#1 Sandites finish regular season undefeated with 64-6 domination of Jenks

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The top-ranked Charles Page High School varsity wrestling team iced the cake of their perfect 11-0 season at Frank Herald Field House Thursday night, winning thirteen matches and forfeiting one. 

The dual started at 182 with Lane Lettich (11-6) taking down Naimul Islam almost immediately and pinning him in only 44 seconds for a 6-0 team lead.

195 #9 Zach Sims (20-19) received a forfeit to make it 12-0.

220 Delvin Jordan (12-4) had a close match against #10 Sam Wilson. The linebacker took a 2-1 lead in the first period and made it 3-1 in the second with an escape. Wilson started the third on bottom and managed an escape with about thirty seconds left, but Jordan got his hooks in and held on to neutral for a 3-2 decision.

Gage Fain (11-16) wrestled up to 285 as usual, and pulled out the pin despite being heavily outweighed by Alex Chavez. The first period was a stalemate and Fain chose bottom for a quick second period escape point, then took Chavez down for a 2:24 fall.

Rounding back to 106, Scott Patton (7-2) scored a 9-0 major decision over Jacob Patrick with a takedown in each period and near-fall points to wrap it up and make the team score 25-0.

113 #5 Michael Ritchey (19-14) got a rematch against Chase Slatton whom he defeated 5-1 at the Yukon tournament. This time the Trojan would make it a lot closer. Ritchey started off hot with a takedown and near-fall, but Slatton battled out of it for a reversal to end the first period 5-2. From there it was Ritchey on the defensive end, getting taken down twice in the second period and barely holding a 7-6 lead with a pair of escapes. Slatton started the third on bottom and tied things up with the escape. With thirty seconds left, the pressure was on and Ritchey found an opening for a takedown. Slatton slithered out with a few seconds left, but it was too late and the Sandite got the 9-8 decision. 

120 #5 Blake Sargent (31-9) had total control of his match against Matthew Hillburn, scoring a takedown in the first period, a reversal in the second, and wrapping it up with a 2:11 pin and a 34-0 team lead.

126 #3 Jack Karstetter (31-6) also had little difficulty taking a 4-1 lead before pinning Austin Daniels in 1:07.

132 Derek Davis (11-5) ran up the points on Ryan Weiss, outscoring him 4-1 in the first and 5-1 in the second, then the two remain neutral for the entirety of the third for a 9-2 decision and 43-0 team score.  

138 Daton Fix (36-0) did what Daton Fix does and took down Thomas Lewis for a near-fall before the sophomore battled out of it and was given an escape point. Fix continued to run it up to 14-2 before pinning Lewis in 2:10, marking his 19th fall of the season.

Beau Bratcher (34-6) received a forfeit at 145 to make the team score 54-0.

152 Cody Mathis (14-12) took on Chase Kelvington in a come-from-behind victory by decision. The Trojan held a 2-0 lead after the first period and the two started the second neutral. Mathis tied things up briefly, till Kelvington escaped, but took a 4-3 lead into the final period with an inside trip. The Sandite started on bottom and scored a quick reverse. Kelvington escaped, just to be taken down one final time just before the buzzer for a 10-5 decision. 

The last match of the night was 160 #3 Zane Basma (27-9) versus Antjuan Overton. The Sandite was well on his way to a tech fall, practicing takedowns and letting the Trojan free. Basma had two near-falls and a 16-2 lead when he finally pinned his man in 2:34.

The Sandites had no wrestler for 170 and forfeited to #3 Drew Hinkle to give the Trojans their only points of the night. The junior high match was also won by the Sandites, 39-32.

The next stop for the Sandites will be Firelake Arena in Shawnee for the Dual State Championships on February 12-13. The brackets have yet to be released, but there's likely only one team that could potentially throw a wrench in the Sandites' plans. Sand Springs already beat #2 Broken Arrow 33-19, but neither team was at full strength when they last met. 

#1 Sandites pin entire Putnam City West team in under 14 minutes

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Shutouts are pretty rare in wrestling. Even the number one team in Oklahoma only has two. But perfect shutouts? Almost unheard of. Wrestling isn't like most other sports. There's a limit to how many points you can score. With only fourteen matches per dual, and six team points being the most any single wrestler can earn, the most points a team can win by is 84. That's exactly what Sand Springs did to the Putnam West Patriots at Districts.

