Carson Griggs finishes 20th at State Championship, Garrett Griggs places 38th

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Brothers Carson and Garrett Griggs were the lone Sandite golfers to qualify for the State Tournament this year, and both fared well at Karsten Creek in Stillwater earlier this week. 

The State Tournament started Monday morning with 18 holes and concluded Tuesday with 36 holes. Garrett and Carson were neck and neck in the first round with scores of 86 and 87 respectively. Garrett was tied for 28th place and Carson was tied for 35th place.

The two went opposite directions in round two, however, and Carson shot 155, the 11th best score of the day, bumping him up to 20th overall. Garrett shot a 170 and dropped to 38th, still a solid performance in a field of 78. 

Carson shot 242 against an average score of 255, while Garrett shot 256. Carson was a mere thirteen strokes behind the State Champion. He placed 30th last year, so 20th as a sophomore puts his career on a good track. Garrett is a senior and finished his career in style with his first State Championship appearance.

Sandite of the Week: Cheyenne Walden

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

This week Sandite Pride News would like to recognize Charles Page High School junior Cheyenne Walden as Sandite of the Week for her outstanding performance at the Regional Track Meet Saturday at Claremore High School.

Walden is the first Lady Sandite ever to qualify for State in four different categories. She placed first in the 1600 meter run with a time of 5:17.06, first in the 3200 with a time of 11:00.78, and third in the 800 with a time of 2:21.30. 

Additionally, Walden carried the baton on the last leg of the two mile relay and helped her teammates become the first squad to ever qualify from Sand Springs in that category. Nia Byrd, Alexis Davis, and Elizabeth Watts will be joining her at the State Championship this weekend at Moore High School. 

Walden is quite possibly the greatest runner in school history and already holds four State Championship medals. She claimed her third-consecutive Cross Country State Championship this fall and she also won the 3600 at last year's State Track Meet.

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.

Four Sandites qualify for State Championship Track Meet

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School girls track team qualified four for the State Tournament at the 6A East Regional Track Meet in Claremore Saturday morning. Alexis Davis, Nia Byrd, Elizabeth Watts, and Cheyenne Walden placed fourth in the 4x800 meter relay with their best performance of the season in 10:18.1. Walden also qualified individually in the 800, 1600, and 3200 races with first place finishes in the later two. 

Walden is undefeated in the 3200, having won seven first place medals this season. She finished the 3200 at Regionals in 11:00.78 and picked up her fourth win of the season in the 1600 with a time of 5:17.06. She also qualified in the 800 with a third place finish in 2:21.30. Last year Walden won a State Championship in the 3200 with a time of 11:08.366, beating the runner-up by an 18-second margin. She also came in runner-up in the 1600 behind teammate Morgan Long. As a freshman she placed third in 3200, and she's a three-time Cross Country State Champion.

Elizabeth Watts placed 8th in High Jump at 4'06.00" and 9th in the 300 hurdles with a time of 56.19. Lauren Barkdull placed 16th in the 1600 with a season-best time of 6:39.91. Sara Abbet placed 17th in the 1600 with a season-best time of 6:44.22.

Overall, the girls placed seventh as a team and the boys came in eighth. Landin Green, Jacob Garby, Ian Baustert, and Aden Baughman ran the 4x800 relay and placed 6th with a season-best 8:42.1.

Freshman Aden Baughman set a personal record with a 6th place finish in the 1600 in 4:45.49. Colton Washington placed 10th in long jump with a distance of 19'09.5". 

Jacob Fortune placed 12th in the 100 in 11.97, 15th in the long jump at 17'04.5", and 16th in the discus throw with a personal best of 98'10". Austin McCaskey came in 12th in the 800 with a season-best 2:12.79.

Jacob Smith placed 16th in the 3200 with a season-best 11:48.26, closely followed by Danny Murray who placed 17th with a season-best 11:50.25. Kobe Chin placed 19th in discus with a distance of 77'05". 

The State Tournament Track Meet will be held at Moore High School on Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th. Events will begin Friday at 10:00 AM. 

The photo gallery from the Regional Track Meet can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/20152016-Track-and-Field/5716-Regional-Track-Meet-at/

Sand Springs qualifies two for Golf State Championship

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School golf teams failed to qualify for the State Championship as a whole, but two boys placed high enough as individuals to earn their ticket to Stillwater. Not just two boys, but two brothers. 

The 6A East Regional was held at Ponca City this year and Carson and Garrett Griggs were among the seven players to qualify as individuals. Carson had the best round of the seven, scoring rounds of 81 and 73. Garrett came in third with rounds of 77 and 82. 

Sand Springs has never had a State Champion in Golf, so if one of the Griggs brothers pull it off, they'll notch a special place in the history book.

