Daton Fix qualifies for World Championship in France

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School junior Daton Fix has been in three states in the last month competing in summer Freestyle wrestling, and the three-time undefeated OSSAA State Champion hasn't slowed down a bit since the high school wrestling season concluded.

Last month in Las Vegas, Nevada, Fix won his sixteenth National Tournament. Two weeks later he won the OK USA Junior Freestyle State Tournament in Cushing, and just last Thursday he wrestled Iranian Champion Kheyrollah Ghahramani in an outdoor exhibition in the middle of Times Square in New York City. Sunday he traveled to Irving, Texas for the United World of Wrestling Junior Freestyle World Team Trials. 

Illinois State Champion Austin Gomez is one of the biggest names in wrestling and is currently ranked fifth in the nation at 120 pounds. At the World Team Trials he breezed through the competition with multiple shutout tech falls to make the finals, where he would go up against Fix. Fix got a free ride to the finals after winning the UWW National Championship in Vegas.

Fix and Gomez had already met in the Vegas quarterfinals where Fix, who is ranked second in 120 nationally, didn't allow even a single point in his dominating 10-0 tech fall victory over the Iowa State University bound three-time Fargo National Champ.

Needless to say, Gomez was looking for a different outcome in Irving, but he would be disappointed. Not only did Fix get the win, but he did it twice. The two battled in a best-of-three series for the ticket to Worlds and Fix dominated with a pair of 10-0 tech falls. 

This will be far from Fix's first international voyage. In May of 2014 he won the Pan American Championships in Recife, Brazil. That July he made his World Championship debut in Slovakia where he placed tenth, and in August he won a Silver medal at the Youth Olympics in China. Last summer he found himself in Sarajevo, Bosnia where he defeated Uzbekistan's Abbos Rakhmonov for a Bronze medal at Worlds. 

If you would like to support Fix's "Quest for Gold" you can donate at this LINK.

To see Fix's 14-3 tech fall victory over Iranian Champion Kheyrollah Ghahramani click HERE.

Cheyenne Walden wins sixth State Championship

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

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. 

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.

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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.

3X Sandite of the Week: Daton Fix

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

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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.

CPHS Junior Daton Fix wins National Championship in Las Vegas

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School junior Daton Fix traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend to compete in the United World of Wrestling Junior Freestyle Nationals, and won his second-consecutive UWW Junior Freestyle Championship.

Fix had little difficulty in tech-falling his way through his first three competitors, handing University at Buffalo sophomore Kyle Akins a 14-4 loss in round one.

In the quarterfinals Fix was pitted against two-time Illinois State Champion Kristopher Williams and didn't give up even a single point en route to a 10-0 tech fall.

The Sandite drew tough competition in the semi-finals in Austin Gomez, who is ranked fifth nationally in 126 by FloWrestling. Gomez just finished the high school season with a 40-1 record and a State Championship, but he was no match for Fix who dealt him a 10-0 tech fall.

Fix has won his last 54-straight matches, but his UWW finals match against Gavin Teasdale was his closest battle since a 5-3 decision over nationally ranked Requir Van Der Merwe at the Geary Invitational in January. 

Fix dropped weight from 126 pounds to 121 for the tournament, while Teasdale wrestled up from 113. Both wrestlers are highly ranked by FloWrestling, with Fix sitting at second in 126 and Teasdale topping the chart at number one in 113. Teasdale has racked up four national championships while Fix's 6-5 win gives him thirteen national titles over the three disciplines. 

Up next for the young stud is a trip to New York City where he will join Team USA against Team Iran in the middle of Time Square on Thursday, May 19th.