To earn a perfect win, every single match must be decided by pin or forfeit. There are rarities where teams forfeit several matches, like when the Bixby Spartans had a Staph outbreak and forfeited seven matches to Sand Springs. But even then the Sandites only won 57-15. 

Putnam West only forfeited the opening match at 106 to Scott Patton. From there all thirteen of their wrestlers would be pinned, and only one would make it past the first period. 

113 Michael Ritchey (18-14) pinned Chandler Tolton in 1:20. 

120 Blake Sargent (30-9) pinned Brandon Sparks in 12.9 seconds.

126 Jack Karstetter (30-6) pinned Alex Dejesus in 33.6 seconds.

132 Derek Davis (10-5) pinned Taylor Simmons in a team-best 5.7 seconds.

138 Daton Fix (35-0) pinned Landon Loudmilk in 60 seconds.

145 Beau Bratcher (33-6) pinned Emmanuel Carreno in 1:29.

152 Cody Mathis (13-12) pinned Matt Hart in 2:47.

160 Zane Basma (26-9) pinned Terell Garett in 38.7 seconds.

170 Bryton Beck (10-14) pinned Khristian Boyd in 1:15.

182 Lane Lettich (10-6) pinned Chance Strickland in 45.9 seconds.

195 Cole Dixon (4-4) pinned Ahmaurion Rhomby in 1:18.

220 Delvin Jordan (11-4) pinned Donavon Kapple in 27.4 seconds.

285 Gage Fain (10-16) pinned Dawson Mclain in 1:21.

There's a good reason why 25 of 28 coaches voted these boys the best in the State. There's only one dual left before the State Tournament in Shawnee, so if you want to see these guys wrestle you need to be at Jenks tonight at 7:00!

Sandite of the Week: Sydney Pennington

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Morgan Miller, Staff

This week Sandite Pride would like to recognize CPHS junior Sydney Pennington as Sandite of the Week for her outstanding sportsmanship and incredible performance at this past weekend's tournament.

Pennington has led all scorers for the last two seasons, has led her team in four games this season, and averages just under thirteen points per game this season.

She scored 10 last Tuesday against Bishop Kelley, then scored 36 over three games at Coffeyville's Interstate Classic tournament, including a season-high 22 in the championship win over Life Prep Academy. 

Pennington was named to the All Tournament Team along with Gloria Mutiri, and was voted the tournament's Most Inspirational Player.

In addition to being one of the best ballers in recent memory, Pennington was also one of the top sluggers on the school's State Runner-Up fast pitch softball team and is an Oklahoma State University softball commit. 

6A #1 Sandites defeat 5A #1 Collinsville with bonus points

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Virgil Noah, Staff

The 6A #1 Sand Springs Sandites (10-0) defeated the 5A #1 Collinsville Cardinals (14-2) Tuesday night, spoiling the smaller school’s homecoming festivities. The matches were split 7-7 but the Sandites came out well ahead on bonus points with four pins.

The dual started off at 106 with #3 Connor Henson scoring an early takedown of #7 Riley Weir (16-8), but the match was broken up multiple times due to bleeding on the part of the Cardinal. Weir scored an escape, then a takedown to carry a 3-2 lead into the second period where the pair started neutral. The first minute was an exhausting battle for control, before Henson finally scored points with thirty seconds left. Weir wouldn’t be held for long, however, and escaped within moments to even things out 4-4. The final period also started neutral, but this time Henson took control quickly for a 6-4 lead. Henson rode a nearly immobile Weir till there was a mere thirty seconds left when the Sandites used a timeout to inspect Weir’s pained elbow. The Sandite freshman is recovering from a severally strained tendon, but that didn’t stop him from escaping and scoring a takedown with seconds left for a 7-6 decision and a 3-0 team lead.

At 113 it was #5 Michael Ritchey (18-14) versus #6 Xavear Cullors. The first period was a bunch of dancing and neither scored points till Cullors managed an escape to start the second. He followed it up quickly with a takedown and rode Ritchey into the third. The pair started neutral and Cullors took Ritchey down once more. The Sandite’s lone point came on an escape with thirty left and Collinsville got the 5-1 decision to tie things up.

