Mitchell Smith Secures District Title for Sandites in 39-34 Win over Ponca City

After missing out the past two years, Sand Springs is headed back to Dual State thanks to straight toughness and senior leadership.

With one match left in the Sandites’ district dual against No. 11 Ponca City, Sand Springs trailed 34-33. It all came down to Mitchell Smith at 150 pounds.

With a knee injury that many would consider season-ending, the senior put his team on his shoulders and came out with a pin of Braden Perciful in 30 seconds to secure the 39-34 victory.

“We needed him big time,” said head coach Ty Bowling.

“I said, ‘Hey. The score is close enough. We don’t need anything big, we just need to go out and get a win.’ He goes out and finds a pin. That’s huge for us. Senior leadership.”

“We haven’t gone to dual state since my freshman year, so this is big,” said Smith. “We had some bad losses the past two years, to teams we all felt like we should have beat, so it’s nice to win like this.”

Sand Springs went on to win 46-27 against Edmond Deer Creek and 48-25 against No. 13 Union to clinch its 18th District Championship Tuesday evening at the UMAC.

“Straight toughness,” said Bowling. “We had a handful of injuries. It’s January, that’s what wrestling is. We’ve got guys with bad ankles, bad knees, so they dug deep, a lot of toughness. They battled. They showed that they wanted it.”

“We’ve been looking toward these duals all season. We knew Ponca City was the defending champ, we know what they had coming back. We knew it was going to take all 14 doing their job, whether it was finding bonus, not giving up bonus, or just going out and just gritting out a win.”

Four Sandites went undefeated at the quad, including Jaxon “Scout” Trotter, who had to start each dual at 157 pounds.

“We usually start at 106 and we started all three duals at 157,” said Bowling. “He had three tough matches and came away with three wins, so he started us off right every time.”

Freshman Hudson Sheppard and junior Mason Harris also went undefeated, winning all three of their matches by fall.

“I’m just excited,” said Harris. “It’s my first time and I just want to know what it’s like. I was one year off from knowing what it’s like so I’m just excited to bring Sand Springs back into it.”

“We have a few injuries right now that are still healing up. By the time those heal back up we’re going to be even more dominant than we are now.”

Smith won both of his matches as well. With a 46-21 lead against Deer Creek, the Sandites forfeited Smith’s weight, but the senior insisted on wrestling against Union, where he collected a 31-second pin.

“I really wanted to,” said Smith. “I wanted to wrestle the second match as well, but my coach told me not to because he didn’t want to risk it, which is fair but I’m not a big fan of sitting on the bench and watching my teammates wrestle, so I tried to get some matches in as well.”

The Sandites still have a few tough duals left before Dual State, and will host No. 4 Broken Arrow (8-1) Tuesday for Homecoming and No. 2 Stillwater (10-1) on Thursday.

The varsity boys took the weekend off but the varsity girls and junior varsity boys competed at the Morey Villareal Memorial tournament at Will Rogers High School.

The JV boys won the tournament against a field of mostly varsity competitors, topping Bartlesville 207 to 194.5.

Dawson Briscoe won the 106-pound bracket with five pins, Brody Ensten won at 157 with two pins, and Peyton Callis won at 165 with four pins.

Colt Hood, Landen Horton, and Christopher Cooper were runners-up and Jackson Burdge, Preston Reyna, Brock O’Dell, Dallas Flores, and Cash Lucas took third place.

Madison Chambers took first place, Gracie Young was second, and Kreedence Behnke was third to lead the girls varsity to a fifth-place finish.

Youth

Gage Fadenrecht, Ryker Dawes, Collin Randall, Brackton Upton, Hunter Sims, Kase Skaggs, and Jace Simms all won their brackets at the Broken Arrow Wrestlemania tournament, representing the Keystone Kids.

Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Wrestling Places 7th at Sapulpa Tournament

The Charles Page High School wrestling team took seventh place at the Jerry Billings Invitational in Sapulpa over the weekend with nine top-ten finishers.

The Sandites went 0-4 in the semifinal round, but Kase Skaggs, Jaxon Trotter, and Mason Harris won out in consolation.

Skaggs faced a rematch of his Jenks Tournament placement round in the 106 quarterfinals and easily rolled to a 9-2 decision against Tahlequah’s Jacob Caviness.

He was pinned by top-seeded Braydon Pacheco in the semifinals but upset two-seed Carlos Magallanes 6-5 in consolation and beat Chandler freshman Landon Earp 6-5 in the placement match.

Trotter defeated a pair of State qualifiers at 157 before falling to top-seeded Daniel Long, 4-2 in sudden-victory overtime. In the consolation finals he won a 7-4 upset against Tennessee State placer Wills Bronson.

