Sand Springs High School bass teams place top ten at Ft. Gibson Tournament

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

All three Charles Page High School fishing teams traveled to Fort Gibson this weekend for the last leg of the Oklahoma Bass Nation High School Trail. The lake hosted two back-to-back single day tournaments to conclude the regular season.

SUBMITTED: Hilger (left) and Daczewitz (right) are sponsored by True Smile Orthodontics, American Crating Company, Economy Lumber, Cust-o-Fab, Keystone Chevrolet, Air Solutions, Whitey's Pawn, Woody's Bait & Tackle, Danny's Auto Repair, and A1 Rental.

Braden Millican and Ty Steelman placed eighth in the first tournament with four fish weighing a total 9.41 pounds. The largest weighed in at 3.59 pounds. Noah Daczewitz and Hunter Hilger came in at ninth place with two fish weighing 6.39 pounds total. Their largest was 4.52 pounds. Caden Pennington and John Miller tied for last place after failing to land a catch. It was a rough day all around as only five of the thirty teams in the competition hauled in the full five-fish limit. Ten teams didn't land a single fish. 

SUBMITTED: Pennington (left) and Miller (right).

The Day Two tournament wasn't much better for the Sandites. Daczewitz and Hilger fared well for the second day in a row, coming in eleventh with three fish totaling 7.21 pounds, but the other two teams had a far rougher time. Miller and Pennington landed one fish at a solid 3.75 pounds for nineteenth place, but Millican and Steelman were unable to replicate their prior day's success. Team Three had several bites, according to Coach Bradley Millican, but three big ones slipped the hook right at the boat. 

Daczewitz and Hilger finished the regular season ninth in the state out of 42 teams with 357 points. Central Oklahoma's Keenom and Knoch finished with the top rank at 392 points and will get to travel to the National Championship this summer. The Sand Springs First Team participated in all five tournaments this season and placed fifteenth at Lake Eufala, twelfth at Lake Murray, and twenty-eighth at Lake Texoma.

SUBMITTED: Steelman (left) and Millican (right) are sponsored by Colburn Electric, A&M Baits, Basskwondo, New Wave Plastics, Lews, and Bison Coolers. 

Miller and Pennington finished the season sixteenth in the state with 291 points. They missed the Eufala Tournament due to mechanical problems, but placed fifteenth at Murray and a very impressive fourth place at Texoma. 

Team Three had a rough time this season as they missed the first three tournaments due to conflicts with baseball season and ultimately placed thirty-sixth. Millican and Steelman had a solid debut in the first Ft. Gibson Tournament, but would have needed to place first both days just to finish in the top 25. 

The State Championship Tournament will be held on June 25, 2016 at Lake Keystone and all three teams will be competing. 

Nashoba Pannell and Quintin Wimer place eighth in State Champsionship Doubles

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School qualified three boys for the Tennis State Championship in Oklahoma City this weekend. Dakotah Mitchell qualified in #1 Singles and Nashoba Pannell and Quintin Wimer qualified in #2 Doubles and went on to take eighth place.

The Sandite doubles team won their first match against Yukon 2-1 with sets of 4-6, 6-3, and 6-4 but dropped the next round to Edmond Memorial 6-1 and 6-0.  

Moving to the consolation bracket, the duo scored a pair of close sets over Muskogee at 6-4 and 7-6 before falling 6-2 and 6-4 to Owasso. The tournament came full circle as the boys were pitted once more against Yukon, but this time it was the Millers who got the edge. Sand Springs won the first set 6-2 but their adversaries rallied for a pair of close 7-6 wins for the upset. 

Mitchell had a tough match to start against Broken Arrow's Luciano Razzouli, who went on to take eighth place, and gave up a pair of 6-2 sets. In the consolation bracket he took on Jake Golightly of Edmond North and lost 6-3 and 6-2.

Photo galleries from this season can be found HERE.

Cheyenne Walden wins sixth State Championship

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Cheyenne Walden is quickly becoming one of the most heavily decorated athletes in school memory. The Charles Page High School junior is already a three-time State Champion in Cross Country, and she now holds three State Championship medals in Track as well. 

The 2016 season came to a close Saturday afternoon at Moore High School with Walden standing high atop the podium hand in hand with her fellow medalists, a place quite familiar for the extraordinary runner.

