Sandite baseball wins season opener with 6-0 shutout

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Rhett Rutledge rounds first base. 

Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School baseball team got off to a slow start in their season-opener against Tulsa NOAH Homeschool Thursday night before a pair of fifth inning triples propelled them to a 6-0 shutout.

Jake Ward got the start on the mound and pitched the first four innings before Hunter Greathouse relieved him to start the fifth.

Ward struck out the side to start the game. Rhett Rutledge and Gunnar Phillips each drew walks in the first inning and stole their way completely around the bases for the first two runs and it looked like the game would be a breeze.

The next three innings proved fruitless for both teams, however. Ward gave up two walks and a single in the second and offensively the Sandites didn’t get off a single hit.

The Sandites tried to get back in it at the third as Ward pitched a no-hitter. Phillips drew a walk and Ward followed it up with a single but both were left stranded as Joey Montgomery was put out at first.

Ward struck out two in the fourth and walked Keaton McDaniel, but then caught him stealing at second. The bottom of the fourth was another no-hitter, but the Sandites made up for it big in the fifth as Rutledge and Greathouse each hit two-RBI triples to score Ward, Montgomery, Treyce Tolbert, and Ty Fain.

Greathouse pitched three no-hitter innings with six strikeouts and the Sandites brought home their first win of the season. The boys will return to action Saturday at 2:00 for some Highway 97 Rivalry at Sapulpa. 

2X Sandite of the Week: Daton Fix

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Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

This week Sandite Pride would like to recognize Charles Page High School junior Daton Fix as Sandite of the Week for his incredible performance at the Oklahoma 6A State Championship this weekend.

Fix finished his junior year with a 45-0 record, making it his third consecutive undefeated year. With a 115-0 record, Fix is a three-time 6A East Regional Champion, three-time 6A State Champion, three-time Kansas City Stampede Champion, and that's just his high school career.

In the quarterfinals he pinned Deer Creek's Bobby Robinson in 1:37. His next match was a lot closer as he prevailed by way of 15-3 major decision over Drew Wilson of Midwest City. A major decision is about as close as it gets for Fix, who has only won a single match this season by less 8 points. That one was a 5-3 win over nationally-ranked No.12 Requir Van Der Merwe of Blair Academy who just went 3-0 at FloNationals, helping his school to a National Championship.

In the State Finals, Fix got a rematch against fellow Fargo Champion Dalton Duffield of Westmoore. Duffield stood in the way of Fix's last State Championship as well and the Sandite prevailed 11-3 last year. This time it would be even more of a blowout as he teched Duffield 23-8 in 4:58. 

Fix is now only the second Sandite in town history to win three State Championships, following in the footsteps of David McGuire who won it from 1963-1965. 

Ranked third in the nation at 132 and eighth pound-for-pound, Fix is a four-time Southern Plains Regional Champion in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman. He won his first two National Championships in 2011 at the ASICS Freestyle and Greco tournaments. In 2012 he took Runner-Up at the ASICS Folkstyle Championship and defended his first two titles and added a Cliff Keen USAW Preseason National title. In 2013 he took Runner-Up at ASICS Freeestyle Nationals and won the USAW Cadet Freestyle and Greco Nationals.

In 2014 he won the USAW Folkstyle Championship, the Cadet Freestyle and Greco Pan-American Championships in Brazil, the ASICS Freestyle Championship, and was a member of the Team Oklahoma Dual Nationals team at the USAW Freestyles. He traveled to the World Freestyle Championship and took 10th place, then went to the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China where he won a Silver Medal. 

Last summer he won the Junior Folkstyle FloNationals, the UWW Junior Freestyle Nationals, the UWW Cadet & University Freestyle Nationals, the Junior Freestyle Dual Nationals as part of Team Oklahoma, the USAW Junior Freestyle Nationals, and claimed a Bronze Medal at the Cadet World Championship.

This is Fix's second time as Sandite of the Week. He is the son of Derek Fix, a CPHS assistant coach and former collegiate wrestler for Oklahoma State University, and the grandson of Alan Karstetter, the former long-time Head Coach for CPHS. His cousin Cody Karstetter wrestles for the University of North Carolina and fellow junior, cousin Jack Karstetter took Runner-Up at this year's State Championship.