Carson qualified as a freshman (he's a sophomore now) and placed 30th of 73 last year, coming in right in the middle of the pack with a total score of 161, fourteen strokes behind the Champion.

Weather permitting, the State Tournament will be held at Karsten Creek in Stillwater May 9-10. The girls team did not qualify anyone this year.

3X Sandite of the Week: Daton Fix

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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 outstanding performance at the United World of Wrestling Junior Freestyle National Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Fix traveled to Vegas this weekend to defend his 2015 UWW Junior National title, and defend it he did, defeating some of the top names in the game. The 126 pound grappler is ranked second in the nation in his weight class and is riding a 54-straight win streak with 21 pins and 20 tech falls, only winning two matches since October by less than eight points. 

The tournament featured some tough competition. Fix defeated University at Buffalo sophomore Kyle Akins 14-4, and two-time Illinois State Champion Kristopher Williams 10-0. In the semi-finals he scored a 10-0 tech fall over Austin Gomez, who is ranked fifth in the nation in 126 and just finished the high school season with a 40-1 record and a State Championship. The final match was Fix's closest battle since October, but he still came out with the win, defeating Gavin Teasdale 6-5 for the Championship. Teasdale is ranked first in the nation in class 113. 

This is Fix's third time being featured as Sandite of the Week. Some of Fix's titles include:

  • 2011 ASICS/USAW Kids Freestyle Schoolboy National Championship
  • 2012 ASICS/USAW Kids Folkstyle Schoolboy National Runner-Up
  • 2012 ASICS/USAW Schoolboy Freestyle National Champion
  • 2012 ASICS/USAW Schoolboy Greco-Roman National Champion
  • 2012 Cliff Keen USAW Preseason National Middle School Champion
  • 2013 FILA Cadet Nationals Freestyle Runner-Up
  • 2013 USAW Cadet Greco-Roman National Champion
  • 2013 USAW Cadet Freestyle National Champion
  • 2013 Kansas City Stampede Champion
  • 2014 OSSAA 6A State Champion
  • 2014 Cliff Keen USAW Cadet Folkstyle National Champion
  • 2014 Cadet Freestyle Pan American Champion
  • 2014 Cadet Greco-Roman Pan American Champion
  • 2014 ASICS/FILA Cadet National Freestyle Champion
  • 2014 USAW Junior Freestyle Dual National Champion (Team Oklahoma)
  • 2014 World Freestyle Championship 10th Place
  • 2014 Youth Olympic Games Freestyle Silver Medalist
  • 2014 Super 32 Runner-Up
  • 2014 Kansas City Stampede Champion
  • 2015 OSSAA 6A State Champion
  • 2015 Junior Folkstyle FloNationals Champion
  • 2015 UWW Junior Freestyle National Champion
  • 2015 UWW Cadet Freestyle National Champion
  • 2015 Junior Freestyle Dual National Champion (Team Oklahoma)
  • 2015 USAW Junior Freestyle National Champion
  • 2015 Cadet World Championship Bronze Medalist
  • 2015 Kansas City Stampede Champion
  • 2015 Geary Invitational Champion
  • 2016 OSSAA 6A State Champion

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.

Sandites will travel to Owasso for Regionals and battle Broken Arrow in Round One

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association released the 6A Regional baseball brackets Monday afternoon. The Charles Page High School team (21-14) will travel to Owasso Wednesday at 2:30 PM for their first round game against Broken Arrow (21-14). 

The Sandites and Tigers have neck-and-neck records, each winning 21 games and losing 14, and each having one win over the other. In the Sand Springs/Broken Arrow Wooden Bat Tournament the Tigers got the 6-4 win, but the Sandites retaliated with a 10-3 victory of their own less than a week later. 

The tournament is double-elimination, and from there the Sandites will take on either Sapulpa (6-21) or Owasso (25-6). Sapulpa shouldn't pose much difficulty, as the Sandites have already defeated their Highway 97 rivals three times this season by a combined score of 26-7.

Owasso will be the biggest obstacle in the way of the Sandites' ticket to State. The Rams are the top team in the district and have already defeated Sand Springs twice, just last week. The games were far from blowouts, however, and the Sandites nearly overtook Owasso in the first game. losing by a close 11-10.

PITCHING

Conner Dennis (1-0) has an earned run average of 0.00, having faced 23 batters over 7 innings. He's given up 1 hit, 3 walks, 0 runs, and 0 earned runs while pitching 64% strikes for 4 strikeouts and a .643 WHIP.

Rhett Rutledge (2-1) has an earned run average of 2.07, having faced 125 batters over 27 innings. He's given up 25 hits, 21 walks, 13 runs, and 8 earned runs while pitching 56% strikes for 23 strikeouts and a .561 WHIP. He also has 2 saves and 0 blown saves.

