Sandites blank Glenpool 5-0 on Senior Night, upset Owasso

Hayden Blair hits a home run on Senior Night.

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Sand Springs high school baseball is peaking at the right time, winning four of their last five games, including a 7-5 non-district upset of Owasso Monday, April 26. The Sandites (15-19) rallied from a 4-0 first-inning deficit against the top-ranked team in 6A-3.

Rhen Rutledge went 3-for-3 at the plate, scoring two runs, and Dom Ornelas hit a homer. The Rams gave up three runs on bases-loaded walks, and the Sandites scored on two errors and a wild pitch. Owasso won the Tuesday rematch 1-0.

The Sandites topped Guthrie 2-1 on Thursday after Keaton Campbell tripled in the sixth and scored on a sacrifice fly from Ty Pennington. Keaton also recorded a save on the mound, and Kayden Campbell got the win. 

Senior Night saw a 5-0 shutout of Glenpool as the Sandites also celebrated seven players and three managers. Senior Hayden Blair hit a home run, Dom Ornelas hit a three-run double, and Morgan Powell got the win on the mound. On Saturday they traveled to Westmoore and picked up a 7-4 victory behind a two-hit, two-strikeout pitching performance from Jabe Schlehuber.

In college baseball news, Sandite grads Cal Watkins and Cale Savage both announced they will be continuing their careers at Washburn University. Watkins will be transferring from Seminole State, while Savage has spent the last two seasons at Northern Oklahoma College at Enid.

Basketball

Marlo Fox recently announced his decommitment from Seward County Community College. He will instead enroll at Rogers State University. Fox averaged 18.6 points per game this season to lead the Sandites.

Softball

Lady Sandite Softball ended the slow pitch season 8-18, going 1-3 in their final week of the year. On Monday, April 26, they fell 21-6 to No. 9 Union, despite a grand slam from Taylor Skipper. At Regionals they won 8-4 against Putnam City before falling 16-0 and 16-7 to No. 3 Moore. Jaden Jordan and Lauren Hammock hit home runs in the final game of the season.

Oklahoma State University senior Sydney Pennington now sits second all-time in the school home-run record book after hitting her 32nd dinger against Texas on Saturday. The school record is 35. 

Soccer

The boys soccer team fell 4-2 to Union on Monday and 2-1 to Moore on Thursday. Fernando Saldana scored both goals against the Redskins, while freshman Nick Roberts scored his first career goal at Moore. The girls fell 7-0 to Union.

Karsen Lynch committed to play at Rogers State University next season, where she will join fellow teammate Ali Day. 

Track and Field

Sand Springs took a reduced roster to the Sapulpa Track Meet on Friday. They rested several athletes before the upcoming Regional Championship, which will be Saturday at Sapulpa. The boys team placed 11th and the girls took 7th.

Alejandro Lopez placed fifth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:04.3, and Jestin Rawlins placed seventh in discus throw with a distance of 130 ft. 4 in. Cayla Magee placed fourth in discus with a distance of 95 ft. 8 in., and Kreedence Behnke placed fifth in the long jump with a distance of 14 ft. 1 in. 

Layne Kirkendoll sets school long jump record, wins Frontier Valley Conference

Photo courtesy of Tommy Dial.

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

The Sandite track teams had a successful week, competing at the Jenks Invitational last Monday and the Frontier Valley Conference meet on Saturday. The team won five first-place medals between the two meets, including three conference championships.

Junior star Layne Kirkendoll won the high jump and long jump at both events, and at the FVC meet she broke her own school record in long jump with a mark of 18 ft. 8 in. She has now won 12 events this season and is undefeated in long jump. Joseph Mattison won the 200-meter FVC title in 22.37 seconds and placed fourth at Jenks. 

The team will take a reduced roster to the Sapulpa meet on Friday, and some will take the week off to rest for the Regional meet Saturday, May 8th, also at Sapulpa.

Baseball

Sandite Baseball (11-18 overall, 5-9 district) split a district double-header with Putnam City Monday, April 19th, beating the Pirates 9-1 in game one before falling 4-3 in the sequel. 

Cason Savage hit a triple and a home run, scoring three runs and two RBI, and Keaton Campbell hit two doubles for two runs and two RBI in the first game. Jabe Schlehuber got the win on the mound, throwing nine strikeouts, no walks, and only one hit in five innings. 

