Lady Sandite Volleyball knocks off No. 10 Union in beautiful upset

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 10 ranked Union Redskins (5-5) probably expected little competition from the No. 17 Sand Springs Lady Sandites (13-9). Union’s only losses before their journey to Sand Springs were to top-ten teams. Unfortunately for them, the Sandites’ ranking is misleading.

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team had recently gone 2-4 at the Broken Arrow Invitational, but that record doesn’t show that they were one of only two teams there to win even a single set against No. 2 Norman North (12-2). It also doesn’t show that six of the ten games they lost were by five points or less.   

The Redskins got off to a fast start on the Sandites in the first set before giving up three points on errors. Madison Burris and Gloria Mutiri combined on a block to tie things up at 4-4 and Mutiri scored a kill for the lead.

Union went on a five-point run from there, but the Sandites won eight-straight rallies to reclaim the advantage. Mutiri and Holly Kersgieter each scored several kills off Burris and Lee Leslie, and Madison Ward scored the first ace of the game.

The Sandites were up 16-11 when Union went on another streak. Kendall Cotter scored a pair of aces, Gabbie Inman and Paris Hornor both registered kills, and the Redskins took the 19-16 lead before freshman Devree Youngblood broke the streak with a spike off Burris. Union continued to outscore Sand Springs till a 24-19 score looked like they had it all wrapped up.

The Sandites had other plans.

Mutiri scored off Kenzie Bradshaw, Kylie Taylor served an ace, Ashley Barrows gave up a point on an error, and MaKenzie Ward set up Mutiri to narrow the score to 24-23. Barrows scored a kill to win the set for Union, but the Sandites had shown they were here to play.

The second set was far closer and neither team allowed the other to go on a run this time. The longest scoring-streak either team managed was four rallies. The game was tied up six different times, but the Sandites led six different times and only allowed the Redskins to lead once.

Union tied things up at 15-15 with a kill from Chloe Click, then took the lead on a pair of errors. They held the advantage for only five rallies before giving it up on an error at 18-18 and never recovered. Mutiri took the lead at 20-19 off a set from MaKenzie Ward, Kersgieter served an ace, then scored again after a Union time out. The final minutes were back-and-forth on scoring, but Sand Springs never relinquished the lead and ultimately won 25-23 on a kill from Mutiri.

The third game belonged explosively to the Sandites. After giving up the first three rallies to Union on errors, the Sandites tied things up at 4-4 and took the lead with back-to-back aces from Burris. Union never tied it and never even got close to leading again.

The Sandites scored seven aces in the third game: two from Burris, two from Kersgieter, two from Kendall Wise, and one from Mutiri. The host team had doubled down on their visitors 22-10 midway through the game. The Redskins tried to rally, but they were too far in the deficit and Sand Springs won 25-17.

The visitors found their feet in the fourth game and led for most of it. Sand Springs battled heavy in the last minutes and got within a few points, but Union prevailed 25-22 to force a fifth set.

The final game started off a tad rocky for the Sandites with some communication errors and campfires, but after tying it up at 5-5 with a kill from Mutiri, the Sandites took the lead and never looked back. Kersgieter scored the go-ahead point, Mutiri and Leslie combined on a block, Hornor committed an error, Mutiri added another kill, and Mutiri and Leslie combined on yet another block for the 10-5 lead.

The next five points were decided by errors and the Redskins closed the gap to 12-9 with a tipped ball from Inman. Kersgieter almost saved a shanked dig that went OB, but the ball caught the antenna for the point. Morgan Livingston hit an ace, and the Redskins threatened at 12-11.

Union got into the net on the next rally and Wise served an ace to make it 14-11. A four-touch call gave Union a point, but MaKenzie Ward set up Youngblood for the game-winner.

Mutiri led the Sandites in scoring with twenty-nine kills, five blocks, and two aces, followed by Kersgieter with a season-best fourteen kills, two assists, and four aces. Youngblood was next in on the action with a season-best ten kills, and Wise also scored a season-best with five kills and four aces. Burris had her best night of the season with nineteen assists, followed by MaKenzie Ward with eighteen.

The Lady Sandites will get a full week off after playing twenty matches in twenty-one days. They’ll return to action next Tuesday in an away match at Owasso. Owasso is ranked fifth in 6A with a 4-0 record. Freshmen begin play at 4:00 p.m., Junior Varsity is at 5:00 p.m. and Varsity is at 6:00 p.m.

Sandite elementary & middle school cross country signups

SUBMITTED

This is a running program for Kindergarten through 8th graders. Please come join us on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:45-6:30 at the high school track for practice starting August 30th. The runners will break up into groups based on abilities. Younger runners will be playing mostly games involving running and older runners will follow more of a traditional workout schedule.

