Kyle Keener commits to University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior Kyle Keener is the third Sandite of his class to announce his college commitment. Keener will be playing for the NCAA Division Two University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos.

The 6'6" center has been a crucial component in the turnaround program at Sand Springs, averaging 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game last season. He held a 62% field goal percentage and 77% free throw percentage over the season and posted two double-doubles with a career-high 22 points against Tulsa NOAH. He led his team in scoring four different times.

The Bronchos compete in the NCAA Division Two Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association conference. They finished last season with a 16-14 overall record, 11-11 in conference, and 10-5 at home. They went 1-1 in last season's MIAA post-season tournament, defeating the University of Central Missouri 94-74, but falling 67-61 to Fort Hays State. The Bronchos are lead by second-year head coach Tom Hankins who spent the prior 18 years at the Division One level. He was an assistant coach for 15 years at Oral Roberts University and 3 years at Southern Illinois Carbondale. 

Other Class of 2017 college commits include: Sydney Pennington (Oklahoma State softball) and Jake Terry (Oklahoma baseball).

Gloria Mutiri commits to Ohio State University for volleyball

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior Gloria Mutiri is the first Sandite of the Class of 2018 to officially declare her college intentions. The 6'2" left handed outside hitter announced her commitment to NCAA Division One Ohio State University this past weekend.

Mutiri has been the leading scorer all three years at Sand Springs, which is remarkable considering she only began playing volleyball in the eighth grade. In her time as team captain she has helped guide the ladies to their first winning season in years and has also been a major factor as a two-year starter on the girls' basketball team. 

She has been named Sandite of the Week twice in the last year, once for volleyball and once for basketball. She averages more than 4 kills and 3 digs per set this season and has recorded 55 solo blocks and 41 aces. Her season-best is 31 kills against Tulsa NOAH, though she also scored 30 against Bixby and 29 against Union in 5-set shootouts. 

The Ohio State Buckeyes are currently ranked seventeenth in the nation with a 10-2 ranking, having lost 3-2 to No. 13 BYU and unranked Missouri State. They finished last season 25-10 overall, 12-8 in the Big Ten, and 11-3 at home. Head Coach Geoff Carlston is in his ninth season at the Buckeye program and has gone 171-104 in his career there. Their last season came to a close at the NCAA Regional Semifinal with a 3-2 loss to Wisconsin.

Edit: This article previously identified Mutiri as a senior in the Class of 2017, which was incorrect.

 

Walden wins sixth-straight Cross Country meet, Sandites perform well at Holland Hall

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School Cross Country teams are continuing to impress, finishing among the top teams at the 31st Annual Holland Hall invitational, which attracted some of the top teams in the State.

Three-time State Champion Cheyenne Walden finished in first place in the first 5K of the year for her sixth-straight win with a time of 18:12.1. She had a 0:39.4 lead on her closest competitor, Shay Stayton of Bartlesville, and a 1:13.2 lead on Elysia Burgos of Deer Creek in third place, both of whom were top-twenty State placers last year.

Senior Alexis Davis placed 14th with a time of 21:44.3 and junior Tiqvah Soap took 20th with a time of 22:09.7. The Varsity Girls finished fourth of twelve teams.

Landin Green led the Varsity Boys with a 18:22.5 time for 30th place, followed closely by Aden Baughman in 34th place with a 18:26.5 time. The team finished eighth of sixteen teams.

JV Girls took fourth of ten teams, led by Chezney Kelley in 22nd place with a time of 26:05.7. JV Boys took fifth of ten teams, led by Jaelyn Jackson in sixteenth place with a time of 19:46.0. 

The Junior High teams ran a short 1600 meter track and Kalea Fleming took second place for the girls with a time of 5:36.9, less than a second behind the first place runner. The girls placed seventh of ten teams. The boys only had two runners and were unable to place. KJ Clark took 77th place in 6:43.1.