This past fall Walden went undefeated for the entirety of the Cross Country season with nine first-place finishes. At the Regional Championship she smashed her personal record with a 17:35.02 finish and went on to win her third-straight State Championship. 

Walden also went undefeated in the 3200 all season long in Track and only failed to win the 1600 once. She won fourteen events and expanded her resume to include the 800 and the 4x800 relay. At the Regional track meet she won the 1600 and 3200 and placed 3rd in the 800 while also helping her teammates to a fourth-place finish in the relay. She became the first Lady Sandite ever to qualify for State in four different events in the same year, and also became a member of the first ever 4x800 relay team to qualify for State from Sand Springs.

Friday afternoon the relay team, which included Nia Byrd, Alexis Davis, and Elizabeth Watts, placed thirteenth with a time of 10:28.63. Walden defended her 3200 State Championship with a 10:55.99 finish and an incredible thirty-eight second lead on her closest competitor. 

Saturday she competed in the 800 and took fourth place, a mere six seconds behind the Champion with a career-best 2:17.58 time. She later competed in the 1600 and won her first State Title in that event with a career-best 5:02.46.

Walden now holds six State Championship medals as a junior. This past November she traveled to The Woodlands, Texas South Regional and improved to a sixth place finish, earning her way to the Nike Nationals in Portland, Oregon where she placed 59th with a time of 18:19. 

Walden quickly made her mark on the field her Freshman year when she won her first two-mile run and went on to rack up seven more by the end of the season, including Conference, Regional, and State Championships and a post-season win at the Meet of Champions. Not only did she win State by an eleven-second margin, but she did it with a nineteen second improvement over her personal best. 

As the Spring Track season came around Walden didn't slow down a bit, coming in runner-up in her first two 3200 meter runs and winning the next four. She also began competing in the 1600 and placed top-five in three meets. She won Conference and Regional Championships and qualified for State in both events, placing third in the 3200 and eleventh in the 1600.

Her sophomore Cross Country season saw five first place medals and Walden defended her Conference, Regional, and State Championship titles. After beating teammate and University of Oklahoma-bound Morgan Long by fifteen seconds for an incredible 11:19.5 5K State Title, Walden traveled to The Woodlands, Texas for the Nike South Regional where she placed 22nd. 

Walden went undefeated in the 3200 during her Sophomore Track season, winning eight meets and setting a new career best of 10:54.63. She also picked up a win in the 1600 and qualified for State in both events. She won her first State Championship in the 3200 and came in Runner-Up in the 1600.

CPHS junior Cheyenne Walden wins fifth State Championship by wide margin

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Cheyenne Walden picked up her fifth State Championship medal Friday afternoon at Moore High School, and she's not done yet. The State Championship Track Meet will continue Saturday morning where the Sandite of the Week will compete in the 800 meter and 1600 meter races. 

Walden won her first state championship in cross country as a freshman, then came in third in the 3200 meter run at the State Track Meet in Yukon after being edged out by less than three seconds. Last year she defended her cross country state title and picked up her first gold medal in track after beating the runner-up by a full 18 seconds in the 3200. 

Now a junior, Walden has set her sites on even bigger fish. She won yet another cross country championship this past fall with a remarkable 52.3 second lead over her closest competitor. Friday the 13th in Moore, she won her 13th competition of the season--and it was the most important one of all. 

Beating her closest competitor by an incredible 37.34 seconds, Walden defended her 3200 title for her fourth state championship with a time of 10:55.99. 

Earlier in the day Walden competed in the 4x800 relay with Nia Byrd, Alexis Davis, and Elizabeth Watts. The four were the first team ever from Sand Springs to qualify in the 3200 relay and placed 13th with a time of 10:28.63. 

The incredible athlete will get the chance to win two more medals Saturday when she competes in the 800 meter run at 12:20 and the 1600 meter run at 2:35. Last year she came in runner-up in the 1600 behind fellow Lady Sandite Morgan Long, who is now a freshman at the University of Oklahoma.

It's worth noting that Walden is the first Lady Sandite in school history to qualify for State in four different categories in the same year. The Awards Presentation will be held at 4:00 PM. 

Lady Sandite Softball says goodbye to six seniors after this season: three will play in college

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School softball team has had a heck of a ride this year and will graduate six seniors this Saturday. Cody Cheatham, Stella Millican, Kennedy "Goose" Salyers, Jessica Schuler, and Caley Thompson have all played their last games for the Sandites, but each has even bigger and better things in store. 

