Sandite Alumni Report: Track, Wrestling, Volleyball & More

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Courtesy of OSU Athletics.

Oklahoma State University super-senior Daton Fix, a 2017 CPHS alum, is now 8-0 on the season and ranked third in the country at 133 pounds.

Most recently Fix won an 11-3 major decision against No. 7 Evan Frost to help the No. 5 Cowboys win a 21-12 upset against No. 4 Iowa State (9-2) Saturday night.

OSU is now 10-0 on the season and will return to action Friday with a home dual against Arizona State (3-4).

2022 alum Ethan Norton is in his sophomore season at College of the Ozarks. The 157-pounder went 1-2 at the Pete Willson Invitational this weekend, earning a 6-5 decision over Muskingum’s Zeke Poulos.

Men’s Basketball

2021 CPHS alum Marlo Fox is in his junior year at Rogers State University. The Hillcats are 11-8 on the season and 8-5 in the MIAA conference.

Rogers State will look to bounce back from a 75-53 loss at Missouri Southern when it hosts Washburn (13-6, 9-4) Thursday in Claremore.

Cheer

2022 alum Ashley Blake is in her sophomore year at Oklahoma Baptist University while 2020 alum Coleman Wright is representing the Sandites at Nichols College.

Women’s Track and Field

2021 alum Erika Baker is a distance runner at Pittsburg State University, where she placed 24th in the 5000 meter run Saturday at the Gorillas’ home invitational. The junior ran the event in 19:19.54 for eighth place in her heat.

She also ran in the recent Rumble in the Jungle Invitational on January 19th and placed 28th in the 3000 meter run with a time of 11:18.55.

Layne Kirkendoll is in her sophomore season at South Dakota State and is already seeing major success.

The 2022 alum won the high jump event at the Jim Emmerich Alumni meet on January 20th with a mark of 5 ft. 5 in. and was seventh in long jump at 17 ft. 7.5 in. as the team placed second overall.

Men’s Track and Field

2019 alum Aden Baughman made his Pittsburg State University debut at the Rumble in the Jungle Invitational on the 19th.

The junior ORU transfer placed fourth in the 600-meter finals with a time of 1:12.81, just 0.6 seconds behind the champion. He also ran the second leg of the 1600-meter relay, helping the Gorillas to a sixth place finish. Pitt State won the invitational overall.

At the Pittsburg State Invitational on the 27th he took third place in the 800-meter finals in 1:53.13. He also ran the 1600-meter relay on the Pitt State B-team that placed 10th.

Volleyball

2020 alum Gloria Mutiri is playing professional volleyball with USC Muenster in Germany. Muenster is 5-12 on the season and will return to action on Saturday against the Vilsbiburg Red Ravens.

Muenster won its latest match 3-0 against VC Neuwied, 25-11, 25-21, and 25-16. Mutiri scored 7 points in the match as the No. 3 scorer for USC.

Sandite College Report: Kersgieter Sets Kansas Record, Hutchinson Stays Undefeated

Charles Page High School 2019 alum Holly Kersgieter recently set the school record for made three-pointers at the University of Kansas.

The fifth-year senior set the record on Saturday, January 6th, in a 73-64 defeat at Texas Tech, scoring a team-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field.

Kersgieter was 3-of-6 on treys for 239 threes in her career, eclipsing the previous record of 237 held by Angie Halbleib since 1997.

“I’m really proud of Holly. It’s been an absolute joy to be a part of her career, to coach her, see her development and improvement,” said head coach Brandon Schneider after the game. “I think the most impressive thing right now with her and the three-point shot is the percentage that she’s shooting.”

The former Sandite now stands at 38-of-87 for a three-point percentage of 43.7%, which ranks 22nd in the NCAA Division I.

She has started all 19 games for the Jayhawks, who are 10-9 overall and 3-5 in Big 12 play following a 60-58 win against Iowa State on Wednesday. Kersgieter is averaging 11.4 points, 1.6 assists, 1.2 steals, and 4.8 rebounds per game.

She recorded her first double-double of the season and 10th of her career with 12 points and 10 rebounds at Kansas State on Jan. 20. She ranks No. 7 on KU’s all-time scoring list with 1,776 career points, surpassing Lynn Pride (1,774) at KSU.

The Jayhawks will travel to Oklahoma (12-6, 6-1) Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

Regalado Coaching Savage Storm

Kersgieter’s fellow 2019 Sandite alum, Isabella Regalado, is coaching as a graduate assistant at Southeastern Oklahoma State this season. The Savage Storm is 6-12 on the year, competing in the NCAA Division II Great American Conference.

