Eight Sandites take first place at Gage Underwood Memorial Wrestling Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Thirty-one members of the Sand Springs elementary and junior high wrestling teams competed at the Gage Underwood Memorial Tournament recently in Pryor. Twenty-nine placed in the top four in their divisions and eight took first place. 

Dariuz Black (17-12) competed in both Division Three and Division Four Open at 73 pounds. He took first in Division Three and second in the older division. In Division three he pinned Aidan Wolfe (Pryor) in 2:06, received a forfeit from Kenyon Encinas (Pryor), then scored a 23-8 technical fall over Andrew Haynes (Glenpool). In Division Four he pinned Riley Kuder (Broken Arrow) in 0:40 and scored a 22-7 tech fall over Encinas, but was pinned in 1:06 by Corban Zugelder (Catoosa). 

Jaxon Trotter (18-15) competed in both Division Three and Division Four Open at 85 pounds. He took first place in Division three, majoring Jaxon Turner (Vinita) 10-1 and defeating Jake Miller (Threestyle) 4-2. In Division Four he majored Dakota Allphin (Glenpool) 12-0, but was pinned in 2:23 by Lane Wheeler (Glenpool). 

Jaxon Grigsby (18-3) competed in Division Two Open at 49 pounds and took first place. He received a forfeit from Ethan Boyd (Claremore) then pinned his next three opponents. He pinned Tommy Parker (Pryor) in 0:36, Malaki Venetoff (Berryhill) in 3:55, and Parker Lapham (Owasso) in 0:45.

Grady Mittasch (32-7) competed in Division Three Open at 70 pounds and took first place. He defeated Jaxson Humphries (Catoosa) 4-0 and Logan Hargrove (Catoosa) 6-0, then pinned teammate Hunter Jewell in 0:36. 

Clayton Giddens (27-1) competed in Division Four Open at 67 pounds and took first place. He pinned Andrew Havens (Sperry) in 1:11, Caydon Miller (Sapulpa) in 1:06, and Jackson Willingham (Glenpool) in 3:28. 

Abraham Flores (13-7) competed in Division Four Open at 96 pounds and took first place. He defeated Chad Herbert (Owasso) 12-7 in sudden victory overtime, then teched Kevin Lund (Glenpool) 16-0.

London McGinnis (14-7) competed in both Division One Novice and Division One Open at 46 pounds and took second place in each. In Novice he defeated Corde Williams (Bristow) 12-5 and pinned Cash Pope (Glenpool) in 0:56 before falling 5-4 to Blake Ketcher (Pryor). In Open he lost his opening match 7-4 to Braylon Freeman (Cleveland), but rebounded with a 9-0 major decision over Ketcher, then topped Aiyden Robertson (Claremore) 8-2.

Hunter Spencer (13-6) competed in Division Two Open at 61 pounds and took second. He lost his opening match 9-2 to Javon Freeman (Cleveland), but won his next two handily. He majored Gunner Murray (Claremore) 10-0 and Seth Kysar (Cleveland) 9-0.

Zander Grigsby (18-5) competed in Division Three Open at 61 pounds and took second. He defeated Isaiah Jones (Glenpool) 11-1 and Jagen Jones (Sperry) 4-0 before falling 1-0 to Gage Walker (Jay) in the finals. 

Adrian Flores (14-11) competed in Division Three Open at 100 pounds and took second place. He pinned Kole Lamont (Broken Arrow) in 2:31, but was pinned in 1:06 by Bryson Kelley (Cushing). 

Carter Wood (11-5) competed in Division Two Open at 70 pounds and took third place. He lost his opening match 0-0 to Jake Wassom (Pryor), but scored a 20-4 tech fall over Eli Warer (Pryor) and received a forfeit from Jackson Vaught (Threestyle).

Robert Burke (15-5) competed in Division Three Open at 67 pounds and took third place. He was pinned in 1:20 by Bryson Humphries (Catoosa), but received a forfeit from teammate David Ritchey and defeated Elijah Green (Broken Arrow) 9-7. 

