Cheyenne Walden takes 2nd in Fayetteville, whole team improves

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief 

Varsity Girls take 42nd

Cheyenne Walden came in second at the 2015 Chile Pepper XC Festival. It was her first time this season not taking first place, but with 71 schools participating, it's still incredibly impressive. She was 12 seconds behind first place runner Chelsea Drum of Jackson High School and had a 12 second lead on third placer Tori Findley of Blue Springs South High School. Her streak of five first-place finishes may have come to an end, but she finished with a season-best 17:58.97, beating her previous season-best of 18:25 at Broken Arrow.

Alexis Davis finished second among the Lady Sandites and 209th overall with a season-best 21:26.91, improving on her 22:21 at Broken Arrow.

Third among the Lady Sandites was Nia Byrd with a season-best 22:30.80 for 315th place. Her previous best was 22:32 at Muskogee. 

Next was Elizabeth Watts at 326th place with a season-best 22:37.55. Her previous best was 23:43.6 at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree.

Stephanie Genn took 404th place with a 23:39.84 season-best improvement on her 25:18 time at Broken Arrow.

Julia Lewis came in 456th place with a 24:34.29 season-best to overcome her 25:45 at Broken Arrow.

Varsity Boys take 64th of 84

Austin McCaskey raced neck-and-neck with Aden Baughman and came out on top with a season-best 18:12.48. This is his first time leading the Sandites as he finished 349th overall. His previous best was 19:34 at Broken Arrow.

Right behind McCaskey was Baughman in a 350th place finish with a time of 18:13.02. This is his personal best for the season, beating his 18:57 at Muskogee. In their last race, Baughman led the Sandites for the first time this season at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree.

Jacob Garbey had an impressive varsity debut, coming in 394th overall, third among the Sandites, with a time of 18:30.61.

Landin Green has led the Sandites in four races this season, but this time came in 444th with an 18:48.79 finish.

Not far behind was Brayden Hardesty with a season-best 18:50.46, overcoming his 19:48 at Muskogee for a 448th place finish. 

Ian Baustert had his second-best time of the season, coming in 531st place at 19:33.16.

Phillip Elleman had his varsity debut at OSU where he finished in 20:31.2. This race he chipped that time down to 20:26.58 for a 598th place finish.

Lady Sandite Volleyball is Roughed up on Senior Night

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sand Springs Lady Sandite volleyball team hosted 15th ranked Muskogee for Senior Night Thursday and were soundly defeated 3-0.

Sophomore basketball stand-out Glori Mutiri continues to prove herself an all-around outstanding athlete as she led her team in scoring with 9 total kills, 1 ace, and 3 blocks.

It was Claire Farmer of the Muskogee Lady Roughers, however, who led the match with 17 kills, 2 aces, and 1 block.

The scoring in the first game was pretty evenly distributed amongst all players for both teams.

Farmer got the first kill of the night, but Sand Springs was right behind with kills from Makenzie Ward and Holly Kersgieter. The Roughers soon put distance on the home team, however, as Madison Were got a kill, Carsen Lamont aced, and the Sandites committed a series of faults to give the visitors a 7-3 lead.

Kelsey Hackerott tried to reverse the tide with a kill of her own, but Muskogee got the side out right away as Wren Seabolt set up Cierra Lewis for the first of many powerful kills. Lewis quickly established herself as one of the most dominant players on the court, with the most assists and second-most kills on her team.

Ultimately, the Roughers pulled ahead to a 25-11 win with Lewis leading scoring for the game with three kills and one assist.

The Roughers came out for game two on fire. Allie Jiles aced to start the scoring, Dayli Satterfield set up Farmer twice for back-to-back kills, then Jiles got yet another ace. Farmer brought the Roughers to a 6-0 lead before Sand Springs finally got on the board as Jiles hit the net on her serve.

Game two was a showdown between Mutiri and Farmer. Mutiri led the Sandites with seven kills, including one ace and three blocks. It wasn’t enough to give her team the edge though, as Farmer was right there with her with seven kills and an ace of her own.

Lee Leslie got the lone dig of the night as Sand Springs sided out, trailing 11-6. Mutiri served up her ace on the next rally, and the Sandites began to close the gap thanks to Mutiri’s blocks and kills from Leslie and Hackerott.

Muskogee felt the pressure as their lead was cut to 16-13 and used a timeout to rally the team. Farmer came out hot and scored a kill right into Makenzie Ward’s face. Satterfield and Lamont got aces and Lewis set up Were for the game point, 25-16.