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Sandite of the Week is a weekly recognition given to any one person with significant ties to the Sand Springs community who accomplishes remarkable achievements during the Sunday through Saturday week preceding the award. Prior achievements may be noted in the article, but do not bear direct influence on the selection committee which only considers prior week accomplishments. Candidates may be nominated by anyone by emailing SanditePrideNews@gmail.com. Bylaws prevent the giving of the award to anyone for two consecutive weeks, but any recipient may be nominated and awarded again in the future, so long as the weeks are not consecutive. Final selection is made by a majority vote of a three-person staff committee. 

Businesses or organizations seeking to sponsor the Sandite of the Week award may contact the above email for inquiries.

Daton Fix wins third State Championship, team finishes third

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The long train of Sand Springs 2015-2016 Championship appearances has led from softball to cross country to dance to football to dual state, and now it's stationed at Oklahoma State Fair Arena in Oklahoma City where the Sandites sent ten qualifiers for one of their best performances in years. 

The wrestlers may not have pulled off their first team championship since 1971, but they have undoubtedly shown themselves strong in the great tradition of Sandite athletic excellence. 

Going into the tournament Sand Springs held 35 individual State titles from 25 champions. The likelihood of adding to that number was strong as they brought six Regional Champions and one returning State Champion in Daton Fix.  

106 pound freshman Riley Weir (21-12), 113 pound junior Michael Ritchey (24-12), and 170 pound senior Trace Fleischman (10-6) were eliminated without placing.  

Sophomore Payton Scott (19-6) came in fourth place in 152 after an upset by Westmoore's Trey Painter whom he initially defeated in round one of the tournament. The two went into a tie breaker round where Painter came on top with a 3-2 decision.

Sophomore Blake Sargent (39-12) came in third at 120, scoring first with an escape midway through the second period against Zackery Bibb of Capitol Hill. Bibb tied it up moments into the third. The two remained neutral through the third, the sudden victory round, and the first tie breaker. In the second tie breaker round Sargent got the escape and the 2-1 victory. Bibb had initially defeated Sargent in round one. 

160 pound Junior Zane Basma (35-12) came in third after taking a quick lead by takedown and near fall less than a minute in to his match against Enid's Anthony Gonzalez. He added another takedown for near fall points moments into the third for a 9-0 lead and ultimately triumphed with a 16-0 tech fall in 4:32. 

132 pound junior Jack Karstetter (39-8) settled for State Runner Up after a narrow 3-2 decision to Kruz Simons of Edmond North. Simons scored first with a first period takedown with only 18 seconds left. Karstetter added a quick escape to start the second, then cut Simons loose a minute into the third after efforts at a pin proved fruitless. Unfortunately he was unable to find the takedown.

138 pound junior Beau Bratcher (43-7) came in second to Jaxen Gilmore of Yukon. Bratcher scored first with a quick takedown but Gilmore was right behind him with a reversal for near fall points to end the first period. Gilmore added another reversal with 40 left in the second and took a 7-2 lead into the final period where he pinned the Sandite in 4:52. 

Junior Daton Fix (45-0) secured his third consecutive undefeated State Championship with a 23-8 tech fall over fellow Fargo Champion Dalton Duffield of Westmoore in 4:58. Fix made it through the match without giving up a single takedown or reversal. Fix is now only the second Sandite ever to win three State Championships, following in the path of David McGuire who won three from 1963-1965.

This is Sand Springs's 36th individual State Championship and the first time since 1979 that the Sandites have brought home a gold medal three years in a row. 

Six Sandites still alive and guaranteed to place at State Championship

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

113 Michael Ritchey was upset by Broken Arrow's Tyler Lawley (24-12), who he narrowly defeated in the Regional finals, and fell by 7-1 decision. He finishes the season as a 23-19 Regional Champion and State Qualifier. A junior, he'll get one last go at it next season.

120 Blake Sargent got an early takedown against Broken Arrow's TaJuan Daniels (25-13) but Daniels didn't stay under for long and went into the second period 2-1 and started on top. Sargent added a reversal but Daniels escaped again and added a takedown to tie things up. Sargent retook the lead soon after and nearly had his opponent pinned less than 20 into the third but had to settle for near fall points and a 9-5 lead. He added another pair of takedowns not long after and finished the match with a 13-6 victory. The sophomore improves to 38-12 and will next battle for third place in a rematch against his round one opponent, Zackery Bibb (25-6) of Capitol Hill. 

152 sophomore Payton Scott stayed neutral with Ezequiel Rubio (25-13) through the first and the Ponca City wrestler took a 1-0 escape lead to start the second. Scott got the third period escape to tie things up and it was beginning to look a lot like the Sandites' last match against Joseph Messer when he finally scored a takedown with a minute left. Rubio took a quick escape but was unable to score and Scott prevailed with a 4-3 decision. The Sandite improves to 19-5 and will next take on Westmoore's Trey Painter (34-10) who he pinned in 3:52 in the first round. 