It is $20.00 to join the team. Cash only please. Competitive racing is optional. Middle school kids race for free while most elementary races are either free or $5. Come to practice for a race schedule or visit www.revolutionrunningandfitness.com . Racing jerseys will be provided as available. All you need to provide are black shorts and the running shoes.

Elementary races are 1 mile. Junior high races vary from 1 to 2 miles. You can still race even if you don’t practice. Practices are every T/Th from August 30th through September 29th. Come out, get fit and have fun.

If interested, please contact Chris Corbin.

chris.corbin@sandites.org

Lady Sandites head to Bixby with eleven straight wins, seven by shutout

Madelyn Blair leads Lady Sandites to victory at Jenks

by: Virgil Noah, Staff Writer

The Charles Page High School Lady Sandite Softball Team (14-3, 5-0) extended their winning streak to nine games Thursday against the Jenks High School Lady Trojans (6-9, 4-5). Their streak of six consecutive shutouts would come to an end, but Madelyn Blair (5-2) did a great job holding Jenks in check allowing just two earned runs while striking out six batters in seven innings of work from the mound.

Each team went remotely quietly in the first two innings, each picking up hits, but failing to score. Felicity Horn led off the top of the third inning with a walk, Jessica Collins bunted her way to first base, and Sydney Pennington drew a walk to load the bases. Madelyn Blair picked up an RBI on a fielder's choice that scored Horn but outed Pennington at second, and Collins scored on an illegal pitch by Lady Trojan pitcher Lauren Watkins.

Sand Springs added three more runs in the fourth inning. Kimi Presnell, Cameron Clemons, and Rachel Blair all singled, and Presnell advanced to home on a throw. Horn reached on a fielder's choice that outed Clemons at third, and Horn and Blair both advanced on a wild pitch. Collins singled to score Blair, and Horn scored on a throw. Things looked promising for Jenks in their half of the fourth as Brenlyn McCoy singled to lead off the inning, but the next batter, Ally Ryan, lined a pitch right to Presnell who tagged out McCoy for an unassisted double play, and the visitors would make it out of the inning unscathed with a 5-0 advantage. 

Presnell reached on a fielder's choice in the top of the fifth, stole second and eventually scored after a wild pitch and an error. Chancy Hupp got Jenks on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning with a two RBI double, but an RBI double by Madelyn Blair and two more runs scored on errors would put the game away for the Lady Sandites.

Sandites go undefeated at OSU Festival in extra innings

by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Lady Sandites picked up their tenth and eleventh-straight wins at the OSU Festival Friday afternoon. Sophomore Jacie Taber (6-1) got the win on the mound against Piedmont (6-5) with six strikeouts against four hits. Madelyn Blair led in scoring with four RBI.

The Sandites got on the board early in the game with a sacrifice hit from Blair to score freshman Felicity Horn. In the bottom of the third Blair doubled to score Horn, Jessica Collins, and Sydney Pennington, but was left stranded.

Pennington added another run in the bottom of the fifth after tagging up on a flyout from Taber. 

In the second game of the festival the girls faced Muskogee (3-7) for the second time in a week. The Roughers were no challenge for the Sandites at the Rogers State festival, but this game would be a far cry from last Friday's 11-0 shutout.

With Lexy Watson on the mound, Muskogee gave up only five hits, as opposed to fourteen hits the last time the two teams met. The Sandites had to use two pitchers for the first time this season, starting with Oklahoma State University-commit Sydney Pennington (3-0), but trading to Madelyn Blair (5-2) in the bottom of the fifth

Felicity Horn got on base in the top of the first on a walk, but was stranded on third. Neither team reached again till Shania Henry walked in the bottom of the third. Kennedy Glass reached on a fielder's choice and was joined on base by Dymin Purdin who drew a walk. Brookelyn Gilmore singled with a groundball and Glass advanced home while Purdin was put out at third while advancing on the play. 

The Sandites tied things up in the top of the fifth as Elizabeth Luttrell singled to score Kimi Presnell who also singled. 

Muskogee threatened again in the bottom of the fifth as Purdin singled and Henry was hit by pitch. Blair relieved Pennington on the mound and the Sandites picked up an out on a fielder's choice at third. Phynix Coleman reached on an error at second to load the bases, but Purdin flied out to Rachel Blair and Gilmore grounded out to Madelyn Blair to save the inning.

The two teams remained tied up through the bottom of the seventh when the Roughers once again threatened with a pair of runners on base. Blair struck out two, hit one, and gave up a single before Gilmore flied out to strand the runners. 