The Sandites will return to action next Saturday in Stillwater at the Oklahoma State University Cross Country course. Varsity girls will begin at 10:10 a.m. and boys will run at 10:40 a.m. JV girls will take the field at 11:10 a.m. and the boys will follow at 11:40 a.m. The junior high season will conclude October 11th at the Frontier Valley Conference meet.

Click HERE to see photos from the event.

Photo: Virgil Noah

Varsity Girls 5K

18:12.1 Cheyenne Walden 1st Place
21:44.3 Alexis Davis 14th Place
22:09.7 Tiqvah Soap 20th Place
24:19.4 Elizabeth Watts 39th Place
25:14.1 Stephanie Genn 53rd Place
25:31.1 Nia Byrd 61st Place

Varsity Boys 5K

18:22.5 Landin Green 30th Place
18:26.5 Aden Baughman 34th Place
18:57.8 Jacob Garbey 46th Place
19:09.0 Nelson Yazzie 51st Place
19:13.4 Jaden Weiser 52nd Place
19:24.7 Kaegan Murray 56th Place

JV Girls 5K

26:05.7 Chezney Kelley 22nd Place
27:23.4 Kaitlyn Walden 37th Place
28:04.2 Madelynn Adams 41st Place
28:55.9 Madison Englestead 53rd Place
29:36.5 Lily Reed 58th Place
34:05.3 McKenzie Cypert 106th Place
37:21.6 Hope Pollard 119th Place

JV Boys 5K

19:46.0 Jaelyn Jackson 16th Place
20:35.5 Phillip Elleman 31st Place
20:36.5 Nathan Mcknight 34th Place
20:38.3 Elijah Titone 36th Place
20:38.7 Cooper Lynch 37th Place
21:19.8 Austin McCaskey 47th Place
21:34.6 Danny Murray 55th Place
22:53.8 Charlie Everett 86th Place
24:15.8 Russell McCaskey 113th Place

Junior High Girls 1600

5:36.9 Kalea Fleming 2nd Place
6:48.2 Kaylee Hall 20th Place
7:22.9 Mackenzie Burkes 45th Place
8:13.5 Kaitlynn Converse 73rd Place
8:34.3 Sidney Cross 85th Place
8:47.8 Hailee Scott 89th Place
9:22.9 Emma Hamby 104th Place
9:26.4 Katy Lee 105th Place

Junior High Boys 1600

6:43.1 KJ Clark 77th Place
6:55.8 Caleb James 95th Place
 

Sandite defense overcomes Patriot surge for 29-24 victory at home

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Photo: Morgan Miller

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

SCORING SUMMARY

1Q 6:07 Gooch 23 yard pass to Robinson. Castillo PAT. 7-0 PCW.
2Q 11:51 Greathouse 9 yard run. Bales PAT. 7-7.
2Q 2:41 Greathouse 1 yard run. Bales PAT. 14-7 SS.
2Q 2:39. Greathouse 26 yard pass to Morgan. Bales PAT. 21-7 SS.
2Q 0:05 28 yard field goal by Castillo. 21-10 SS.
3Q 5:42 Scott 1 yard run. PAT missed. 27-10 SS.
3Q 5:33 Safety. 29-10 SS.
4Q 10:21 Gooch 5 yard pass to Potts. Castillo PAT. 29-17 SS.
4Q 2:20 Gooch 14 yard pass to Robinson. Castillo PAT. 29-24 SS.

The No.6 ranked Charles Page High School varsity football team (1-2) scored their first win of the season in their home-opener against No. 11 Putnam City West (2-1), dealing the Patriots their first loss of the season. The Sandites were the favorite to win, but penalties and turnovers made the game far closer than it should have been. 

The Sandites received the opening kickoff and started the game with some fireworks as senior quarterback Hunter Greathouse received a double reverse and fired a pass downfield to junior tight-end Dash Fleischman for a 26 yard gain. The rest of the drive fell flat, however, and the Sandites turned the ball over after a failed fourth and 8 pass attempt at the Patriots' 34. 