In the final game of the night, the Lady Sandites looked like they might come from behind to win a set as they led for thirteen straight rallies before Muskogee finally caught up. Hackerott aced to give Sand Springs the lead and Ward set up Leslie for a kill. Mutiri tried to spike for a kill but found Farmer waiting like a brick wall with a block for the side out.

Sand Springs got it right back, however as Lamont’s serve hit the net. Leslie blocked for a point and Hillsbury got her second kill of the night. Ward tied Lewis for most assist of the night, and set up Kersgieter for a kill to give Sand Springs the 8-5 lead.

Muskogee won the next six rallies, however, and finally Sand Springs used a time out as they trailed 13-9.

They found a little motivation and pulled in close to 14-13 before Muskogee finally pulled away and dealt the Sandites their final loss of the regular season, 25-16.

Muskogee improves to 21-11 on the season and will travel to Jenks Thursday to take on Ponca City at 6:00.

Sand Springs falls to 12-23 to end the regular season and will travel to Owasso Thursday at 4:30 to play the Rams. The winner of that game will play the winner of Edmond Memorial vs. Bartlesville at 7:30.

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Grand Slam Schuler seals Sandites' ticket to State

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

It was a hell of a day for the Sand Springs Lady Sandite softball team.

After a 25-7 regular season and a 13-1 district record, it came down to Regionals for Charles Page High School and they got to host their own tournament at the Sandite Sporting Complex in Prattville. By all expectations, the only team that should have given the Sandites any trouble was Union, who had beaten them 5-2 early in the season.

It was a complete surprise when they found themselves with a 2-1 loss in the opening game to a team with a losing record. Claremore moved forward, while the top-seeded Sandites fell to the loser’s bracket. It would be an uphill climb from there. They narrowly fended off Ponca City 4-3, whom they had shut-out run-ruled twice earlier in the season. The Sandites had lost their swag.

It would take either a miracle, or more perseverance than most students will ever muster to overcome the odds stacked against them. The Lady Sandites threw the odds out the window.

After Union dealt Claremore a 6-2 loss the day before, the Lady Sandites had to replay the Lady Zebras to move forward. It was a slow start, but the Sandites found their feet in the top of the third.

Goose Salyers, the pitcher, hit a line drive double into the fence and was soon joined by Stella Millican who drew a walk. Sydney Pennington followed Salyers’s lead with a left field double to score Salyers, but Millican was put out on third by Loren Shockley. With two outs, Jessica Schuler stepped up to the plate and sent Pennington home on a single into right field for a 2-0 lead.

The next inning was even more impressive. Jessica Collins and Caley Thompson both hit singles and Kimi Presnell sacrificed herself to advance them to second and third. Then, Madelyn Blair stepped up with a 2RBI double and was eventually brought home on a single by Salyers.

In the final inning Schuler was hit by a pitch and was replaced on first base by courtesy-runner Carsidy Perdue. Kalli Mallory hit a double to advance Perdue to third, and she was eventually scored on a bunt single by Collins for a final score of 6-0.

The Lady Sandites got the win, but they still had a long road ahead of them. Union was undefeated in a double-elimination tournament, and the Sandites would have to beat them twice in a double-header to win the Regional.

Senior Stella Millican started off the scoring for the Sandites, bunting for a single, and was brought home on a sacrifice fly by Schuler. Next up was Collins with a left field double, batted in by Rachel Blair with a bunt single.

In the fifth inning Salyers and Millican were both put out and it came down to Pennington to get Sand Springs back on track. A left field single put her on base and Schuler followed her with a walk. Catcher Kalli Mallory brought home Pennington with a single and the Sandites won 3-0.

Salyers got the win on the mound against Union. 

It was do-or-die in game three. Jessica Shuler and Madelyn Blair elected to “do.”

Schuler and Mallory hit singles and Mallory was replaced by Thompson as a curtesy-runner. Presnell drew a walk to load the bases. With two outs and one strike, Madelyn Blair brought home everyone but herself on a 3RBI Triple into the centerfield fence. Salyers was next up with a double to score Blair and just like that, the Sandites had scored more runs in one inning than they did in the entire first game.

The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the fifth when Pennington hit the first home run of the night over the left field fence. Collins was not far behind her with her own homerun to take things to 6-0.

Union threatened in the top of the sixth as Sammi Dutton hit a single and Lexi Dobson hit a double. After a brief timeout, the Sandites found their motivation and didn’t allow another base hit.

It was clear who the victor would be, but Schuler wanted to put a good measure on Union just to prove to anyone who might doubt that the Sandites are still not a team to mess with. Cameron Clemons hit a single, Salyers hit a single on a full count, and Millican was walked to load the bases. Pennington brought home Clemons on a single for a 7-0 lead and then it was Schuler’s time to shine with a 4RBI Grand Slam to win the game an inning early by run-rule.