160 junior Zane Basma (34-12) went straight from 0-0 to a pin a moment before the first period expired and advances to the consolation finals with the win over Cooper Coil. He will next take on Enid's Anthony Gonzalez (27-9) for third place. 

170 Trace Fleischman went into the final period against Stillwater's Jace Brownlee (30-8) down 1-0 but tied things up with an escape. Brownlee scored a takedown with 1:00 to go but Fleischman got the escape soon after. The two stalemated with 20 seconds left but ultimately it was Brownlee who found the takedown for a 5-2 victory. Fleischman finishes his senior year with a 10-6 record. 

The Sandites are still in third place and are only three points behind Broken Arrow. Choctaw is in first place with 106.5 followed by BA with 82.5 and Sand Springs with 79.5. 

Scott, Sargent, and Basma will wrestle for third place in half an hour then Daton Fix, Jack Karstetter, and Beau Bratcher will wrestle for first place at 5:45.  

Sandites send three to State Championship finals, trailing Broken Arrow by 1 point

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Junior Beau Bratcher pinned both of his opponents at State en route to the finals.

Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Daton Fix is back in the finals, wrestling for his third State Championship, and this time he's joined by first-time finalists Jack Karstetter and Beau Bratcher. 

Six other Sandites are also still in the running for third place and will have to fight their way up through the consolation bracket.

There was a strange couple of minutes that found Zane Basma going into sudden victory overtime while Payton Scott was on the next mat over in ultimate tie-breaker overtime and at the same time the boys' basketball team was in Putnam City battling Broken Arrow in double overtime. Unfortunately overtime was not kind to Sand Springs and all three would end in defeat.

The Sandites qualified eleven for State, sent ten, and have only had one eliminated thus far.

Freshman Riley Weir (21-12) came into the tournament ranked 7th in 106 after a 3rd Place performance at Regionals. He has been battling an arm injury for the latter half of the season and it's been wearing on him noticeably for the last few weeks. In his first round he was pitted against #3 Colt Newton (20-12) of Choctaw for the fourth time this season and was pinned by his opponent for the fourth time this season. In the consolation quarterfinals Weir met Yukon's #6 Braden Fowler (24-12) and was eliminated by way of 14-4 major decision.

At 113 the Sandites sent junior Regional Champion #4 Michael Ritchey (23-18) against #3 Wes Hardin (31-12). The Westmoore wrestler prevailed with a 5-2 decision, but the Sandite rebounded with a 5-3 decision over Ponca's #7 Spencer Shickram (14-9) to advance to the consolation semi-finals. He will next take on Broken Arrow's #5 Tyler Lawley (23-12) who he defeated 3-1 for the Regional Championship.

Sophomore 120 pound Regional Champion #3 Blake Sargent (37-12) suffered a 4-2 tie-breaker upset to #8 Zackery Bibb (24-6) to start the tournament, and was in danger of being eliminated in the consolation quarter finals as he trailed to #5 Justin Gundlach (29-11) of Moore. Down 3-2 to start the final period, he got a takedown with under a minute to go and quickly turned it into a pin at 5:14. Next he will rematch Broken Arrow's #4 TaJuan Daniels (25-12) who he defeated 1-0 in the Regional Championship, 3-2 in the Sand Springs Invitational Championship, and 4-2 in sudden victory during a regular season dual.

126 pound junior #1 Daton Fix (44-0) pinned Bobby Robinson (30-13) of Deer Creek in 1:37 in round one, then majored #3 Drew Wilson (29-5) of Midwest City 15-3. The Championship round will be a rematch of Fix's last State Championship that saw the Sandite score an 11-3 major for the 120 pound title. 

132 pound junior Regional Champion #1 Jack Karstetter (39-7) ran up a 17-2 tech fall over Norman's #7 Jeffrey Adams (23-12) in 5:42, then registered a 15-4 major decision over #4 Marqual Graham (35-10) of Lawton. This is his second time qualifying for State, but last year he went 1-2 and failed to place. The Championship round will pit him against #2 Kruz Simons (33-11) of Edmond North. 