The Patriots were simple and methodical in their first drive, taking four minutes to drive 66 yards to be the first team on the scoreboard. Putnam quarterback Trey Gooch connected with Nick Robinson from 23 yards out and Pablo Castillo sent in the point-after to take the 7-0 lead.

The Sandites' second drive also fell short due to penalties and solid Patriot defense. Payton Scott picked up a pair of first downs on the ground and landed the home team at the Patriot 14 thanks to a big run with a facemask penalty tacked on the end. From there, everything went in the visitors' favor. Greathouse dropped the snap for a loss of five, and Scott took a tackle-for-loss on the corresponding play. It looked like Scott might get a shot at the endzone on the next handoff, but the play was blown dead due to a holding penalty on the Sandites. A third-and-nineteen pass attempt was broken up in the endzone by Arich Ansley, and on fourth-down, Greathouse was sacked at the 32 by Jordan Ealy.

The Patriots didn't keep the ball for long, however, turning it back over just a minute later and this time the Sandites hit pay-dirt. 

In the last minute of the first quarter, the Sandites drove their way down to the Patriot nine-yard-line for fourth-and-one. In the opening play of the second quarter, the offense piled behind Greathouse on a keeper to try and get the down, and ended up going all nine yards to the endzone for a touchdown. Kasey Bales sent in the point-after and the game was tied up.

Once again the Patriots failed to find traction and punted without a first-down. The Sandites ate up the clock on their corresponding 90-yard drive, and ultimately took the lead. The first play was a fifteen-yard screen to Caleb Wash. Greathouse added another first-down with a 30-yard pass to Bales, Scott picked one up on the ground, and Greathouse hit Bales again for 12. A run from Scott with a facemask at the end put the Sandites in the red zone at the 15-yard line. Greathouse hit Bales at the 1-yard line and scored on a sneak to take the 14-7 lead after Bales's PAT.

The next Sandite drive needed only two plays. Cade Looman sent the kickoff into the back of O'Neal Cotton and Brett Freeman was there to recover it for the Sandites at the Patriot 26. A repeat of the opening play of the game found Greathouse connecting with Dalton Morgan for the touchdown and a 21-7 lead.

The Patriots mustered up a solid drive, aided by some Sandite penalties, and marched to the 11-yard line before settling for a 28-yard field goal by Castillo.

The Sandites tried to score on a deep pass with less than a second remaining, but it was intercepted by T'Mahjai Scales who was tackled by the intended receiver, Bales, to end the half 21-10.

Freeman made yet another great play in the second half, picking off a pass to give the Sandites the ball at the Patriot 16. After being pushed back to a fourth-and-fourteen attempt, Greathouse connected to Mack Thompson at the 2-yard-line and Payton Scott punched it in a few plays later. Bales' PAT missed, but the Sandites led 27-10.

The Sandites scored yet again less than 10 seconds later. Looman's kick pinned the Patriots in at their 19, Delvin Jordan tackled Ealy for a loss of 3, and an unsportsmanlike penalty pushed the visitors back to their 8. A high snap over the quarterback's head traveled all the way into the endzone for a safety, and the Sandites took the ball once again.

From there it was the Patriots' game. The Sandites drove all the way to the visitors' 24 before Greathouse's pass was intercepted. The Patriots retained the ball into the fourth quarter and soon scored on a 5-yard pass to Chris Potts to cut the lead to 29-17.

 The Sandites' next drive was another turnover on downs after a pair of passes were broken up to give Putnam the field at their 32. Putnam marched downfield in yet another successful drive to score on a fourteen-yard pass to Robinson for a touchdown. Castillo's PAT sailed true and cut the deficit to 29-24. 

The Sandites held on to the ball for the remaining two minutes and picked up a first down run the clock out and secure the victory. 

Greathouse finished the evening 10-24-2-172 with one touchdown passing and was 6-(-7) with two touchdowns rushing. The Sandites split receiving duty fairly equally between five players, but Bales led with four receptions for 59 yards. Scott led the ground game with 37 carries for 147 yards and one touchdown. Jordan, Tre Finch, and Gage Fain led the defense with 5 unassisted tackles each, and Freeman was the star of the show with two tackles, an interception, and a fumble recovery.