Pennington got the start and win on the mound.

From the brink of elimination to the indisputable regional champions, the Lady Sandites improved to a 29-8 record and earned their ticket to the State Championship. This marks their thirteenth regional championship.

 Detailed write-ups on each game, including stats and photos, will be up this weekend. Thanks for reading and be sure to tell your friends and family about www.SanditePride.com!

*This article has been corrected to reflect Salyers as the pitcher in the first game against Union and Pennington as the pitcher in game 2.

**This article has been corrected to include a run by Carsidy Perdue in the 7th inning against Claremore for a final score of 6-0.

The Path to State, Part 2: Lady Sandite Softball beats Ponca City 4-3

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sand Springs Lady Sandites stayed alive in round two of the Regional playoffs—barely. After a shocking upset by the Claremore Zebras, Sand Springs found themselves on the same tier as a team they had already shut out twice this season. The Ponca City Lady Cats wouldn’t make it a third time. Union had little problem shutting them out 5-0 in round one, but the Wildcats came out swinging in round two and barely gave up the game to Sand Springs 4-3, and it came down to the final inning.

Charles Page has had a lackluster last couple of games, and that streak continued over into this one. After trailing for three innings, they finally came from behind to win it in the bottom of the seventh.

It should never have been that close. In the fourth game of the season, Sand Springs shut out Ponca 10-0 at home. Last month, the Lady Sandites brought an even tougher game to the Wildcats’ home and brought back an 11-0 win. 21-0 over two games, and they won this one by one blessed run.

Goose Salyers got the win on the mound for Sand Springs, allowing only one earned run and twelve hits against five strikeouts and a .468 strike percentage. Ashlynn Mercer got the loss for Ponca, also allowing twelve hits with two earned runs against only two strike outs and a .325 strike percentage.

Ponca pulled off a better batting average, but one thing was clear. When Sandites swing, they swing for the fence. Ten of Ponca’s hits were singles, whereas nine of Sand Springs’s were doubles. Only two Sandites struck out, two hit sacrifices, and two were walked, so the home team ended up with a much better on-base percentage of .424 against the Wildcats’ .375.

Just like in the first game, it was clear who the better team was. Yet for some reason, the stats weren’t translating well to the field.

It didn’t start out looking as bleak as it ended. The Lady Sandites emerged to an early lead in the first inning as Sydney Pennington brought in Salyers on a double that hit the fence. Schuler was right behind her with a double of her own, but their momentum was broken up as Schuler’s ball collided with left fielder Kylie Hopkins’s face. After several minutes of lying on the ground, she left the field on her own feet, but was replaced for the duration of the game by Bailee Johnson.

It was an unfortunate incident for both teams, as it was enough to break up the Sandite momentum and leave both Pennington and Schuler stranded.

The game entered a dry spell and the score didn’t change until the bottom of the third when Kenzie Lyons hit a right field single and Camenda Osborne scored on it due to an error by catcher Kali Mallory.

Then, the cats took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning on a run from the same player. Osborne hit a leadoff double and advanced to third on a single by Karly Kothe before being batted in once again by Lyons.

By the seventh inning, things were dire and the Sandite offense was under serious pressure. Not only did they trail by two, but they were playing as the guests so they had to score enough runs to keep the Wildcats from winning it in the bottom of the inning.

Pennington came out swinging, hitting a leadoff double into the fence. Kali Mallory hit a groundball double and scored Pennington on an error by catcher Samantha Murry. Mallory was replaced by curtesy runner Cameron Clemons, and it was a great call. Caley Thompson entered the game for the first time that night and hit a single. With Stella Millican at bat, Clemons was quick on her feet, stealing home plate on a catcher’s error. All Millican had to do was hit a sacrifice groundball to score Thompson, who had just stolen second, and just like that the Sandites had the lead once again.

Salyers allowed only one hit in the bottom of the inning and the Sandites won 4-3.

The girls are going to need to find their mojo quickly if they’re going to pull off some Sandite magic tomorrow. It will be a long hard uphill road. The Union Redskins beat Claremore 6-2, meaning Sand Springs will have a rematch at noon.

If Sand Springs proves the first game against Claremore to be a fluke, they’ll still have to beat Union not just once, but twice. The tournament is double elimination, so for Sand Springs to win it’ll be a triple header with no time to rest between rounds. If Sand Springs wins, the first game against Union will be at 2 PM, and the second would be at 4 PM. Not to mention that the last time Sand Springs played Union was coincidentally at the Claremore Festival and was a 5-2 loss.