Sand Springs out-hit the Pirates ten to six in game two, but stranded eight runners in the loss. The Sandites led 3-1 till the seventh inning when Putnam loaded the bases on two hits and a walk, and scored all three runners on an error.

They lost another close one 11-9 against Oologah on Thursday, leading 9-8 till the top of the seventh. Savage and Brooks Dudley were both 3-of-4 at the plate. 

The Sandites will host Guthrie Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Glenpool Friday at 6 p.m. 

Soccer

The varsity girls (7-5, 1-4) fell 1-0 to Bixby last Tuesday in an overtime shootout. The girls made it through regulation and both OT periods without giving up a goal, despite playing shorthanded after two players fouled out. Alyssa Perry and Katie Webb made their PKs, but the Spartans won the shootout.

The Sandite boys (7-4, 3-1) won their district match with Bixby 3-0 behind goals from Jack Bratcher, Fernando Saldana, and Cameron Summerton. 

The girls started their game against Booker T. Washington last Friday, but it was rained out before either team scored. That match will be made up Friday, with girls at 6 p.m. and boys at 8 p.m. The boys will also play a make-up match Thursday at Moore at 7 p.m.

Slow Pitch Softball

Raegan Rector and Jaden Jordan hit home runs, and Lauren Hammock hit a grand slam against Broken Arrow Thursday, but the No. 2 ranked Tigers rolled to a 20-11 win after scoring eight runs in the top of the seventh. No. 15 Sand Springs (7-15) will travel to No. 3 Moore Thursday for the Regional tournament, starting with Putnam City at 11 a.m.

Wrestling

Former two-time State Champion Sandite Riley Weir went 4-3 at the NJCAA National Championships for eighth place at 125 pounds. Weir is in his freshman year at Labette Community College.

Senior Class Wins Powerpuff and Weekly Sports Roundup

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

After a three-year hiatus, powderpuff football returned to Memorial Stadium Saturday night. The Charles Page High School seniors dominated the lower classmen in the Senior Celebration fundraiser event, not giving up a single score. The event raised nearly $1800 for the all-night lock-in event that will be held after graduation.

The 21 Puff Street senior team defeated the Hoosier Daddies underclassmen 34-0 in the first game and 19-0 in the second. Cameron Clemons, Raegan Padilla, Drew Hawkins, and Madison Lee all scored touchdown runs. Kali Baker threw a dime to Lee for a TD and ran in three PATs. Lee and Ali Day both scored pick sixes, and Day took hers 79 yards before also catching the PAT toss from Baker. 

Baseball

Sandite Baseball is in a six-game slump after dropping two district games to Enid and a non-district game against Tulsa NOAH last week.

Monday’s game against Enid went fourteen innings before the Plainsmen won 6-5 on a walkoff single. The bullpen combined for 12 strikeouts in the loss, and Cason Savage hit a triple. Tuesday’s rematch was an 8-3 decision, 

Jace Arnold threw six strikeouts and Savage hit a home run in the loss to NOAH on Thursday, but six walks, two singles, and two errors in the top of the sixth gave the Jags the comeback.

Sand Springs will host Oologah-Talala Thursday at 5:00 p.m. and Sapulpa Friday at 6:00 p.m. in non-district action.

Cheer

Senior Sandite cheerleader Claire Smith has signed to join the University of Central Arkansas cheer team next season.

Dance

Sandite Dance traveled to the Dance Team Union Nationals in Orlando, and placed seventh in Hip Hop.

Golf

Meghan Charles has been bringing home some medals for the Sandite golf team this season. The Oklahoma City University-bound senior placed second at the Jenks Invitational and won the Frontier Valley Conference title with a round of 74. 

Slow Pitch Softball

Sandite Slow Pitch is 7-14 on the season after going 0-4 this past week against a tough slate of ranked teams. The girls dropped losses of 18-17 to Jenks, 13-7 to Pryor, 16-8 to Kellyville, and 10-7 to Union. 

The girls led 17-10 going into the bottom of the seventh Monday against Jenks, but the Trojans rallied with six hits and won on a walkoff fly. Avery Tanner was 4-of-5 at the plate, scoring three runs and two RBI, and Raegan Rector hit a homer.

Jaden Jordan hit a home run against Pryor, then Jordan, Kelsi Hilton, and Taylor Skipper all went yard against Kellyville. Jordan and Hilton repeated against Union, and Avery Tanner also smacked one over the right field fence.