Harris pinned his first two opponents at heavyweight before falling 4-0 to Kansas State Champion Sebastian Lopez in the semis. In consolation he won a 3-2 decision against Allen, Texas’s Blake Palmer.

David Ritchey placed fourth at 113, Jesse Moore placed fourth at 144, Jayden Pait placed sixth at 132, Matthew Moore placed seventh at 126, Ethan White placed eighth at 165, and Cash Lucas placed eighth at 285.

The junior high team took fourth place at the Perry tournament with three champions.

Jaxon Grigsby won the 98-pound bracket despite losing a 4-0 decision in pool play against Allen, Texas’s Caiden Campbell. He pinned four of his next five opponents, outscoring them 34-4 to set up a rematch with Campbell, which he won on a 2-0 sudden-victory takedown.

Kaden Pope won at 119 pounds with five pins and a tech fall, outscoring his opponents 63-3, including a 3-0 decision against Bristow’s Kale Fruits in the finals.

Isaac Sensintaffar won at 155, pinning three of his six foes, outscoring his foes 52-13 with a 13-8 finals decision over Broken Arrow’s Matthew Mann.

Kasen McAffrey placed third at 140, pinning five of his nine opponents while outscoring them 56-12. His only loss was a semifinals fall against the tournament champion.

Ryley Kester placed third at heavyweight, pinning all seven of his opponents with the exception of undefeated tournament winner Jon Broehl from Broken Arrow, who won a 1-0 semifinal decision.

The Keystone Kids youth wrestling club earned four gold medals at the Oiltown Throwdown in Ponca City.

Hagan Wolfenberger and Mason Londo both won their brackets while Ryker Dawes won two brackets by wrestling up a division.

UFC

Sand Springs native Jimmy Flick suffered a first-round TKO against Charles Johnson in his return to the octagon after a two-year hiatus.

The fight went to the mat late in the first round where it was called in Johnson’s favor after an unrelenting series of hammer fists and elbows to the head.

Flick is now 16-6 in his pro career and 1-1 in the UFC.

Football

Sandite receiver Kyle Morrall has received a college offer from North American University, an NAIA program in Stafford, Texas.

Defensive back RJ Smittick received his first college offer last week from McPherson College, an NAIA program in McPherson, Kansas.

Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Kelsi Hilton wins Diamond State Tournament

The Sand Springs girls varsity wrestling team took 25th place at the Inola tournament over the weekend with two medalists. Kelsi Hilton took second place at 130 pounds with three pins while Kreedence Behnke placed sixth at 100.

The junior varsity boys placed 10th at Inola with two medalists. Ayreson Reiss scored two pins and a technical fall in a runner-up performance at 106. Preston Callis was runner-up at 165 with four pins.

Hilton took first place at the Diamond State Lady Invitational over winter break, pinning three opponents for her first regular season title.

Laila Mirza and Madison Chambers placed third, Gracie Young was fourth, and Addilly Shotwell and Kreedence Behnke were sixth in Springdale.

The Keystone Kids crowned seven champions and 10 runners-up at the Bedlam Battle in Stillwater.

Brackton Upton, Maddix Spencer, Bryson Pope, Kasen McAffrey, and Trey Tunnell all won their divisions while Kydon Harness won in two divisions.

Jett Galloway, Na’Kya Canady, Caemon Young, Ryker Dawes, Jayce Parks, Eric Foust, Hudson Waag, Carsten Reiss, Wes Wilson, and Samuel Moore all took second place.

Boys Basketball

The Sand Springs varsity boys (6-3) have already matched last season’s win total with a third-place performance at the East Central Classic in Ada over the weekend.

On Thursday the Sandites won 51-42 against Ardmore (4-7) behind a 13-point performance from Michael Foster and 11 points from Blake Johnson.

They slipped against host Ada (8-3) on Friday, however, in a close 46-43 battle after leading 26-18 at halftime and 34-29 to start the fourth. Kooper Kelly scored 11 to lead the Sandites.

In the placement round Kelly was once against the team leader with 11 points in a 53-45 win over 3A No. 8 Hugo (10-4). Kelly was named to the All-Tournament team.

Girls Basketball

Hailey Jackson became the second player under Josh Berry to join the 1,000 point club at Sand Springs as the Lady Sandites (8-4) placed sixth at the Putnam City Invitational.

The senior star scored 28 in a 50-46 loss to No. 17 Norman North (6-5) on Thursday and added 17 in a 49-34 win over Muskogee (2-6).

In Saturday’s placement match with 4A No. 7 Harding Prep (12-2) Jackson scored 25 and put herself over the 1,000 mark with a third-quarter free throw. The Sandites lost that game 57-47.