138 pound junior #2 Beau Bratcher (43-6) is a two-time Regional Champion but this is his first year placing at state. He picked an interesting way to get to the finals. He pinned both of his first two opponents in the exact same time. #7 Jeff Speer (23-10) of Choctaw and #5 Zach Johnson (33-14) of Westmoore both fell in exactly 4:48. The final match will be against #1 Jaxen Gilmore (38-3) of Yukon who holds a 2-0 decision over Bratcher from the Yukon finals. 

152 pound sophomore #3 Payton Scott (18-5) qualified for State after winning his first Regional Championship and pinned his first opponent, Westmoore's #7 Trey Painter (33-10) in 3:52. The next round however was against #2 Joseph Messer (29-3) of Norman North and the two were evenly matched at 1-1 at the end of regulation. Neither scored in the sudden victory round, both scored an escape in the tie breaker rounds, but Scott was unable to prevent Messer from escaping during the ultimate tie breaker and lost 3-2. Scott will next take on Ponca City's #4 Ezequiel Rubio (25-12) in the consolation semi finals. The Sandite is 2-0 against his opponent this season, pinning him in 3:00 to start the season, then trumping him 7-3 in the Regional finals. 

160 pound junior #3 Zane Basma (33-12) came in Runner-Up at Regionals after forfeiting the Championship round due to some deeply bruised ribs. This is his second time qualifying for State and he'll be looking to place for the first time. He defeated #5 Sam Hensley (31-14) of Edmond Memorial by 8-3 decision. In the next round, however, he was upset by #7 Moses Mayhue (29-8) of Union in a 4-3 tie-breaker decision. Next up Basma will take on #4 Cooper Coil (28-12) of Edmond North in the consolation semi finals. 

170 pound senior #7 Trace Fleischman (10-5) got off to a great start at State after upsetting #3 Jacob Schimmels (24-6) of Deer Creek with a 3-1 decision. In the next round, however, he went down 13-6 to Broken Arrow's #2 Isaiah Page (35-4). This is Fleischman's second trip to State. Last year he took 3rd place. He'll be working toward the same place this year if he can defeat #4 Jace Brownlee (29-8) of Stillwater. Brownlee defeated Fleischman 6-3 at Regionals.

Consolation semifinals begin Saturday at 10:30. Choctaw is currently in first place with 103 points, followed by Broken Arrow with 63.5 and Sand Springs with 62.5.

9 Sandites remain at State, only slightly behind Broken Arrow and Choctaw

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The remaining Sandites have about an hour long break before the next round begins at the 6A State Championship in Oklahoma City. 

Charles Page wrestling qualified eleven for the tournament with seven Regional Champions, more than either Broken Arrow or the Dual State Champions from Choctaw. Unfortunately 220 pound junior and Regional Champion Delvin Jordan was unable to participate dropping the number to nine. 

106 freshman Riley Weir (20-12) came in third at Regionals and was pitted against Choctaw's Colt Newton (40-3) in the first round and was pinned in 0:41. From there he was majored 14-4 by Yukon's Braden Fowler and eliminated. 

113 Regional Champion Michael Ritchey (22-16) was defeated in round one by Westmoore's Wes Hardin (31-11) by a narrow 5-2 decision but managed to hold the lead in the next match for a 5-3 victory over Spencer Schickram (14-9) of Ponca City. 

120 Regional Champion Blake Sargent (36-10) went into overtime with Zackery Bibb (24-5) of Capitol Hill and lost 4-2 in the tie breaker round. He fell in an early hole to Justin Gundlach (29-11) of Moore and trailed 3-2 going into the final period, but rallied for a takedown and pin at 5:14 to stay alive in the consolation bracket. 

126 two-time undefeated State Champion Daton Fix (44-0) pinned Bobby Robinson (30-13) of Deer Creek in 1:37.

132 Regional Champion Jack Karstetter (38-7) breezed through his first match with a 17-2 tech fall over Norman's Jeffrey Adams (23-12) in 5:42.  

138 Regional Champion Beau Bratcher (40-6) pinned Choctaw's Jeff Speer (23-10) in 4:48. 

145 Regional Champion Payton Scott (18-4) pinned Westmoore's Trey Painter (32-10) in 3:52.  

160 Regional Runner-Up Zane Basma (32-11) scored an 8-3 decision over Sam Hensley (31-13) of Edmond Memorial.  

170 Trace Fleischman (10-4) placed fourth at Regionals but rebounded big time at State with a 3-1 upset of West Regional Champion Jacob Schimmels (23-6) of Edmond. 

The top three teams are as close now as they have been all season with Broken Arrow at 25.5, Choctaw at 25, and Sand Springs at 23.5.  

The semi finals will begin at 7:15.