Sandite Softball will host No. 3 Broken Arrow Thursday at 4:30 p.m. 

Track and Field

The Sandites’ trip to Jenks was postponed due to weather, giving the athletes an off week. Joseph Mattison recently signed a letter of intent to run track at Coffeyville Community College on scholarship next season, and junior Layne Kirkendoll has received scholarship offers from Oral Roberts University and South Dakota State University. 

Joseph Mattison commits to Coffeyville Community College

A version of this story was originally published in Vype.

Charles Page High School senior Joseph Mattison came into his senior season with the goal of earning a college scholarship, and hard work and dedication have made that goal a reality. The sprinter and long jumper recently signed a collegiate letter of intent and will run at Coffeyville Community College next year.

“JoJo is the definition of hard work and determination,” says Sandite Head Coach Tim Dial. “He has been unstoppable training on the track and in the weight room. We put together a plan for him this last June to get him to college. He has executed every part of the plan without ever second guessing the path we had him on. He is the type of kid that every coach wishes they had a team full of! JoJo has some big goals to finish out his senior season and will do some great things at Coffeyville with Coach Morrie Turner.”

Mattison started running track in the seventh grade. “I decided to join the team because I saw it as an opportunity to compete,” he says. “Then I went to my first track meet, won a medal, and loved the sport ever since.”

He has really been developing in his senior year, setting new personal bests in all three of his events. He has a 100-meter dash time of 11.27 seconds, a 200 time of 22.18 seconds, and a long jump distance of 20’06.50”, all from this season. He has won one long jump event, and has earned four third-place medals in various events this year.

Mattison has also earned his way into the school record books. His sophomore 4x400 and 1600-medley relay teams set all-time Sand Springs records, and his freshman 4x100 team ranks second in town history. His sophomore 4x400 relay team qualified for State after placing second at Regionals, which is one of his favorite memories. 

The young Sandite star has yet to decide on a major or career-path. For now he is enjoying developing his abilities as an athlete, and fishing and hunting in his spare time.

Layne Kirkendoll Sets Sand Springs High Jump Record

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Sandite Track and Field traveled to the Owasso Ram Relays Friday. The girls placed eighth and the boys placed ninth.

Layne Kirkendoll won her second high jump of the year, setting a new school record of 5 feet 7 inches. She also won her fourth long jump of the year with a personal-best mark of 18’06.5”, which is the second-best distance in school history. 

Noah Hanlon was among the top boys in the 3200m run with a time of 11:17.94 for sixth place. Alejandro Lopez had the fifth-best time in the 800m at 2:08.49. Morgan Lockhart was fifth in the 300m hurdles in 44.33. Greg Reed took sixth in the long jump at 19’10”.

Sakauri Wilson won her heat in the 100m and had the fourth-best time overall at 13.02 seconds. Jazmin Lopez placed fourth in the 800, finishing in 2:27.88. 

Soccer

Sandite Soccer had a tough past week, as both the boys and girls teams dropped district matches against Broken Arrow on Tuesday before having their Friday games at Union canceled due to weather.

The boys (5-4 overall, 1-1 district) fell 3-0 Tuesday at Memorial Stadium, while the girls (6-3, 0-2) fell 5-1 to Broken Arrow. Teagan Smith scored her third goal of the season three minutes into the match, but the Tigers rattled off five unanswered to end the game.

Sand Springs will host Putnam City West for their final home games of the regular season Friday night at Memorial Stadium. 

Baseball

Sandite Baseball (10-13, 4-6) went 0-3 last week, dropping two close district games against Stillwater, and an 8-1 trip to Union. 

Stillwater won 7-5 on Monday and 11-10 on Tuesday. Dom Ornelas hit a home run in both games, and Keaton Campbell and Ty Pennington also went yard on Tuesday. Pennington was 3-for-3 at the plate Tuesday. 

Friday’s game at Bixby was canceled due to weather, and they returned to action Saturday at Union. The Sandites put up seven hits, including three doubles, but stranded six in the loss. 

The Sandite sluggers will return to action Thursday at 6:00 p.m. with a non-district home game against Tulsa NOAH. 

Slow Pitch Softball

Sandite Softball snapped a five-game skid Thursday with a 5-0 win over Owasso. They went 0-4 Monday and Tuesday at the Jenks Festival, then fell 11-10 to Jenks on Thursday. 