120 #6 Blake Sargent (30-9) and #4 Gunner Hamm were at an impasse for nearly all of the first till Sargent scored a takedown with less than two seconds left. He followed it up with an escape two seconds into the second period, then added another takedown with a minute to spare and turned it into near-fall with twenty left and started the third with an 11-0 lead. The third started the way of the first but Sargent managed another takedown with forty seconds left. He failed to score again, however, and settled for a 13-0 major decision.

The quickest match of the night was the 0:29 pin of 126 Pete Flippo by #4 Jack Karstetter (30-6). Karstetter has won his last fifteen matches and just took first place at both the Yukon and Sand Springs tournaments.

132 Derek Davis (10-5) is didn’t get that record just by showing up. The kid is good, but he was pitted against #1 reigning 5A State Champion Nate Keim, and that’s tough. Keim just went 7-0 at the Ram Duals this past weekend, and clearly he wasn’t done adding to that streak. Keim scored on a takedown a minute in, then let Davis out just to take him down again. Keim started the second period down and immediately escaped, and needed only twenty seconds to take Davis down for a near-fall. Davis battled out of it, but the Cardinal took a 12-0 lead, then added another takedown before pinning him in 3:48 to close the gap to 13-9.

Ryce Haymaker is probably a great wrestler. But you can’t judge anyone by how well they match up against 138 #1 Daton Fix. The two-time State Champion is 35-0 this season, 108-0 overall, and nobody gets close to beating him outside of national championships. Fix took a 4-2 lead faster than I can type and continued his cat and mouse routine of letting his opponent up just to immediately take him down again till he had an 8-4 lead and was satisfied with his takedown-practice for the day. Haymaker was wrapped up in a textbook cradle only 1:43 in, and the Sandites increased their lead to 19-9.

#2 Beau Bratcher (33-6) has had a rough week. In his last match he was pitted against 138 #1 Jaxen Gilmore. This time it 145 State Runner-Up #1 Justin Walker. The two gridlocked through the first period and started the second neutral and repeated till Walker finally scored a takedown right at the buzzer. Bratcher managed an escape with a minute left, but was unable to score and lost 2-1

152 Cody Mathis (13-12) had an equally difficult matchup in #1 State Champion Elijah Tanner. Tanner got a takedown with twenty seconds left in the first and Mathis started the second period down. Mathis failed to escape through the second and Tanner escaped quickly to start the third. He added a takedown with a minute to spare and took a 5-0 decision.

Another top level battle came at 160 as #2 Payton Scott (11-4) took on #3 Tony Connor. Scott was the only one pressing the action for most of the first period and Connor caught him off guard, striking out of a defensive position for a takedown. Scott got an escape moments later, however, and gave up an escape to start the second to wrestle from a 3-1 deficit. It cost him, however, as he failed to get the points he was expecting and continued to trail into the third. He escaped to start the third and was working on an inside trip when the time ran out and he lost 3-2.

#4 Zane Basma (26-9) pulled off an impressive win over #2 Josh Arnold at 170. Arnold scored a takedown to start the first and a takedown to end it, broken up by a Basma escape. Basma chose down and scored a quick escape, then turned a takedown into a 3:54 pin for a 25-18 team lead.

#4 Lane Lettich (10-6) didn’t have much difficulty with Trace Dougherty at 182, taking the Cardinal down and pinning him in only 1:10.

195 Zach Sims (19-19) was very impressive, despite a loss. Taking on #1 State Runner-Up Roc Robbins, the match started the same as many before it, with two very talented wrestlers stalemated by each other’s great talent and neither scored in the first period. Robbins didn’t score till there was a minute left in the second, then escaped to start the third 3-0. He added another takedown midway through, then Sims finally got on the board with an escape. The Sandite ultimately went down 5-1.

Ten points down with twelve points possible, the Cardinals needed two pins or a pin and a tech fall to win it.