Blue Dragons Stay Rolling

Hutchinson Community College remains undefeated at 19-0 and is ranked No. 4 in the NJCAA. The Dragons have two former Sandites starting in 2023 alum Hailey Jackson and 2022 alum Journey Armstead (2022).

Most recently the Dragons survived an 82-77 encounter with No. 12 Dodge City in Jayhawk Conference play. Armstead had 14 points, 5 assists, 5 steals, and 4 rebounds in the latest win while Jackson had 12 points.

Jackson is averaging 12.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while Armstead has 10.7 points, 4.2 boards, 4.8 assists, and 2.2 steals.

Hutchinson will return to action Wednesday at Colby Community College (6-13, 2-12).

Oklahoma 6A Week 10 Basketball Rankings

Girls

1. Edmond North (13-1) +1

2. Putnam City West (16-1) -1

3. Putnam City North (14-3)

4. Choctaw (16-0)

5. Edmond Memorial (13-3) +2

6. Owasso (13-4) -1

7. Sand Springs (11-5) -1

8. Bixby (14-4)

9. Edmond Santa Fe (10-6)

10. Broken Arrow (12-6)

11. Mustang (13-5)

12. Yukon (14-4) +1

13. Norman (10-7) -1

14. Union (11-6) NR

15. Westmoore (8-7) NR

Boys

1. Edmond North (12-2)

2. Owasso (15-2)

3. Edmond Deer Creek (14-4)

4. Union (15-2)

5. Edmond Memorial (11-5)

6. Moore (11-5)

7. Norman (13-4) +1

8. Westmoore (10-5) -1

9. Piedmont (14-4)

10. Mustang (13-5)

11. Broken Arrow (13-4)

12. Choctaw (13-3)

13. Bixby (11-6)

14. Sand Springs (10-6)

15. Jenks (11-6)

Sandite Boys Fall 71-50 at Union, Will Host Owasso Friday

Coming off a close 76-72 loss in the Union tournament semifinals, all eyes were on Sand Springs in Tuesday’s district rematch. Unfortunately for the black and gold faithful, there was no upset to be had.

No. 14 Charles Page High School (10-5, 2-4) hung close till halfway through the fourth quarter before No. 4 Union (14-2, 6-1) finally pulled away with a final score of 71-51.

“Their physicality wore us down; that was the main thing,” said head coach Eric Savage. “We didn’t do a good job of adjusting.”

The Sandites led by as much as 14-10 in the first quarter before Union closed it on a 5-0 run for the lead. Zane Fueshko hit a three-pointer to open the second quarter, but that would be the last lead of the game for Sand Springs.

By halftime the RedHawks were on top 29-24, a double-digit difference from Friday’s 41-39 first-half shootout.

“Both teams shot the ball really well last week and both teams made adjustments for this game,” said Savage. “It was a more slow-paced game with a little more defense involved, at least through the first three quarters. Defensive game plan for both teams. They wore us down and we didn’t adjust to their physicality.”

The third quarter started back and forth with the visitors only trailing 40-35 after a three-point play from Deke Thompson.

Khalil Allen drew his fourth foul with 1:58 left in the third and Alijah Roper took a tumble into the bleachers that shook him up, though he returned to the game not long after.

The home team closed on a 9-2 run and took that momentum with a double-digit lead into the fourth.

Sand Springs mostly hung with the RedHawks and cut it as close as 55-46 after back-to-back buckets from Kason Evans and Allen, but Union rallied with a 14-1 run from there to put the game out of reach before Fueshko hit a three to break up the run.

Evans led the Sandites with 13 points and 6 rebounds, but was the only Sandite in double digits.

Union was led by Miles Flemons, a 6’8 division I recruit, with 18 points, followed by Dalen Fuller with 12 points and Justin Chappelle with 11.

The Sandites were at a distinct size disadvantage in the game with the average Union starter having more than four inches on the average Sandite starter.

“We’re making progress,” said Savage, whose team has gone 10-2 since an 0-3 start to the season.

“You go on the road and it’s hard to win. You’ve got a top-five team for the second time. We’ll see them again at our place and see if we can change the results. We’re going to keep fighting but we didn’t have our best tonight and again, they wore us down. They’re tough to guard inside.”

Sand Springs’ schedule wont get any easier as it hosts No. 2 Owasso (14-2, 7-0) Friday at 8:00 p.m. in a rematch of a 67-48 loss from December. The Rams are ranked 80th in the nation by MaxPreps.