A 12-run inning and a home run from Jaden Jordan wasn’t quite enough Monday against Red Oak. Down 17-0 after two innings, the girls rallied to cut it to 17-14 before running out of steam. In game two they led 9-7 before Haskell rallied with four runs in the fifth. 

The Sandites lost another close one Tuesday against Choctaw, 9-8, then Mustang won 14-3 in the final game of the festival. 

Jordan homered, Raegan Rector tripled, and the Sandites led Jenks 10-9 in the bottom of the seventh, but the Trojans won on a walkoff single. 

The win over Owasso didn’t come with much fireworks, but they got their second shutout of the year behind Kaden Barnes’s pitching. Kelsi Hilton supplied two hits, two RBI, and one run to pace the offense.

The girls will host Jenks Thursday at 5:00 p.m.

Fishing

Cruz Norris and Gunnar Casey had yet another hot finish on the Oklahoma Bass Nation high school trail, placing fifth on Keystone Lake Saturday. The duo just won their previous event on Grand Lake. 

Norris and Casey caught three fish, weighing 9.07 pounds, with their biggest coming in at 3.91. Kyle and Kale Hilligoss placed 26th with two fish weighing 4.22 pounds, and Mack Taylor and Reese David placed 28th with two fish weighing 3.96 pounds.

Fernando Saldana sparks Sandites in district soccer opener

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Baseball

Sandite Baseball picked up a key 7-3 district win at Broken Arrow Monday, March 29th. The team recorded 11 hits with four doubles, and got it done on the mound as well. Jabe Schlehuber tossed five strikeouts for the win, and Eli Buxton recorded the save. Broken Arrow won the rematch on Tuesday, 8-7. Dom Ornelas hit a three-run homer for the 6-3 lead in the third, but the Tigers rallied with four runs in the fifth.

The Sandites headed to Jenks Friday for a non-district game and lost 2-1 on a walkoff error. They returned to form Saturday, however, with a 13-1 run-rule victory against Midwest City. Keaton Campbell went 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, two runs, and four RBI, while Kayden Campbell got the win on the mound with six strikeouts and only one hit.

Sand Springs is 10-10 overall and 4-4 in district play. They will play Friday at Bixby at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at Union. 

Soccer

The Sand Springs boys’ soccer team (5-4) kicked off district play with a 3-2 win against Edmond Memorial Friday night. Fernando Saldana scored two goals, Jack Bratcher added one, and Xander Quiroga made five saves. Bratcher leads the team with nine goals this season, followed by Saldana with eight.

Lady Sandite Soccer (6-2) suffered a 1-0 loss in their district debut, snapping a four-match win streak. Both teams will travel to Union Friday for a district match. Girls will play at 6:00 p.m., followed by boys at 8:00 p.m.

Slow Pitch Softball

The Sand Springs slow pitch softball team (6-5) won a rivalry double-header against Sapulpa in dominant fashion, Monday, March 29th, beating the Chieftains 28-5 and 23-0, but hit a rough patch later in the week.

Raegan Rector hit two home runs in the first game, scoring three runs and six RBI. Lauren Hammock got the win, only giving up two hits with one strikeout in the three-inning game. 

Rector hit a triple in game two, and scored two runs and five RBI. Kaden Barnes pitched the three inning shutout, tossing one hit, one strikeout, and no walks.

On Tuesday Rector hit two more homers, scoring six RBI in a 21-13 loss to Berryhill. Taylor Skipper also had a homer and was 3-for-3 at the plate. They also fell 20-3 to Broken Arrow, with yet another homer from Rector. 

On Thursday they went 2-3 at the Haskell Tournament, beating Fort Gibson 9-4 and Bristow 9-1, but they fell 17-5 to Haskell, 13-2 to Oktaha, and 7-6 to Bixby.

Sandite Softball will travel to Jenks Thursday at 5:00 p.m. to play the Trojans and Owasso.

Track and Field

The Sand Springs boys and girls track teams both placed sixth at the Broken Arrow Track Classic Saturday. Joseph Mattison was the star of the show, running the 200-meter dash in 22.18 seconds for third place. He also jumped 20’06.5” for third place in the long jump.

Wrestling

The Keystone Kids hosted an OK USA tournament Saturday at Clyde Boyd Middle School and seven Sand Springs wrestlers won their brackets. Colton Lambert, Kason Wolfe, Ethan Norton, and Parker Ingram placed first in freestyle, Jesse Moore won in Greco, and Samuel Moore won his bracket in both styles.