Lady Sandite Softball shaping up for another District Championship battle with Yukon

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (19-4) is the number one team in the district, but the season isn't over yet. The Lady Sandites rode a tidal wave of success in recent weeks, winning fourteen-straight games by an average score of 7-1 before falling 1-0 to Jenks (11-10) on Tuesday. They wasted no time in rebounding from the defeat, however, with a pair of dominating district wins over Enid (6-17) Thursday evening.

The Lady Sandites hold a 10-1 district record that was unblemished before the game with Jenks. After that loss they are now tied in district wins with Yukon (20-4) whom they have already defeated 9-1 earlier this season. Because the Sandites hold the head-to-head advantage with Yukon, they're still number one. The Millers still have time to change that, however. The two teams will get a rematch in Sand Springs next Thursday. 

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What happens if Yukon wins? Assuming Yukon wins their district double-header against Enid Monday, which they should, the Millers would claim the district title with a 13-1 record, and the Sandites would come in runners-up with a 12-2 record, assuming they defeat Bixby in back-to-back games Monday and Tuesday.

But don't count Bixby out either. With a 9-3 district record, technically they're still in it. If Bixby beats Sand Springs, the Spartans will take the number two seed. If the Sandites and Pacers both top Yukon and Bixby tops Sand Springs, then Bixby takes the district and the Sandites come in runners-up. It's unlikely to work out in the Spartans' favor, but the history books are filled with unlikely outcomes in sports. Remember last year when Sand Springs football lost to both Booker T and Bartlesville, but still ended up in the State Championship?

Ignoring the Spartan sleepers, the district championship game will most likely be played next Thursday, and it wouldn't be the first time the Millers have spoiled it for the Sandites. Last season the Sandites were undefeated in the district after a 7-6 victory over the previously undefeated Millers at home. Then they had to travel to Yukon, and the Millers won 4-0 with the home-field advantage. 

What's different this year is that the Sandites already beat Yukon at Yukon, and it wasn't even close. They've also managed to somehow have a slightly better season, in spite of the fact that last season was already incredible. They win by one more point than last year. They've had two fewer losses, and they've stepped up their defense by a landslide. While they lost big hitters in Jessica Schuler (NSU) and Kennedy "Goose" Salyers (SWOSU), they've made up for the mild dip in offense by allowing far fewer points. This time last year they had won five shutouts. This year they've won ten. 

The girls don't need to win their district, though it would certainly be nice. But if they can beat Bixby to finish in the top two, then they'll get to host their Regional bracket, which can often give a team a huge advantage. The Spartans' three district losses were an 11-2 upset to Sapulpa and a devastating double-header at Yukon which they lost by a combined 29-3. Theoretically, the Sandites should win, but nothing is ever set in stone.

No matter which way things go, the next three games will all be crucial and will make for some grade-A softball that you don't want to miss. Monday's game at Bixby begins at 5:00 p.m., as does Tuesday's home game against Bixby. The Thursday home game against Yukon will begin at 4:00 p.m.

Mid-Season Player Stats

Madelyn Blair has hit 22 singles, 15 doubles, 7 triples, 2 sacrifices, and 22 RBI on 70 at-bats for a .314 batting average, .414 slugging average, and .377 OBP. She has scored 9 runs this season and had a hand in 3 double plays. At the mound she holds a 7-2 record and 1.53 ERA over 45.66 innings pitched. She has struck out 34 batters, given up 35 hits, 6 walks, and has hit 10 players with the pitch. She has only allowed 11 runs and 10 earned runs.

Jessica Collins has hit 18 singles, 3 doubles, 9 sacrifices, and 13 RBI on 66 at-bats for a .318 batting average, .333 slugging average, and .444 OBP. She has scored 27 runs and stolen 5 bases this season. 

Jacie Taber has hit 13 singles, 5 doubles, 1 home run, 4 sacrifices, and 13 RBI on 66 at-bats for a .288 batting average, .394 slugging average, and .338 OBP. She has scored 12 runs and stolen 2 bases this season. At the mound she holds an 8-2 record and 0.89 ERA over 63 innings pitched. She has struck out 53 batters, given up 34 hits, 18 walks, and has hit 12 players with the pitch. She has allowed only 9 runs and 8 earned runs. 