“Number two team in the state coming in,” said Savage. “One or two, depending on who you ask. And definitely one of the top players in the state. We’ve just got to regroup after this, try to get our legs back, and hopefully being in the confines of the Ed Dubie will give us some energy playing in front of our fans. Should be a fun game.”

Union 71 CPHS 51

1Q: Union 15-14.
2Q: Union 14-10.
3Q: Union 20-13.
4Q: Union 22-14.
Free Throws: Union 14-of-24, CPHS 10-of-14.
Field Goals: Union 27-of-50, CPHS 18-of-41.
Offensive Rebounds: Union 6, CPHS 5.
Defensive Rebounds: Union 16, CPHS 13.
Total Rebounds: Union 22, CPHS 18.
Steals: Union 13, CPHS 4.
Blocks: Union 3, CPHS 1.
Fouls: Union 16, CPHS 24.

Sand Springs Stats

Scoring: Evans 13, Kelly 9, Johnson 8, Thompson 7, Allen 7, Fueshko 6, Shope 1.
Offensive Rebounds: Johnson 3, Thompson 1, Evans 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Evans 5, Kelly 2, Allen 2, Thompson 1, Johnson 1, Fueshko 1, Smith 1.
Total Rebounds: Evans 6, Johnson 4, Kelly 2, Thompson 2, Allen 2, Fueshko 1, Smith 1.
Steals: Kelly 2, Johnson 1, Evans 1.
Assists: Roper 3, Johnson 2, Allen 1.
Blocks: Allen 1.
Fouls: Allen 5, Thompson 3, Johnson 3, Evans 3, Young 3, Kelly 2, Fueshko 2, Roper 1, Mitchell 1, Shope 1.

Union Stats

Scoring: Flemons 18, Fuller 12, Chappelle 11, Gunn 9, Gilyard 6, Malham 5, Chaney-Jones 5, Madrid 4, Ugbah 1.
Fouls: Gunn 3, Madrid 3, Chappelle 3, Fuller 2, Flemons 2, Malham 2, Chaney-Jones 1.

Lady Sandites Upset at Union 49-47

Fresh off a tournament high, the Lady Sandites hit a district hiccup Tuesday night at Q. Hammons Arena, dropping a 49-47 upset to Union.

No. 6 Charles Page High School (10-5, 4-2) never once led and trailed by as much as 15 points midway through the second quarter before rallying to tie it on a three-point play from Aaliyah Simone with 1:30 to play.

The RedHawks (9-6, 4-3) played keep-away for the final minute and cashed in a pair of free throws to survive the comeback.

“They’re a good team and they might have had some fresher legs than us coming into this and it showed the first half,” said head coach Josh Berry.

“The girls fought valiantly to get back into the game. We had a chance to win it and we didn’t. We had a few things not go our way, but that is what it is and when you’re on the road, that’s going to happen.”

Sand Springs struggled with accuracy, shooting only 23.6% in the first half to the RedHawks’ 40.6% while also struggling with fouls and rebounds.

The girls trailed 15-8 after the first quarter and a four-point play by JaMiyah Woodard gave Union its biggest lead at 25-11.

Sakauri Wilson stole a rebound away from Esme’ Smith and put it up for two with 4:56 left in the second quarter to slow the Union tide and the Sandites cut the deficit to 32-21 at halftime.

Taiona Morris drained a three to open the third quarter and the Sandites trimmed their gap to 42-36 entering the fourth.

Foul trouble limited the Sandites’ defensive aggression in the fourth quarter as both Hope Bump and Wilson drew their fourth fouls.

Even so, they were able to get it back to a tie game. Butler drained a second three-pointer and Simone scored off a steal and was fouled by Whitney Smith, hitting the and-one to make it 47-47.

Isabella McSwain ran a minute off the clock before attempting a layup with 10 seconds remaining. Esme’ Smith rebounded for a putback try and also missed, but a foul was called and she made the first of her two free throws for the lead.

The second shot was no good, but Brooke Bettis rebounded, picked up a foul from Wilson, and hit the second of her two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining. Esme’ Smith picked off the inbound lob at half court to secure the upset.

“We’re still a young bunch with the exception of really two players,” said Berry. “You’ve got a couple of freshmen, you’ve got some new faces in there, so any time you have that, you’re not going to have consistency.

“But what has been consistent is this team’s effort level. So as long as that keeps up, we’re going to have chances, we’re going to stay in ball games and we’re going to be pretty good come late February.”

While the Sandites struggled offensively with one of their worst shooting performances of the season, their defense was its usual level of excellence with 12 takeaways and a season-best 10 blocks.