Sakauri Wilson scored 13 and Kiaryn Taylor added 12 in the win over Muskogee, and Wilson added 17 against Harding.

Sandite basketball will return to action with conference road games at Union on Tuesday and will host Owasso on Thursday.

Football

Several Sandite football players are receiving college offers. Jacob Blevins, Kyle Morrall, and Ryley Kester have all been recruited by Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

Former Sandite offensive line coach Jason Medrano has been hired as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at NWOSU.

Brian Boyles, Fernando Saldana Propel WSA Team to National Championship

View fullsize

The West Side Alliance’s U19 team won the Super Y League National Championship in Tampa Bay on December 13th, and two Sandites were key contributors.

Brian Boyles and Fernando Saldana compete on the 04/05 Boys team for the WSA, a competitive soccer club based in Sand Springs and West Tulsa.

Boyles is a senior at Charles Page High School and Saldana is a 2021 CPHS alum..

“When we got there I think we all had a goal in mind and that was to win a national championship,” said Boyles.

“We all knew what we could do and we were fully capable of doing that.”

In Tampa the WSA team defeated New York’s Westchester Flames 4-3 in overtime after coming back from a 3-1 deficit. After taking the lead, they had to hold it for seven minutes.

“Going 3-1 down in the final, in the last 10 or 15 minutes you expect teams to quit,” said Boyles. “Down two goals with not much time left, I feel like we were ready for that moment.”

The finals battle was a rematch of a 3-1 WSA victory from pool play.

“It actually made it harder on us because it’s hard to beat a team twice, especially in the same tournament, and they were obviously the other best team there besides us.”

En route to the finals, the WSA group won 6-2 against Michigan’s Liverpool FC, 2-0 against Maryland’s Arundel SA, and 3-1 against Northern Virginia United Academy, in addition to the first match against Westchester.

“When we went into our first game we weren’t nervous at all like how teams are usually nervous on their first game,” said Boyles.

“We were laughing, having fun in the warmups, and it showed when we were so relaxed and won our first game 6-2.”

“I think that momentum just kept going throughout the whole tournament. I feel like we were more confident than the other teams as a whole. That just made us feel better about ourselves going into each next game.”

Saldana was named the MVP of the game after scoring both the equalizer and the game winner.

Saldana and Boyles didn’t get to play much together as Sandites. The 2020 season was canceled after only three matches due to the initial COVID-19 outbreak, then Boyles broke his foot during the 2021 season.

Despite this, the two have a close relationship. While many teammates feel a sense of brotherhood, Boyles actually describes it as a father-son relationship.

“He’s always been like the older guy in the locker room. A mentor. He’s always been someone who, if I need help with something, I can always just go and ask him. He’s a good person to learn off of because he’s humble and quiet and he’s just a guy that you want to be around.”

Boyles will be looking for some of that club success to translate into prep wins as the Sandites enter their second season under Brent Lollis this spring.

Laila Mirza Becomes First-Ever Girls Tournament Champion from Sand Springs

View fullsize

Laila Mirza is officially the first ever regular-season tournament champion for the Sand Springs girls wrestling program.

The junior 120 pounder won the Joe Cole Classic in Cleveland, helping her team to a program-best 2nd place finish. All five Lady Sandites placed top-four in their divisions.

“I found her in the weight room because I help coach (Kevin) Avey with the girls weightlifting,” said head coach Ty Bowling, who started the girls’ program this year.

“She tries to get as much extra work (during free period) or during weightlifting period when they’re not lifting weights, and she’ll stay after practice.”

“She’s one that gets here early and stays late,” said Bowling.

Mirza pinned her first two opponents without giving up a single point, then received two forfeits in the round-robin bracket.

“She’s run cross country and she’s ran some track, and she told me at the beginning of the year that she had never ever won a medal.”

“That preseason tournament she went to she got first, then she took sixth (at Jay) and got a medal there, and then she got first here, so she’s kind of three for three on the medals in wrestling.”

Kelsi Hilton placed third at 140 pounds with three pins, only losing in a close 8-5 decision to the tournament champion.

Addily Shotwell placed third at 170 with one pin. Kreedence Behnke placed third and Madison Chambers was fourth at 100 pounds.

“Our girls are working hard,” said Bowling. “Wrestling’s not an easy sport and they’re in here every day doing it exactly like the boys are doing.”

“We’re not trying to put too much pressure on them, but we’re telling them how they’re going to be forever remembered as the girls that started (the program) and have a chance to be the first ever Sand Springs girls State qualifiers.”

The junior varsity boys placed fourth at the tournament despite mostly facing varsity competitors.

Kase Skaggs won the 113-pound bracket and four other Sandites also medaled.