In the fast pitch season this fall the Lady Sandites had one of the best seasons in school history with a 31-9 record and lost the State Championship 4-3 to Choctaw in the finals. The team was shorthanded in the slow pitch season this spring and got off to a rough start, but finished with a winning record of 12-7 and had several quality wins over highly ranked opponents.

Cheatham played third base during the fast pitch season and scored 12 runs and 11 RBI with a .246 batting average, .318 slugging average, and .268 on-base percentage. She hit 13 singles, 3 doubles, and 1 triple.

Mallory played catcher during the fast pitch season and scored 6 runs and 26 RBI with a .351 batting average, .486 slugging average, and .415 OBP. She hit 26 singles, 12 doubles, and 1 home run.

Millican played right field in the fast pitch season and scored 8 runs and 5 RBI with a .164 batting average, .196 slugging average, and .329 OBP. She hit 8 singles and 2 doubles. In the slow pitch season she scored 7 runs and 18 RBI with a .423 batting average, .635 slugging average, and .524 OBP. She hit 16 singles, 2 doubles, 3 triples, and 1 home run. She also pitched a 4-3 record for a 1.40 earned run average and 2.779 WHIP. Over 41 innings she struck out 1 batter with a 61% strike percentage. Millican will be playing for the Evangels at Mid-American Christian University this fall. 

Salyers played left field and pitched during the fast pitch season and scored 53 runs and 10 RBI with a .387 batting average, .556 slugging average, and .472 OBP. She hit 28 singles, 17 doubles, and 3 triples. She amassed an incredible 18-2 record on the mound with an impressive 1.64 ERA and 1.245 WHIP. Over 119 innings she struck out 70 batters with a 66% strike percentage. In the slow pitch season she scored 33 runs and 15 RBI with a .500 batting average, .771 slugging average, and .545 OBP. She hit 23 singles, 7 doubles, 3 triples, and 2 home runs. Salyers will be playing for Southwestern Oklahoma State University in the fall.

Schuler played first base during the fast pitch season and scored 38 runs and 63 RBI with a team-high .514 batting average, .897 slugging average, and .606 OBP. She hit 36 singles, 8 doubles, 11 home runs, and 4 grand slams. In the slow pitch season she scored 26 runs and 37 RBI with a .566 batting average, 1.509 slugging average, and .662 OBP. She hit 9 singles, 6 doubles, 1 triple, 14 home runs, and 1 grand slams. She also pitched an 8-4 record for a 1.13 ERA and 2.143 WHIP. Over 72 innings she struck out 2 batters with a 38% strike percentage. Schuler will be playing for Northeastern State University this fall. 

Thompson scored 10 runs during the fast pitch season with a .160 batting average, .160 slugging average, and .192 OBP with 4 singles. She will be attending Savannah College of Art and Design this fall where she will be studying visual arts and animation programs.

The Charles Page High School graduation will be held this Saturday at the Mabee Center at 7:30 PM. Doors will open for the event at 6:00 PM.

Cierra Scott signs letter of intent to play collegiate ball for Missouri college

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior Cierra Scott signed a letter of intent to play basketball for Central Christian College of the Bible Wednesday morning, making her the thirteenth collegiate player to come from the Class of 2016. 

Sand Springs currently has four football players, four soccer players, one baseball player, and three softball players also headed to college teams this fall. 

Scott was the lone senior on the girls' basketball team this year, and will leave behind some big shoes to fill. The 5'7" guard has put up triple digits all four years of her high school career, and this year was her biggest. 

Averaging 5.67 points per game over her career and 6.23 her senior year, Scott was fifth on her team in scoring this season. She finished the season with a career total of 550 points and a career high of 18 points in a game against Bixby at the beginning of this season. She connected on more than 40% of field goal attempts this season and 54% of free throws. 

The Central Christian Saints belong to the National Christian College Athletic Association and compete in the Midwest Christian College Conference. The Saints finished last season with a 17-11 overall record, but finished the season before 20-8 with a conference championship and were NCCAA Division II National Runners-Up. 

Scott will be pursuing a Bachelor of Religious Studies degree from CCCB while also working on a degree in Business Administration from a partner college.