Gooch led the opposition with a 16-25-1-131 passing record and 14 carries for 72 yards. He was in on all three touchdowns of the evening. 

The Sandites will play their first district game at home next Friday when they take on their Highway 97 rivals from Sapulpa. The Chieftains are ranked fourteenth in Class 6A-II with an 0-3 record after dropping this weekend's game 35-7 to 5A No.8 Bishop Kelley (2-1).

The Patriots will kick off district play at No. 10 Enid Friday (1-2) who just dropped a 44-14 loss to 5A No.7 Bishop McGuinness (2-1).

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

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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. 

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.

Lady Sandite Softball beats Enid by combined 34-1 in district double header

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (19-4, 10-1) jumped on their opponents hard and early in a Thursday afternoon double-header at Enid (6-17, 0-11). The Pacers managed only one hit in the first game and almost every Lady Sandite there scored a run.

The Sandites piled on six runs in the first inning alone. Freshman Felicity Horn hit a leadoff triple and scored on a wild pitch. Jacie Taber singled to score Sydney Pennington, Kimi Presnell singled to score Madelyn Blair, and Cameron Clemons capped the inning off with a three-run double to score Elizabeth Luttrell, Taber, and Presnell.

Taber (8-2) went to the mound in game one and her first three pitches were all strikes, setting the tone for yet another powerful performance from the impressive sophomore.

Pennington hit a home run to start off the second inning and Madelyn Blair scored on a groundout by Taber. Presnell reached on a fielder's choice to score Luttrell, and Clemons singled to bring in Presnell for the 10-0 advantage.

Pennington tacked on two more runs in the top of the third, scoring Makenna Skaggs on a double before coming in on a single from Luttrell.

In the top of the fourth, freshman Sabrina Usher singled and scored on an error. 

Located in the Springs Village shopping center, next to Papa Pat's BBQ.

The top of the fifth was another explosive inning as Blair singled and scored on an error. Taber brought in Luttrell on a single and Jensen Arnold doubled to score Taber. Usher grounded out to score Presnell, Skaggs grounded out to score Arnold, and the Sandites had an 18-0 lead.

Despite putting two on base in the bottom of the inning, the Pacers were unable to score and the game ended by run-rule.

Game two was equally devastating for the home team. It took the Sandites till the second inning to get on the scoreboard, but they made it up for it with ten runs.

Luttrell doubled to start the inning and came in on a two-run homer by Taber. Clemons reached on an error to score Presnell and from there the girls went on a streak of doubles. Collins doubled to score Clemons, Pennington doubled to score Collins and Makenna Skaggs, and Madelyn Blair doubled to score Pennington. Luttrell doubled to score Usher, who ran courtesy for Blair. Taber reached on an error to bring in Luttrell, and Clemons wrapped things up with a double to score Taber.

Pennington smacked a two-run double in the bottom of the third to score Horn and Collins.

Enid finally got on the board in the top of the fourth with a single by Ruth Ramirez to score Haylee Schwandt, but it would be the lone run of the evening for the Pacers.

In the bottom of the inning, the Sandites piled on the offense as Presnell doubled and scored on a single from Horn. Pennington singled to score Horn, Blair doubled to score Collins and Pennington, and the Sandites led 16-1.

The Pacers failed to get on base in the top of the fifth and the Sandites secured the win. 

Madelyn Blair (6-2) got the win on the mound with only four hits against three strikeouts.

The Sandites were previously on a fourteen-game win-streak before having their Senior Night spoiled by Jenks (11-10, 7-6) on Tuesday. Collins and Taber were the only girls to land hits in the 1-0 loss. Taber got the loss in that game despite giving up only four hits against three strikeouts and zero earned runs.

The Lady Sandites will return to action next Monday when they travel to Bixby (14-10, 9-3) for a district makeup game. They will then host the Lady Spartans Tuesday night.