Skaggs outscored his opponents 51 to 13 with a pin and two major decisions before earning a 4-2 decision over State qualifier Daxtyn Davis.

Peyton Callis was runner-up at 165 with three pins; Cash Lucas was runner-up at 285 with three pins; Jesse Moore placed third at 144 with four pins; and Logan Childers placed fourth at 113 with three pins.

The junior high boys team placed 12th with two total medalists and the junior high girls placed 14th with one medalist.

Gage Gunn placed fourth at 132 with three pins; Dallas Flores placed fourth at 155 with five pins; and Rylee Allen placed fourth at girls 117 with two pins.

The Keystone Kids wrestling club had no problem winning the Sand Springs Slam tournament over the weekend with 28 champions, nearly tripling the score of runner-up Barnsdall.

Jase Morgan, Maddix Spencer, Hagan Wolfenberger, Kason Wolfe, Acetyn Hart, Sutton Hawley, Zander Pope, Rylan Hamby, Ty Galloway, Samuel Moore, Joshua Compton, Griffin Sensintaffar, Ayreson Reiss, David Ritchey, Matthew Moore, Kasen McAffrey, Samuel Reichel, Jaxon Trotter, Brenntly Taylor, Jayce Parks, Caemon Young, Ryker Dawes, Collin Randall, Hunter Sims, Colt Combs, Kydon Harness, Gage Buchanan, and Saylor Eaglin all won their divisions.

The varsity boys and girls will return to action Tuesday, December 20th with home duals against Sapulpa at 6:00 p.m.

Sandite Weekly Sports Roundup: Wrestling Dominates Season-Opening Duals

The Ty Bowling era opened with a bang this week as the No. 13 Sand Springs wrestling team won its first two duals convincingly Thursday at the Ed Dubie Field House before placing sixth out of 35 teams at the Mid America Nations in Enid over the weekend.

In the first dual of the season the Sandites rolled to a 49-18 win over 5A No. 8 Duncan (1-1), going 10-4 in individual matches with six wins by fall.

The teams traded blows to an 18-18 tie after seven matches before Mitchell Smith won a 10-1 major decision to kick off a seven-match win streak.

That streak carried over into the next dual as the Sandites opened with three-straight wins in a 60-12 romp against the defending Arkansas Dual State Champions from Rogers Heritage (4-2)

Colt Hood won a 9-2 decision against defending State Champion Ethan McCrary at 120 pounds to take a 12-0 lead before the visitors got on the board.

The Sandites only lost three matches, all by close decisions, two of which were to returning State placers.

Jaden Allen and Mason Harris both pinned returning State placers and the Sandites totalled eight wins by fall.

At the Enid tournament the Sandites finished with four wrestlers in the top four of their brackets.

David Ritchey placed third at 113 with two pins, Smith placed third at 150 with three pins, Mason Harris finished third at 285 with five pins, and Ethan White finished fourth at 165 with four pins.

Jaxon Trotter placed 7th, Jayden Pait 10th, Ali McCoy 11th, Dawson Briscoe 18th, Allen 18th, Hood 18th, Jackson Burdge 19th, Preston Reyna 22nd, Jace Simms 23rd, Brody Ensten 25th.

The Keystone Kids wrestling club placed third at the Rumble in the Jungle tournament in Coweta over the weekend.

Hudson Waag, Hagan Wolfenberger, Sutton Hawley, Ryder Richardson, Ayreson Reiss, Ryker Dawes, Collin Randall, Brackton Upton, and Kydon Harness all won their brackets.

Dance

The Charles Page High School dance team took second place in 6A Small School Hip Hop at the OSDTDA State Championship on Saturday and the JV/JH team won its division.

Baseball

Sand Springs varsity baseball coach Matt Brown was recognized as the OBCA Region 7 Coach of the Year following the Sandites’ 31-8 season in 2022.

“Coach of the Year awards don’t happen without the best assistant coaches, great players, amazing families, and supportive administration,” tweeted Brown.

Football

Brody Rutledge was named the 6A-II District 2 Wide Receiver of the Year after catching 51 passes for 748 yards and eight touchdowns this season, averaging 14.7 yards per pass. He also had 18 carries for 131 yards and a score.

Jacob Blevins was also named an All-District receiver with 47 catches for 659 yards and four total touchdowns.

Drake Fain was named an All-District linebacker with 101 tackles. RJ Smittick was named an All-District defensive back with 64 tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Dominic Ornelas and Charles Gaylord made the All-District defensive line. Ornelas had 14 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. Gaylord had 33 tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Jabe Schlehuber (WR/DB) and Cody Cramer (DB) received Honorable Mentions. Schlehuber had 27 catches for 369 yards and three touchdowns, as well as two interceptions. Cramer also had two interceptions to go with 57 tackles.