Sydney Pennington has hit 17 singles, 10 doubles, 8 home runs, and 27 RBI on 64 at-bats for a .547 batting average, 1.078 slugging average, and .642 OBP. She has scored 28 runs, stolen 2 bases, and been in on 3 double plays. At the mound she holds a 4-0 record and 1.15 ERA over 30.33 innings pitched. She has struck out 18 batters, given up 17 hits, 12 walks, and has hit 2 players with the pitch. She has allowed only 6 runs and 5 earned runs. 

Kimi Presnell has hit 12 singles, 2 doubles, 2 sacrifices, and 11 RBI on 63 at-bats for a .222 batting average, .254 slugging average, and .319 OBP. She has scored 11 runs this season, stolen 9 bases, and been in on 4 double plays. 

Sabrina Usher has hit 9 singles, 7 doubles, 1 home run, 2 sacrifices, and 14 RBI on 59 at-bats for a .288 batting average, .475 slugging average, and .333 OBP. She has scored 11 runs and stolen 1 base this season.

Felicity Horn has hit 9 singles, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 4 sacrifices, and 6 RBI on 56 at-bats for a .250 batting average, .357 slugging average, and .432 OBP. She has scored 19 runs this season and has stolen 1 base. 

Rachel Blair has hit 8 singles, 1 double, 3 sacrifices, and 3 RBI on 53 at-bats for a .170 batting average, .189 slugging average, and .267 OBP. She has scored 8 runs this season.

Cameron Clemons has hit 11 singles, 5 doubles, 5 sacrifices, and 11 RBI on 52-at bats for a .308 batting average, .385 slugging average, and .400 OBP. She has scored 11 runs this season, stolen 1 base, and had a hand in 1 double play. 

Elizabeth Luttrell has hit 6 singles, 3 doubles, and 5 RBI on 16 at-bats for a .563 batting average, .750 slugging average, and .588 OBP. She has scored 7 runs this season.

Makenna Skaggs has hit 4 singles and 2 RBI on 12 at-bats for a .333 batting average, .333 slugging average, and .467 OBP. She has scored 12 runs this season.

Jensen Arnold has hit 1 single, 3 doubles, 1 triple, and 3 RBI on 8 at-bats for a .625 batting average, 1.25 slugging average, and .625 OBP. She has scored 4 runs this season.

Rachel Jones has a 0.00 batting average on 4 at-bats this season. She has been in on 1 double play.

Editorial: How the 6A split saved 6A football

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Oklahoma high school football experienced a dramatic and controversial change in the fall of 2013 when the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) announced a split in Class 6A. The 16 highest-enrollment schools would be separated from the lower 16 and each division would play for their own State Title.

The reason for the decision was simple. Population. The current enrollment of Broken Arrow High School is 4,872. The enrollment of Booker T Washington? 1,317. The difference between the top of 6A and the bottom of 6A is greater than the top of 5A and the smallest schools in the State. Schools like BA, Union, Jenks, and Owasso have four times the talent pool to draw from. While the majority of the Hornet starters play both sides of the ball and never get a break, the Redskins have a roster larger than some colleges and have backups for their backups.

Class 6A was created in 1992 and the inaugural Championship was won by Norman. Jenks won it in ’93, Midwest City went back-to-back from ’94-95, and nobody but Jenks or Union has won it since. More often than not, the State Championship game has simply been a rematch between the Backyard Bowl rivals. Since the inception of 6A, Jenks leads the series with 14 titles to Union’s 7, and only 2 other teams have ever won.

Clearly population isn’t the only deciding factor, otherwise Broken Arrow would have won it every year. But there’s no denying the significance it plays. 6A teams were judged by their ability to turn a winning record, not by their ability to win State Titles. That was irrelevant. Nobody won State Titles but Jenks and Union.

In the 22 seasons that Sand Springs played the 6A division, they earned a total record of 98-131 and only managed 7 winning seasons with 7 playoff appearances. In five of those years they were eliminated by top-four-enrollment schools. The other years it was by top-ten schools. Since the 6A split, the Sandites have gone 15-11, made the playoffs both years, and actually won playoff games for the first time since 1997. In 2015, the Sandites made their first State Final appearance since 1966.