220 Cole Dixon (4-4) hasn’t wrestled all season, and just saw his first action this past weekend. He found himself pitted against Dylan Dobbs who, funnily, also has a 4-4 record between this past weekend and Dixon. Dixon slammed his opponent down moments in for a quick two points, but the Cardinal responded immediately with an escape. Dixon attempted a quick trip with moments left in the period, but was unsuccessful. The Cardinal took the down position and used thirty seconds in getting an escape, but ten seconds later Dixon took him right back to the mat. Another Cardinal escape made it 4-3, but Dixon brought him back down with 12 to go for a 6-3 lead. The third period started neutral but Dixon didn’t’ let it stay that way for long, pushing the lead to 8-3. Suddenly, the two were rolling back and forth and Dobbs ended up on top for a 5:28 pin after what looked to be an easy Sandite win.

Just like that, the Cardinals were back in it and it came down to the Heavyweight match. The typically 220 Delvin Jordan (11-4) was outclassed by more than 50 pounds against Jackson Wilson, but he didn’t show it. The Sandite scored a pair of takedowns for a 4-2 lead with the Cardinal’s points coming from escapes. The second period was neutral all the way through, and the Cardinal escaped to start the third trailing 4-3. When the Cardinals needed a big move to rally for the win, the only big move to be found was from Jordan, hoisting the heavyweight up for a 6-4 decision and a 34-27 win.

Sand Springs has one regular season event left before Dual State. Thursday the Sandites will travel to Jenks for one last tune-up before the big dual season finale. 

#1 Sandites unstoppable with 2 shutouts and 4th place finish at Yukon tourney

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

What a time to be a Sandite! Our football and softball teams were State Runners-Up, Cheyenne Walden won the cross country State Championship, and now we're midway through our Winter sports and there's no sign that this outstanding class of athletes has any intention of slowing down. 

Both of our basketball teams won games by more than 40 points this weekend and are ranked top 15, and our wrestlers have had the craziest week in years. Last week the wrestlers (9-0) dominated #1 Broken Arrow (4-2) 33-19 to earn the top spot in the state and followed it up Tuesday with a 57-15 slaughter of Bixby (0-4).

Thursday the wrestlers traveled to Enid for the triple-header District Duals. The Sandites pulled off the highest-scoring dual possible against the Putnam West Patriots (3-6), winning all matches by pin for an 84-0 shutout. U.S. Grant (11-4) only fared slightly better, losing by 80-0 shutout, and Enid (4-4) was put down 65-6 to secure the Sandites' spot at Dual State.

Not only did the boys have to wrestle three duals in a single day, but they didn't even get a day off to rest before traveling to Yukon for the annual Jay Hancock Memorial Invitational. 

The Sandites placed fourth in the tournament with nine placers and three champions. Allen, Texas, ranked 25th in the nation by Flowrestling, took first place, followed by Choctaw in second and Plainview third. Choctaw is currently ranked 2nd in Tournaments and 3rd in Duals.  Plainsview is ranked #1 in both 3A categories.

The Sandites have two duals left this season. Tuesday night the boys will take on the #1 5A Collinsville Cardinals, and Thursday they'll battle the #15 Jenks Trojans. 

The Sandites are still missing 106 starting freshman #7 Riley Weir (15-8), who's nursing a hand injury, but they have plenty of capable fill-ins at the lower weights. 

106 Scotty Patton (3-2)- 5th Place

• teched 17-0 in 4:00 by #8 Trenton Higginbotham (Edmond North) 
• pinned Bennett Siler (Westlake) in 0:49
• majored Brendan Noetzal (Southlake Carroll) 16-7
• pinned in 1:52 by #5 Braden Fowler (Yukon)
• pinned Dominic Fitzpatrick (Moore) in 5:54

113 #5 Michael Ritchey (15-13) - 4th Place

• pinned Davion Perkins (Lawton) in 1:59
• defeated Chase Slatton (Jenks) 5-1
• teched 15-0 in 4:20 by #1 Paxton Rosen (Edmond North) 
• defeated Jonathan Warford (Sapulpa) 8-2
• lost 10-3 to Logan Brown (Allen)