“Our defense gave us a lot of chances today,” said Berry. “We hit just enough shots. We didn’t hit a lot of them, but we hit just enough, we made just enough plays to give ourselves a chance but at the end of the day we weren’t physical, we weren’t tough, we didn’t box out very well, but those are all things you can correct and those are things we will correct.”

Simone, a freshman, had the best offensive performance for the team, shooting 4-of-8 in the field for 10 points to go with 3 steals and 4 rebounds.

“She’s a special player,” said Berry. “She’s got a chance to be a big-time player. She’s just got to work every day, get better, and keep that up.”

Wilson and Morris also had 10 points apiece. Wilson had 5 assists; Bump had 7 points and 10 rebounds; and Butler had 8 points, 6 boards, and 5 blocks.

Berry wasn’t too concerned about the loss and was already focused on Friday’s district home game against No. 5 Owasso (13-3, 6-1).

“I’m not worried about it at all. We’ll bounce back, we’ll figure it out, and we’ll be ready to play…I don’t think we’ve been at home for about two months it seems like, so we’ll be back at home and we’ll be ready to go.”

Union 49 CPHS 47

1Q: Union 15-8.
2Q: Union 17-13.
3Q: CPHS 15-10.
4Q: CPHS 11-7.
Free Throws: Union 7-of-12, CPHS 6-of-11.
Field Goals: Union 19-of-56, CPHS 18-of-66.
Offensive Rebounds: Union 17, CPHS 9.
Defensive Rebounds: Union 24, CPHS 18.
Total Rebounds: Union 41, CPHS 27.
Steals: Union 3, CPHS 12.
Blocks: Union 3, CPHS 10.
Fouls: Union 11, CPHS 14.

Sand Springs Stats

Scoring: Wilson 10, Morris 10, Simone 10, Ti. Butler 8, Bump 7, Ta. Butler 2.
Offensive Rebounds: Bump 4, Wilson 1, Morris 1, Simone 1, Ti. Butler 1, Pearce 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Bump 6, Ti. Butler 5, Simone 3, Wilson 2, Ta. Butler 1, Pearce 1.
Total Rebounds: Bump 10, Ti. Butler 6, Simone 4, Wilson 3, Pearce 2, Morris 1, Ta. Butler 1.
Steals: Simone 3, Wilson 2, Bump 2, Morris 2, Ti. Butler 1, Ta. Butler 1.
Assists: Wilson 5, Bump 1, Simone 1.
Blocks: Ti. Butler 5, Bump 2, Wilson 1, Morris 1, Ta. Butler 1.
Fouls: Wilson 5, Bump 4, Morris 2, Ti. Butler 2, Simone 1.

Union Stats

Scoring: Woodard 16, W. Smith 10, E. Smith 10, A. Smith 5, Edwards 4, Bettis 3, McSwain 1.
Fouls: McSwain 4, W. Smith 2, Woodard 2, Bettis 1, A. Smith 1, Edwards 1.

Hot Streak Continues for Sandite Boys Basketball

A 61-49 victory over Raymore-Peculiar (6-8) in the Jenks-Union Invitational opener Thursday evening gave the Charles Page High School boys’ basketball team its ninth consecutive victory, their longest win streak since the 2019-2020 season.

That streak came to a close on Friday in a close 76-72 loss to No. 4 Union (13-2) in the semifinals, but the boys bounced back with a 60-37 upset of No. 12 Jenks (10-5) for third place.

After opening the season 0-3, Sand Springs is now 10-4 and ranked for the first time this year at No. 14. Next up for the Sandites is a rematch with Union Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. at the UMAC, this time in district play.

Winter weather postponed two of the Sandites’ recent games. A January 9th home game against U.S. Grant (0-10, 0-6) was rescheduled for February 3rd and a January 16th road game at No. 5 Edmond Memorial (10-4, 5-2) will be rescheduled for a later date.

In between the two, Sand Springs improved to 2-3 in district play with a 77-50 romp at Bartlesville (2-9, 1-6) on Friday the 12th.

Deke Thompson III led the Sandites for the tenth time this season with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals.

Kason Evans scored 16 points with 9 rebounds and Khalil Allen matched his career high with 14 points, shooting 6-of-7 from the field.

Against Raymore-Peculiar on Thursday the Sanditse had four in double-digits: Thompson with 16, Allen with 12, Evans with 11, and Alijah Roper with 10.

It was the Deke Thompson show against Union on Friday with the junior going off for a career-high 33 points, followed by Evans with a double-double 13 points and 10 rebounds.

On Saturday the team took a more balanced approach with Evans scoring 12, Roper and Kooper Kelly scoring 11 apiece, and Thompson scoring 10 to defeat the Trojans.