While the problems with the 6A split were clear—increased travel, “easier” brackets—the solution has proved to be a game-changer for the 16 schools who now feel like they actually have a legitimate chance. The culture around Sand Springs football has changed, and it’s not an isolated event.

The Class 6A-II conversation begins with two-time reigning State Champions, the Bixby Spartans. Bixby was an annual contender in Class 5A without fail. They weren’t part of the inaugural class of 6A. They didn’t move over until 2010. Prior to that, they had six-straight winning seasons with ten-straight playoff appearances. In their first year of 6A they finished the regular season 5-5, their worst record since 2003, and were eliminated in round one by Jenks. For the next two years they posted losing records and didn’t make the playoffs again till the 6A split. In a single year, the 6A powerhouses had killed the football culture at Bixby. They were lucky that they only had to live through it for four years before the split. In 2014, the Spartans were once again playing teams at their size, and they went 12-1 for their first ever State Title. Their only loss? A season-opening non-conference game against Jenks. Jenks won that one 66-20. The Spartans defended their title in 2015 and are currently ranked number one in 2016. After two straight winning seasons and State Titles, the Spartans challenged Jenks in their season opener and nearly won it, 38-34.

Booker T Washington has always had a culture of winning, with eight State Championships including two recently in 2008 and 2010 at the 5A level. The Hornets only had to play two seasons of 6A football, both ending in first round devastating playoff defeats at the hands of the Big Four. As soon as 6A split, they were back in it with a 7-game winning streak and a 10-2 season in 2014. Last year they went undefeated in the regular season and earned the number one rank before Sand Springs defeated them in the semi-finals. This year the Hornets are laying the foundation to take their program to the next level with College Hall of Fame member Brad Calip taking over as Head Coach and former University of Tulsa Head Coach Bill Blankenship volunteering with the quarterbacks and offensive coaching. The Hornets have stepped up their pre-conference scheduling with 6A No. 5 Edmond Santa Fe and Florida-based private school IMG Academy which is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation with an entire roster of division-I commits.

Bartlesville was part of the first class of 6A, and went 0-10 in the first two years. They didn’t post a winning record till 2002, when they were doubled down on by Union 54-27 in the first round of the playoffs. Their next winning record wouldn’t come till 2008, and that was only due to a forfeiture by Jenks due to OSSAA sanctions. In 2009 they gave it a real run and even defeated Owasso, but still couldn’t fend off Jenks, BA, and Southmoore. In 2010 they had another winning record at 7-4. Their losses were to the Big Four. Since the 6A split they’ve made the playoffs both years and finished last season with only two losses. They held the No. 1 rank briefly after defeating Bixby, before falling to BTW two weeks later.

The success stories continue from there. The evidence is undeniable, the 6A split has saved 6A football. While critics of the sixteen-team bracket call it a JV division, the reality is that the top teams in 6A-II never could compete with the Big Four when they were in 6A, but now they could. Bixby nearly defeated 6A No. 1 Jenks in a pre-conference battle. BTW almost defeated 6A No. 5 Edmond Santa Fe. Sand Springs has begun scheduling real opponents like Arkansas State Champion Pulaski Academy, instead of their past habit of lighting up Nathan Hale, who has lost 37-straight games. Muskogee has brought in 5A State Championship coach Rafe Watkins from Guthrie and is now a real contender for the first time in years. Putnam City West is confidently rebuilding their program after a decade of losing seasons. Sapulpa brought on former Sand Springs Defensive Coordinator Robert Borgstadt as head coach to rebuild their ailing program.

Success breeds success. Is the 16-team bracket the best way to go? Who knows? Maybe one day there will be a full 32 schools the size of BA and we can re-institute the 32-team standard. Maybe we should split all the other classes into 16-team divisions as well. Or maybe we should call Bixby and Jenks Division Champions instead of State Champions and have them play each other for the true 6A State Championship. There’s many things we could try; some could work, and some won’t. But the fact is, 6A football is more competitive than it has ever been, and almost every school in the Class is now vying to be the next big deal. The Big Four monopoly hasn’t been broken, but at least 16 teams now feel like they have a real shot.