120 #6 Blake Sargent (26-9) - 5th Place

• lost 5-0 to Jack Skudlarczyk (Westlake) 
• majored Cameron Clark (Sapulpa) 12-3
• pinned Zane Everett (Yukon) in 2:43
• pinned Jaxson Roney (Plainview) in 3:54
• lost 3-0 to Jack Skudlarczyk (Westlake)
• pinned #5 Zane Taylor (Yukon) in 4:28

126 #4 Jack Karstetter (26-6) - Champion

• pinned Ibrahim Crespo (Capitol Hill) in 1:00
• pinned Kaiden Ogee (Choctaw) in 2:45
• majored #3 Clayton Seleznoff (Moore) 9-1
• defeated Zach Atencio (Plainview) 3-1 by sudden victory

132 Unattached Derek Davis (7-4) - DNP

• defeated Tre Moore (Allen) 5-4
• lost 7-2 to Dayton West (Deer Creek) 
• lost 10-4 to Cole Shipman (Choctaw)

132 Daton Fix (31-0) - Champion

• pinned Andrew Day (Jenks) in 0:52
• pinned Garrett Griffin (Sapulpa) in 0:27
• teched Hunter Hershey (Westlake) 23-6 in 3:57
• teched Madison Roney (Plainview) 28-13 in 5:55

138 #2 Beau Bratcher (30-5) - Runner-Up

• pinned Joseph Smith (Moore) in 0:59
• pinned Noah Austin (Edmond North) in 1:12
• pinned David Washington (Allen) in 4:34
• lost 2-0 to #1 Jaxen Gilmore (Yukon)

145 Cody Mathis (10-11) - 6th Place

• pinned in 1:41 by Ty Lucus (Plainview)
• pinned Hunter Walsh (Edmond North) in 0:32
• pinned Dylan Waklee (Choctaw) in 3:55
• pinned in 0:38 by #1 Chase Vincent (Yukon)
• defeated 7-1 by Gabe Moreau (Westlake)

At 152 #2 Payton Scott (11-3) is also taking some time to recover before State, and the Sandite roster has less depth in the upper weights. Every tournament this season has had at least one weight class forfeited, and the team would consistently place higher were they at full strength. 

160 #4 Zane Basma (22-9) - Champion

• pinned Leon Larkpor (Putnam City) in 0:38
• defeated #5 Chase King (Choctaw) 7-1
• defeated John McCabe (Allen) 5-1
• defeated Anderson Salisbury (Westlake) 3-1

170 Bryton Beck (8-13) - DNP

• defeated Keith Thierry (Lawton) 7-2
• lost 8-3 to #7 Jacob Schimmels (Deer Creek)
• majored Cameron Hanson (Moore) 12-1
• pinned in 0:51 by Eli Paul (Plainview)

182 #3 Trace Fleischman (6-6) - DNP

• pinned Tres Davis (Westlake) in 1:27
• lost 7-0 to #2 Noah Hooks (Edmond North)
• pinned #9 Jak McCall (Deer Creek) in 1:46
• lost 3-2 to #6 Jared Kerr (Bixby)

195 Zach Sims (17-18) - 4th Place

• majored Zane Bailey (Edmond North) 14-5
• defeated #4 Cody Adams (Bixby) 8-4 
• lost 3-1 to Bodie Davis (Plainview) 
• defeated Cole Dixon (CPHS) 6-1
• lost 3-0 to #4 Cody Adams (Bixby) 

195 Unattached Cole Dixon (3-3) - 6th Place

• defeated Nathan Seaton (Edmond North) 10-4
• lost to Dalton Madole (Allen) 7-4
• pinned Bracken Campbell (Plainview) in 1:00
• pinned Jake Johnson (Southlake Carroll) in 1:31
• lost 6-1 to Zach Sims (CPHS) 
• lost 8-3 to Dakota Carnes (Sapulpa) 

220 Delvin Jordan (7-4) - DNP

• pinned Conner O'Neal (Plainview) in 0:49
• lost 7-3 to #1 Nic Roller (Bixby)
• pinned Colin Foster (Yukon) in 0:40
• lost 4-2 to Tyrel Bell (Choctaw)

285 Gage Fain (7-16) - DNP

• pinned in 3:23 by Dorian Fagan (Plainview) 
• defeated Hunter Richard (Edmond North) 2-1
• lost 2-1 in tie-breaker to Ashraf Mohamad (Edmond North)

#1 Undefeated Sandite wrestling breezes through Bixby, 57-15

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief, with Morgan Miller, Staff Writer

It was a strange night for the #1 Sandite varsity wrestling team (6-0), as half of them didn't even get to touch the mat. The Bixby Spartans (0-5) forfeited the first half of the night's matches, so nobody from 106-145 got to wrestle. 