It’ll be a rough road to State, but these girls are 26-8 for a reason. They’ve outscored their opponents 239 to 92 this season and went 13-1 in district. If anybody can pull it off, the Sand Springs Lady Sandites can.

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The Path to State, Part 1: Lady Sandite Softball is upset 2-1 by Claremore at Regionals

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sand Springs Lady Sandite softball team had a rough start to Regionals Tuesday, losing 2-1 in the first round to Claremore.

Sand Springs Schools gave students an excused absence if their parents called them out to attend the home regionals and it resulted in a packed house. Unfortunately, having a large home crowd wasn’t enough to turn the tide in their favor.

It’s been a long road to State for Sand Springs, going 25-7 overall in the regular season. The girls were undefeated 13-0 in district play up until the final game when they lost 4-0 to Yukon, a team they had beat 7-6 earlier in the season, and lost their district title in the process.

The girls apparently haven’t gotten over that disappointment, as their mojo’s been off ever since. The next game they barely beat Skiatook 4-3 in extra innings, and now in Regionals they lose to Claremore. Both teams have mediocre records and should have been easy wins for a team that won eight games by ten or more points and had five shutouts.

The Sandite offense had a better batting average, slugging average, and on base percentage than the Lady Zebras, but something just wasn’t quite clicking and the runs weren’t coming in. The Zebras scored two runners on only six hits, but Sand Springs had ten base-hits and could only bring one runner home.

Sydney Pennington got the loss on the mound for the Sandites, allowing one earned run and striking out six batters with a .452 strike percentage. Kiley Lawson got the win on the mound with one earned run, three strikeouts, and a .383 strike percentage.

The Lady Sandites started off well in the first inning, allowing only one hit, and putting out two runners on a double play as Pennington scooped up a groundball hit by McKenzie Thomas and sent it to second base to put out Kenzie Johnson, then Kimi Presnell put out Thomas with a fast pass to Jessica Schuler on first. The home team was put to a stop offensively, however, and left Jessica Collins stranded on third.

Claremore was first to light up the scoreboard as Kassidee Flowers was batted in on a left field single by Abbey Mayfield in the third inning. In the bottom of the inning Salyers tried to even things out with a groundball into right field for a single, but was left stranded on the next play.

In the fourth inning Kali Mallory took advantage of an error to take first base but was also left stranded on the next play.

In inning five, the Red Zebras furthered their lead as Holland Rader was hit by a pitch and went on to score on a single by Mayfield.

Cody Cheatham and Presnell were left stranded in the fifth and in the sixth Schuler hit a single and Mallory hit a double just for both to be left hanging as Rachel Blair was put out at first.

It came down to seventh inning. Pennington allowed no hits to start the inning. Presnell and Madelyn Blair both hit singles and Salyers was walked to load the bases. Up walked Pennington to home plate and it looked like the setting for a storybook grand slam to end the game. The first pitch was a ball. The second pitch sounded like thunder as it connected with Pennington’s bat and moments later connected with the fence. Presnell crossed home plate. Blair was fast, but the Zebra defense was faster and she was put out at third to end the game.

The Lady Sandites fell to 25-8 for the season as Claremore broke their losing record and improved to 15-15.

In a stunning upset, the home team found themselves headed to the losers’ bracket. 

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Noah Grimett's debut varsity start is stellar

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Claremore Zebras found themselves in a bind in the opening week of district play as they took on the top-ranked defending state champions from Bixby. When word came that Spartan star running back Nic Roller would be sitting out the game, the Zebras thought the odds were on their side--right up until their starting quarterback had to leave the game. 

They found their saving grace in 5'8" 215-pound sophomore Noah Grimett. Grimett wasted no time in putting points on the board with a 2-yard run to cut the Zebra deficit to 17-14 with just over a minute in the first half.

His next big play came on an 80-yard touchdown pass to Paul Hoke for the final Claremore score of the game. Though the game was a 20-point loss, it was a moral victory as they proved they could roll with the best as they lead the Spartans multiple times and didn't allow the state champs to pull away until the fourth quarter.

The next week Grimett got his first varsity start at quarterback in a district match-up against the Sand Springs Sandites, but looking at his stats, you wouldn't think it was his first. Though he only scored one touchdown, it was an impressive 28-yard pass to Paul Hoke and it was against one of the best defenses in the state.

Grimett was 6 of 11 for 106 with zero interceptions and led both teams in rushing with 89 yards over 28 plays. Though Arron McCollough expected to return in week 7 against Muskogee, Grimett will get one more start next week when they take on yet another top ranked team--Booker T Washington at home.

With two and a half seasons ahead of him and two solid games under his belt, the future looks bright for young Noah Grimett.