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

Oklahoma dominates Georgia 68-2 in Dual Nationals round one

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Team Oklahoma got off to a fast start against Team Georgia Blue in the first round of the Junior Greco-Roman Dual Nationals Wednesday morning, building up a massive lead before the wrestling even started.

Jet Taylor, Jacob Butler, and Jaxen Gilmore received forfeits for 126 to 138. Tuttle's Brik Filippo wasted no time in putting points on the board with a 10-0 tech fall over Khyree Alexander, then Sand Springs's Payton Scott took down Dustin Berry 10-0 in thirty seconds flat. Ezequiel Rubio pinned Cole White in a quick twenty then Nick Mahan teched Chandler Miele 13-2.

Bear Hughes continued the winning streak with an 11-0 tech over Devyn Villafane. Zach Marcheselli received a forfeit, Tanner Hawkins picked up a 16-6 tech fall over Richard Walker, then Trenton Lieutance, Alex Fields, and Wyatt Adams all received forfeits.  Alec McDoulett teched Brandon Foster 11-0 and Westmoore's Dalton Duffield wrapped things up with a 12-0 tech of Alex Cain for a final score of 68-2 with no matches lost.

Up next for Oklahoma is Team Pennsylvania who solidly defeated Team Kansas Red 49-12 in round one. 

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.  

6A #1 Sandites defeat 5A #1 Collinsville with bonus points

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Virgil Noah, Staff

The 6A #1 Sand Springs Sandites (10-0) defeated the 5A #1 Collinsville Cardinals (14-2) Tuesday night, spoiling the smaller school’s homecoming festivities. The matches were split 7-7 but the Sandites came out well ahead on bonus points with four pins.

The dual started off at 106 with #3 Connor Henson scoring an early takedown of #7 Riley Weir (16-8), but the match was broken up multiple times due to bleeding on the part of the Cardinal. Weir scored an escape, then a takedown to carry a 3-2 lead into the second period where the pair started neutral. The first minute was an exhausting battle for control, before Henson finally scored points with thirty seconds left. Weir wouldn’t be held for long, however, and escaped within moments to even things out 4-4. The final period also started neutral, but this time Henson took control quickly for a 6-4 lead. Henson rode a nearly immobile Weir till there was a mere thirty seconds left when the Sandites used a timeout to inspect Weir’s pained elbow. The Sandite freshman is recovering from a severally strained tendon, but that didn’t stop him from escaping and scoring a takedown with seconds left for a 7-6 decision and a 3-0 team lead.

At 113 it was #5 Michael Ritchey (18-14) versus #6 Xavear Cullors. The first period was a bunch of dancing and neither scored points till Cullors managed an escape to start the second. He followed it up quickly with a takedown and rode Ritchey into the third. The pair started neutral and Cullors took Ritchey down once more. The Sandite’s lone point came on an escape with thirty left and Collinsville got the 5-1 decision to tie things up.

120 #6 Blake Sargent (30-9) and #4 Gunner Hamm were at an impasse for nearly all of the first till Sargent scored a takedown with less than two seconds left. He followed it up with an escape two seconds into the second period, then added another takedown with a minute to spare and turned it into near-fall with twenty left and started the third with an 11-0 lead. The third started the way of the first but Sargent managed another takedown with forty seconds left. He failed to score again, however, and settled for a 13-0 major decision.

The quickest match of the night was the 0:29 pin of 126 Pete Flippo by #4 Jack Karstetter (30-6). Karstetter has won his last fifteen matches and just took first place at both the Yukon and Sand Springs tournaments.

132 Derek Davis (10-5) is didn’t get that record just by showing up. The kid is good, but he was pitted against #1 reigning 5A State Champion Nate Keim, and that’s tough. Keim just went 7-0 at the Ram Duals this past weekend, and clearly he wasn’t done adding to that streak. Keim scored on a takedown a minute in, then let Davis out just to take him down again. Keim started the second period down and immediately escaped, and needed only twenty seconds to take Davis down for a near-fall. Davis battled out of it, but the Cardinal took a 12-0 lead, then added another takedown before pinning him in 3:48 to close the gap to 13-9.

