including a pair of crucial district bouts with Jenks (20-3, 6-2) to take second place in District 6A-3.

On Monday, April 4, the Sandites won 8-2 on the road at Jenks behind a five-strikeout, four hit performance from Jabe Schlehuber (4-0). 

Keaton Campbell went 3-of-4 at the plate with two runs and Gabe Glenn scored two runs and two RBIs with a triple. 

Tuesday’s rematch was much closer, but the Sandites still won 2-1 at home behind a two-hit pitching performance from Carson Seabolt (3-1).

Dom Ornelas hit an RBI single in the first inning and Seabolt added another in the fourth.

“(Schlehuber) and Carson (Seabolt) threw freaking great this week,” said Sand Springs coach Matt Brown.

“Those guys are giving us great outings every time they go out there, so I’ve got full confidence in both of those dudes.”

On Friday the Sandites won a 10-0 run-rule victory against NOAH (8-16) with 11 hits, including two-hit outings from Keaton Cambell, Ty Pennington, Ornelas, and Gabe Glenn.

John Keim (3-0) got the win with two hits and four strikeouts in four innings, and Kayden Campbell (2-0) threw three strikeouts in one inning of relief.

“They’re just playing together as a team, playing for each other, and when that happens good things happen,” said Brown. “They’re playing for each other, our pitchers are throwing strikes, the guys in the lineup are picking each other up, so it’s just good stuff all the way around.”

The bats stayed hot on Saturday as the Sandites won 12-2 against Union (14-9) in five innings. 

The Redhawks scored first in the top of the second, but Ornelas and Glenn hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the inning and Keaton Campbell added a three-run homer in the third.

Sand Springs scored seven more runs in the fourth on an error, six walks, an RBI single from Kayden Campbell, and a two-run single from Pennington.

Coach Brown was more happy about the bases-loaded walks than the home runs.

“They’re willing to take their walk and let the next guy do it, and that’s unselfish, man. That’s what’s good. It’s a different guy for us all the time, and they’re willing to let it be a different guy, which is awesome.”

Having already played their district meetings with Owasso, Broken Arrow, and Jenks, the Sandites are likely past the toughest part of their schedule, but Brown isn’t overlooking Southmoore (8-12, 2-6) or anybody else.

“We’re just focused on the next game we’ve got to play. Southmoore is going to show up here on Monday - they’re going to be tough. They’re a good team. And we’ve got to go out and put a good game together.”

“That’s the main thing, is just play the next game that’s in front of us, whatever it is, whatever kind of arm shows up on the mound, we play the game that’s in front of us and we’ll deal with tomorrow tomorrow.”

“We’re not ever playing against the other team, we’re playing against ourselves. We’re trying to play the best game that we can play. It doesn’t matter who shows up on the other side.”

The Sandites will play Southmoore at home Monday at 6:00 p.m. and on the road Tuesday at 6:00 p.m., followed by non-district games against Bartlesville (16-7) on Thursday and at Glenpool (6-17) on Friday. 

Sand Springs Sports Roundup: Lainey Stanfill scores 4 goals in 9-0 rout of Enid

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Sand Springs girls soccer team (8-2) has won five straight games and opened district action with a bang on Friday, winning 9-0 against Enid (5-4).

Freshman star Lainey Stanfill scored four goals and Ava Watts scored a hat trick in the rout. Alyssa Cunningham and Carson Sargent also scored goals for the Sandites.

“Laynie’s having a standout year,” said head coach Cisco Chavez. “No words to describe what I’m seeing from her.”

“We’ve got one of the best defenses in the state and we look to keep them healthy and just keep going forward. 

On Tuesday they won 1-0 against Ponca City, with Stanfill scoring the lone goal on an assist from Karsen Lynch. 

The boys soccer team (0-6) is still looking for its first win after falling 5-0 to both Ponca City (2-7) and Enid (7-2). 

“This is a very young team this year,” said head coach Brent Lollis. “We played eight freshmen during the course of that game.”

“We knew going into this year that it would be a rebuilding year. First-year coaching staff, graduated a lot of guys who are good college-level players, so this was about taking a step forward.”

“They were organized, they knew their matchup, and I told them in the locker room at halftime; that was the best they’ve played all season. These freshmen are getting some valuable experience that most 6A freshmen don’t get.”

One freshman in particular stole the show for the Sandites. Midfielder Eddie Hernandez made his first appearance at goalie and notched 15 saves as the aggressive Enid forwards kept him on his toes at all times. 

“He came in for our senior goalkeeper who’s having some health issues. And as I told him at halftime, he just played out of his mind. He led the team, made tons of saves, and kept us in the game the first half.”

Sandite soccer will return to action Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. with district home matches against Jenks before traveling to Choctaw on Friday.

Fishing

Sandite duo Mack Taylor and Parker Haling took second place out of 81 teams at the Oklahoma Bass Nation trail event on Lake Texoma Saturday with five fish totaling 12.1 pounds. They also had the largest single fish of the tournament at 5.45 pounds.

Cruz Norris and Gunnar Casey took 23rd place with a 3.6-pound fish, and Nathaniel Griffin and Jaxon Trotter placed 26th with a 3.15-pound fish.

Golf

The Sandite golf teams competed at the Edison Invitational in Claremore last week, with the girls playing Heritage Hill on Tuesday and the boys on Thursday.

Gina Foster shot 111 and Madison Chambers shot 114 for the girls.

Mason Ward led the boys with an 82. Zane Downey shot 87, Cameron Villines 92, Seth Benton 93, and Drew Paden 97.

Slow Pitch Softball

The No. 16 Lady Sandites (5-4) won a 6-3 battle with Berryhill on Tuesday before going 2-2 at the Haskell Tournament on Thursday. They won 7-5 against No. 4 Jenks and 12-0 against McAlester before falling 13-5 to Ft. Gibson and 12-2 to Haskell.

Tennis

The Lady Sandite tennis team competed at the Skiatook Quad on Tuesday and won a Highway 97 rivalry dual with Sapulpa.

Abbie Dunn won in No. 2 Singles, Caitlin Shipman and Daffaney Snyder won No. 1 Doubles, and Jayden Smith and Gracie Young won No. 2 Doubles against Sapulpa.

Kira Shipley won her No. 1 Singles match against Skiatook, and Shipman and Snyder won their match against Bristow.

Track and Field

The girls track team placed 13th and the boys took 16th at Tahlequah on Friday with one champion. 

Jestin Rawlins won the boys discus throw with a mark of 143 ft. 9 in.

Layne Kirkendoll placed second in high jump with a mark of 5 ft. 2 in., and was fourth in long jump with a distance of 16 ft. 10 in.