Brock Youngblood (4-1) has an earned run average of 2.57, having faced 136 batters over 33 innings. He's given up 33 hits, 14 walks, 18 runs, and 12 earned runs while pitching 64% strikes for 13 strikeouts and a 1.317 WHIP.

Hunter Greathouse (2-0) has an earned run average of 3.73, having faced 66 batters over 15 innings. He's given up 8 hits, 12 walks, 10 runs, and 8 earned runs while pitching 61% strikes for 32 strikeouts and a 1.200 WHIP. He also has 1 save and 0 blown saves.

University of Oklahoma-commit Jake Terry has an earned run average of 3.77, having faced 211 batters over 42.66 innings. He's given up 45 hits, 42 walks, 29 runs, and 23 earned runs while pitching 58% strikes for 51 strikeouts and a 1.946 WHIP. 

Jake Ward (4-3) has an earned run average of 3.91, having faced 227 batters over 48 innings. He's given up 49 hits, 34 walks, 33 runs, and 27 earned runs while pitching 57% strikes for 49 strikeouts and a 1.635 WHIP.

Josh Cordell (2-3) has an earned run average of 3.95, having faced 164 batters over 34 innings. He's given up 40 hits, 41 walks, 31 runs, and 19 earned runs while pitching 42% strikes for 26 strikeouts and a 1.753 WHIP.

Joey Montgomery (1-2) has an earned run average of 6.64, having faced 96 batters over 19 innings. He's given up 23 hits, 12 walks, 22 runs, and 18 earned runs while pitching 55% strikes for 10 strikeouts and a 1.632 WHIP.

 

BATTING

Cody Motes holds a .500 batting average, .500 slugging average, and .500 OBP with 3 runs, 1 RBI, 1 single, and 3 stolen bases.

Hunter Greathouse has a .390 batting average, a .470 slugging average, and a .483 OBP. He's scored 23 runs and 15 RBI with 29 singles, 8 doubles, 2 triples, and 8 sacrifices. He's also stolen 11 bases this season.

Jake Ward has batted .381 this season with a .488 slugging average and .563 OBP. He's scored 20 runs and 16 RBI with 25 singles, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 4 sacrifices, and 4 stolen bases.

Josh Taber has batted .366 this season with a .387 slugging average and a .491 OBP. He's scored 30 runs and 19 RBI with 32 singles, 2 doubles, 6 sacrifices, and 23 stolen bases.

Joey Montgomery is batting .351 with a .443 slugging average and a .457 OBP. He's scored 3 runs and 21 RBI with 27 singles, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 1 sacrifice, and 2 stolen bases.

Tyler McCallie is sitting at .339 batting, and .542 slugging, with a .473 OBP. He's scored 20 runs and 11 RBI with 13 singles, 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 2 sacrifices, and 9 stolen bases.

Rhett Rutledge has batted .339 this season with a .523 slugging average and .471 OBP. He's scored 34 runs and 20 RBI with 24 singles, 8 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs, 7 sacrifices, and 20 stolen bases.

Riley Rutledge has batted .333 this season with a .333 slugging average and .600 OBP. He's scored 2 runs and 1 RBI with 1 single.

Treyce Tolbert holds a .314 batting average, .392 slugging average, and .462 OBP He's scored 25 runs and 21 RBI with 26 singles, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 5 sacrifices, and 10 stolen bases.

Ty Fain holds a .282 batting average, a .308 slugging average, and a .451 OBP. He's scored 10 runs and 8 RBI with 9 singles, 2 doubles, 2 stole bases, and 4 sacrifices.

Jake Terry has batted .276 this season with a .483 slugging average and .408 OBP. He's scored 9 runs and 10 RBI on 8 singles, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 2 sacrifices, and 5 stolen bases.

Southwestern Christian University-signee Trevor Tolbert has batted .244 this season for a .308 slugging average and .366 OBP. He's scored 10 runs and 17 RBI on 15 singles, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 sacrifices, and 1 stolen base.

Mack Thompson holds a .237 batting average, .395 slugging average, and .396 OBP. He's scored 16 runs and 4 RBI with 5 singles, 3 doubles, 1 home run, and 5 stolen bases.

Brock Youngblood has a .200 batting average, a .200 slugging average, and a .200 OBP. He has scored 1 runs and 2 RBI on 1 single.

Malachi Walton has batted .167 with a .167 slugging average and a .375 OBP. He's scored 17 runs and 2 RBI with 1 single and 5 stolen bases.

Kameron Adcock has racked up a .167 batting average, a .167 slugging average, and a .286 on-base percentage. He's scored 3 runs, hit 1 single, and stolen 1 base this season.