Ryce Haymaker is probably a great wrestler. But you can’t judge anyone by how well they match up against 138 #1 Daton Fix. The two-time State Champion is 35-0 this season, 108-0 overall, and nobody gets close to beating him outside of national championships. Fix took a 4-2 lead faster than I can type and continued his cat and mouse routine of letting his opponent up just to immediately take him down again till he had an 8-4 lead and was satisfied with his takedown-practice for the day. Haymaker was wrapped up in a textbook cradle only 1:43 in, and the Sandites increased their lead to 19-9.

#2 Beau Bratcher (33-6) has had a rough week. In his last match he was pitted against 138 #1 Jaxen Gilmore. This time it 145 State Runner-Up #1 Justin Walker. The two gridlocked through the first period and started the second neutral and repeated till Walker finally scored a takedown right at the buzzer. Bratcher managed an escape with a minute left, but was unable to score and lost 2-1

152 Cody Mathis (13-12) had an equally difficult matchup in #1 State Champion Elijah Tanner. Tanner got a takedown with twenty seconds left in the first and Mathis started the second period down. Mathis failed to escape through the second and Tanner escaped quickly to start the third. He added a takedown with a minute to spare and took a 5-0 decision.

Another top level battle came at 160 as #2 Payton Scott (11-4) took on #3 Tony Connor. Scott was the only one pressing the action for most of the first period and Connor caught him off guard, striking out of a defensive position for a takedown. Scott got an escape moments later, however, and gave up an escape to start the second to wrestle from a 3-1 deficit. It cost him, however, as he failed to get the points he was expecting and continued to trail into the third. He escaped to start the third and was working on an inside trip when the time ran out and he lost 3-2.

#4 Zane Basma (26-9) pulled off an impressive win over #2 Josh Arnold at 170. Arnold scored a takedown to start the first and a takedown to end it, broken up by a Basma escape. Basma chose down and scored a quick escape, then turned a takedown into a 3:54 pin for a 25-18 team lead.

#4 Lane Lettich (10-6) didn’t have much difficulty with Trace Dougherty at 182, taking the Cardinal down and pinning him in only 1:10.

195 Zach Sims (19-19) was very impressive, despite a loss. Taking on #1 State Runner-Up Roc Robbins, the match started the same as many before it, with two very talented wrestlers stalemated by each other’s great talent and neither scored in the first period. Robbins didn’t score till there was a minute left in the second, then escaped to start the third 3-0. He added another takedown midway through, then Sims finally got on the board with an escape. The Sandite ultimately went down 5-1.

Ten points down with twelve points possible, the Cardinals needed two pins or a pin and a tech fall to win it.

220 Cole Dixon (4-4) hasn’t wrestled all season, and just saw his first action this past weekend. He found himself pitted against Dylan Dobbs who, funnily, also has a 4-4 record between this past weekend and Dixon. Dixon slammed his opponent down moments in for a quick two points, but the Cardinal responded immediately with an escape. Dixon attempted a quick trip with moments left in the period, but was unsuccessful. The Cardinal took the down position and used thirty seconds in getting an escape, but ten seconds later Dixon took him right back to the mat. Another Cardinal escape made it 4-3, but Dixon brought him back down with 12 to go for a 6-3 lead. The third period started neutral but Dixon didn’t’ let it stay that way for long, pushing the lead to 8-3. Suddenly, the two were rolling back and forth and Dobbs ended up on top for a 5:28 pin after what looked to be an easy Sandite win.

Just like that, the Cardinals were back in it and it came down to the Heavyweight match. The typically 220 Delvin Jordan (11-4) was outclassed by more than 50 pounds against Jackson Wilson, but he didn’t show it. The Sandite scored a pair of takedowns for a 4-2 lead with the Cardinal’s points coming from escapes. The second period was neutral all the way through, and the Cardinal escaped to start the third trailing 4-3. When the Cardinals needed a big move to rally for the win, the only big move to be found was from Jordan, hoisting the heavyweight up for a 6-4 decision and a 34-27 win.

Sand Springs has one regular season event left before Dual State. Thursday the Sandites will travel to Jenks for one last tune-up before the big dual season finale.