Cody Mathis (8-8) wrestled up from his normal 145 to 152 for the first time since December, taking on Gavin Staton for the first time this season. Staton took an early lead with a 2-point takedown. Mathis got the escape, then briefly took a 3-2 lead with a reversal, but Staton reversed it back for the 4-3 lead. With 12 seconds left in the second period, Mathis escaped to even things out going into the third. Staton took the down position and scored an escape leaving Mathis fighting for a takedown, but unable to find it and suffering a 5-4 decision.

At 160 it was Zane Basma (18-9) taking an early 7-0 lead over Phillip Tyree with a pair of near-falls before finally letting his opponent out to take him down for the third time, this time for good. The two had yet to meet this season, and after a 1:50 fall, Tyree is unlikely to want to encounter Basma again.  

170 Bryton Beck (6-11) got off to a hot start against Max Guyer, scoring a 2-point takedown early on. He scored an easy escape to start the second period, then got the takedown for a 5-0 lead before finally letting Guyer up just to take him down once again. Beck had a slight mishap where he struggled so hard to prevent an escape that he put himself off balance and inadvertently gave up a takedown. He quickly corrected that mistake with a reversal before letting Guyer out with a 9-4 lead. The match ended with one more takedown shortly before the buzzer and Beck broke a three-loss streak with an 11-4 decision and nearly all the riding time. 

Lane Lettich (4-4) saw action at 182 against state-placer Jared Kerr. Lettich scored first with a pair of 2-pt takedowns, each punctuated by an escape for a 4-2 lead. In the second period, however, Kerr started off with an escape and then scored a takedown, and Lettich broke free to tie things up 5-5. Both wrestlers began to tire out and big moves became few and far between. Lettich took a brief 6-5 lead to start the third. Lane tried to score a takedown with a trip, but Kerr ended up on top for the lead with 40 seconds left. With under 30 to go Lettich fought his way free and sent the match into overtime where Kerr got the takedown for sudden victory, 9-7. 

At 195 Zach Sims (14-16) rematched 2015 Regional Runner-Up Cody Adams, whom he had an 0-3 record against in previous matches. Most recently Adams defeated Sims by 7-2 decision this past weekend at the Bobby Lyons Invitational. Sims had Adams on one leg for nearly ten seconds before Adams managed to squirm out of it and take Sims down instead. Sims tied things up with a pair of escapes, but was taken down once more shortly before the end of the second period. Adams took the down position for the third period and never managed to escape, but despite riding him the entire period Sims was unable to score points and gave up a 4-2 decision. 

The Sandites forfeited 220 to allow Delvin Jordan to continue resting a tweaked ankle and wrapped up the night at 285 with Gage Fain (6-14) against Austin Hiser. Fain qualified at 220 but has been wrestling up to heavyweight for most of the season. Despite being drastically outclassed in terms of weight, he had no problem scoring a quick takedown and turning it into a pin in only 1:07.

From there Riley Weir (15-8), Michael Ritchey (12-11), Blake Sargent (22-7), Jack Karstetter (22-6), Daton Fix (27-0), Derek Davis (6-2), and Beau Bratcher (27-4) all accepted forfeits for a final score of 57-15. 

Erin Kennedy was named Homecoming Queen and was escorted by Beau Bratcher, Blake Sargent, and Marshall Tate. Other Queen candidates include: Blyte Lester escorted by Daton Fix and Sage Singleton, Shelby Tillman escorted by Jack Karstetter and Zane Basma, Madison McIntosh escorted by Payton Scott and Bryton Beck, and Chandler Lindsey escorted by Trace Fleischman and Zach Sims.

The Sandites return to action Thursday night at Putnam City.