The game entered an international tie-breaker and Makenna Skaggs was placed on second to speed up game-play. Clemons sacrificed to advance Skaggs to third, and Sabrina Usher hit a line drive single into right field for the go-ahead run. 

Gilmore was placed on second for the Roughers and advanced to third on a passed ball. Kayleigh Phillips walked, but the runners were stranded after three flyouts to net the Sandites the win. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action Tuesday evening in Bixby when they play a district game against the Lady Spartans (6-9, 5-2). The Sandites and Spartans are second and third, respectively, in district standings. Bixby is coming off a 6-1 win over Putnam City. The game was originally scheduled for Sand Springs, but was moved due to standing water on the field after a soaking Monday night. First pitch is at 5:00 p.m.

Sandite Cross Country boys and girls both take first place at Kiefer

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

For the first time in Charles Page High School history, both the boys and girls Cross Country teams came in first place at the same event. The Sandites traveled to Kiefer for their season-opener and both teams came home with the gold.

The Lady Sandites took first place for the first time since 2014, and the boys claimed first place for the first time in over a decade. The last time the two teams came close to sweeping an event was 2001 at Tulsa Memorial when they both claimed second. 

The girls ran a mile Saturday and three-time State Champion Cheyenne Walden led the pack with a career-best 5:23, beating her previous best by eight seconds . This is Walden's fourth-consecutive win. The senior only came in second one time last season, at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas. 

Coming in second place with a time of 6:14 was a junior transfer from Jenks, Tiqvah Soap. Soap finished in the top ten at two meets with the Trojans last year and adds to what is already one of the best girls' Cross Country teams in recent memory. 

Alexis Davis completed the trinity with a 6:24 finish for third place, beating her personal-record by fifteen seconds. 

Kalea Fleming, an eighth grade student at Clyde Boyd Middle School, placed first in the junior high division with a time of 6:11, which would have landed her silver in varsity. She will likely be a bright spot in the next four years of Sandite XC.

• 9th Elizabeth Watts 6:54 (PR-0:06)
• 12th Julia Lewis 7:05 
• 13th Sara Abbet 7:07
• 14th Stephanie Genn 7:12
• 16th Kaitlyn Walden 7:17
• 17th Kaylee Blansett 7:31
• 19th Madison Englestead 7:38
• 22nd Chezney Kelley 7:49
• 23rd Kaileeann Worthington 7:55
• 26th Madelynn Adams 7:56
• 33rd Lily Reed 8:41
• 39th Lauren Barkdull 10:17
• 40th Ayden Meade 10:18
• 42nd Hope Pollard 11:01

The boys ran two miles and landed six runners in the top ten. Sophomore Aden Baughman, who was the lone Sandite boy to qualify for State last year, placed second in 10:46, beating his PR by 1:28. Glenpool's Ben Cain took first place with a twenty-two second lead on Baughman.

Ian Baustert, Kaegan Murray, and Jaden Weiser were neck-and-neck, each finishing within a hair of each other. Each had a time of 11:21, and placed fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. Two seconds behind them was Nelson Yazzie for eighth place, and Pierson Balsters trailed him in ninth place with an 11:26 finish. 

Baustert's time was a 1:22 PR. Murray improved on his best by twenty-eight seconds. 

• 12th Jaedyn Jackson 12:07
• 14th Phillip Elleman 12:28 (PR-4:14)
• 15th Danny Murray 12:35 (PR-2:20)
• 16th Jacob Smith 12:41 (PR-2:39)
  • 17th Cooper Lynch 12:43 (PR-2:30)
  • 18th Austin McCaskey 12:47 (PR-0:22)
  • 20th Charlie Everett 13:31
  • 21st Alex Newport 14:43
  • 22nd Russell McCaskey 15:00
  • 23rd Cody Putscher 15:52

Elementary Results

• 8th Kade Holland
• 15th Kodah Gregory
• 16th Braden Gregory
• 27th Gavin Corbin
• 29th Josie Myers
• 36th Cooper McDonald
• 44th Carter McDonald

The Sandites will return to action Saturday, September 3rd, at Kelly Lane Park in Sapulpa. Kelly Lane is located at 1151 South Park Street.

• 8:45 a.m. Elementary (K-6) one-mile race 
• 9:00 a.m. Varsity Girls one-mile race
• 9:25 a.m. Varsity Boys two-mile race
• 9:50 a.m. JV Girls one-mile race
• 10:15 a.m. JV Boys two-mile race
• 10:40 a.m. Junior High Girls one-mile race
• 11:00 a.m. Junior High Boys one-mile race

Lady Sandites drop straight sets to Bartlesville at BA Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 18 ranked Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (11-8) is 1-3 at the Broken Arrow Tournament after dropping their first match of the silver bracket Saturday morning. 

The Lady Sandites got off to a great start in the first set against the No. 20 Bartlesville Bruins (3-7) with a 7-0 lead. MaKenzie Ward set up Devree Youngblood for the opening kill and Holly Kersgieter scored an ace on the side out. Lee Leslie scored a pair of kills and Gloria Mutiri added one as well.

The Sandites gave up a pair of points on errors, but Madison Burris and Mutiri scored on a pair of blocks to make it 10-2. Mutiri followed up with a pair of solo blocks soon after, but the Bruins finally started to compete. 

Sand Springs gave up a point on an illegal block and the Bruins capitalized with an ace. That gave them the momentum they needed to surge towards a 25-19 finish. 

The second set was competitive from the get-go, though the Sandites did lead for much of it. The Bruins took the lead at 10-9, but Mutiri and Leslie combined for a block to tie it up. Bartlesville regained the lead right after on a consecutive touch call and never relinquished it from then-on. They won that set 25-21. 

The third set was marred by communication errors, but the Sandites still managed to hang tight. Bartlesville won that one 25-20 to sweep the match. 

Mutiri led in scoring with eleven kills and give blocks, followed by Kersgieter with six kills and two aces. Ward registered eight assists and Burris had seven. 

The Sandites will return to action at noon against the winner of Moore (1-11) vs No. 15 Southmoore (3-4). 

Lady Sandites dominate Moore Lions 3-1 in Broken Arrow Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief
Photo: Morgan Miller

After dropping the first two matches of the Broken Arrow Volleyball Tournament Friday morning, the Charles Page High School Lady Sandites (11-7) got back in the win column with a 3-1 victory over the Moore Lions (1-11). 

The Sandites took a quick 3-0 lead on errors before Bri Maxwell scored the first kill of the game. Gloria Mutiri scored the first Sandite kill on an assist from MaKenzie Ward for the 6-2 advantage and soon followed it up with an ace. A pair of kills from Kaylee Walker helped Moore close the gap to 8-7 before the Sandites pulled back ahead with a pair of aces from Ward. 

The Sandites gave up three straight errors soon after and Walker and Ashley Vap blocked an attack from Madison Burris to tie it up at 11-11. The teams battled back and forth from there with the Lions taking a brief lead on an ace from Walker before Burris got payback with a solo block of her own. Mutiri scored a kill on a set from Ward, then combined with Burris for another block. Lee Leslie added a kill, Moore committed a fault, and Devree Youngblood served an ace for the 19-14 advantage. Moore closed the gap once more to 21-20 before Sand Springs went on a run with Ward scoring a kill and setting up attacks for Holly Kersgieter and Leslie for the 25-20 win.

In the second set it was Moore who took an early advantage, surging to a 12-5 lead before a service error broke their momentum. Madison Ward scored a kill and the Lions committed a series of faults to cut their lead to 14-12 before going on another run to make it 18-12. Mutiri came to the rescue soon after with four straight aces and Kersgieter added a kill to tie it up at 21-21. Moore picked up two points on errors, but Kersgieter scored another kill and MaKenzie Ward hit a pair of aces en route to a 25-23 Sandite victory.

The third set was a shootout in the beginning before communication problems tied up the Sandites and a series of campfires and errors gave Moore the 14-8 lead. Kersgieter scored back-to-back aces to make it 17-13, but the Lions wouldn't slow down and Maxwell scored three straight kills to win it 25-15.

The fourth game looked like it would belong wholly to the Lions after they started 5-0 with kills from Maxwell, Bri Prescott, and two aces from Walker. A service error from Walker got the Sandites on the board and Burris scored an ace of her own. Mutiri and Leslie combined to block Maxwell and a Lion error cut the lead to 5-4.

Sand Springs tied it up at 7-7 with a kill from Mutiri, and the girls took the lead as Mutiri served four straight aces. Prescott broke it up with a kill, but Kersgieter took a turn hitting and scored a pair of kills. Youngblood capped off a series of errors with an ace to push the advantage to 19-10 and MaKenzie Ward and Mutiri added some late kills for the 25-12 win.

Mutiri led in the scoring with 23 kills and nine aces, followed by MaKenzie Ward with eight kills, four aces, and a team-high eleven assists. Kersgieter also had eight kills and two aces. Leslie and Youngblood scored three kills apiece and Madison Ward scored two. 

The Lady Sandites placed third in their pool with a 1-2 record after dropping matches to the Northeast Oklahoma Association of Homeschools (3-2) and No. 3 Norman North (10-2). The girls will play in the Silver bracket tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. against No. 20 Bartlesville (2-7). If they lose their first match they'll play for seventh place at noon. If they win, they'll play for fifth place at 1:30 p.m.