Asher Giddens (8-7) competed in Division One Open at 43 pounds and took fourth place. He defeated Daxen Delacerda (Bristow) 9-7 in the opening round, but was pinned in 0:28 by Roman Tyler (Berryhill). In the consolations he pinned Camden Reid (Pryor) in 0:19, but lost a rematch in the final 6-4 to Delacerda in sudden victory overtime. 

Matthew Moore (14-3) competed in Division Three Novice at 61 pounds and took first place. He scored a 10-2 major decision over Wiley Welch (Glenpool), pinned Justin Kendall (Sapulpa) in 0:28, and teched Jarrett Graves (Pryor) 16-0.

Skyler Wood (10-1) competed in Division Two Novice at 64 pounds and took first place. He scored a 1-0 decision over Jase Loftis (Pryor) and a 10-2 major decision over Ethan Oglesbee (Coweta). 

Jesse Moore (9-5) competed in Division Three Novice at 76 pounds and took second place. He pinned Eli Phemister (Glenpool) in 1:56 and Teryn Kegley (Pryor) in 1:59, but lost a close 5-4 decision to Clay McKiddy (Cushing). 

Jeziah Boatman (4-5) competed in Division Four Novice at 76 pounds and took second place. He was pinned in 1:51 in his first match by Xavier Wolfe (Pryor), but snapped back with a 6-4 sudden victory decision over Hudson Sams (Collinsville) and decisioned Jacob Taylor (Cleveland) 5-2.

Samuel Moore (18-8) competed in Division One Novice at 49 pounds and took third place. He pinned Jordyn Garrett (Owasso) in 0:21 and Isaiah Wilkerson (Claremore) in 1:59, and received a forfeit from Karson Johnson (Berryhill). He was pinned in 2:35 by Bentley Mefford (Pryor), but majored Ryker Eichelberger (Pryor) 15-2 in the consolation finals.

Dayne Ficken (8-5) competed in Division Two Novice at 55 pounds and took third place. He defeated Jameson Allen (Sperry) 6-0, but was sent to the consolation bracket after an 18-2 tech fall loss to Josiah Hall (Oologah). He bounced back with a pin of Hayden Smith (Blackwell) in 0:42 and majored Carter Williams (Pryor) 10-1.

Jareb Boatman (9-2) competed in Division Two Novice at 52 pounds and took third place. He pinned Dylan Cook (Coweta) in 0:15 and scored a 1-0 decision over Slade Theriot (Berryhill), but was pinned in 1:50 by Jonas Howell (Oologah) and in 2:23 by Caleb Kendall (Sapulpa).

Twenty Sandites take first place at Team BIG Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Clyde Boyd Middle School hosted the Sand Springs-Team Big elementary wrestling tournament this past weekend and drew a large crowd of competitors. Eighty-eight wrestlers from Sand Springs competed and wrestlers from thirty other schools showed up as well. The home team overwhelming won the tournament with twenty-seven finalists and twenty champions.

Blake Jones (6-3) competed in Division 5 Open at 100 pounds and took first place. He pinned Caleb Hight (Catoosa) in 3:35 and Karsen Rampey (OWA) in 1:25, then scored a 5-0 decision over Bryce Cockrell (Broken Arrow). 

Seth Jones (8-1) competed in Division 5 Open at 113 pounds and took first place. He pinned Jared Head (Threestyle WC) in 4:28 and teched Brayden Seago (Sperry) 19-4, then majored teammate Caden Vaughn 16-2. Vaughn (8-5) defeated Seago 7-0 for second place.

Brett Black (5-1) competed in Division 5 Open at 120 pounds and took first place. He pinned Tyson Rivas (StandFast WC) in 1:26, then scored a 4-1 decision over Kolton Smith (Matrix Grappling). Sam Harris (7-7) lost 11-1 to Smith, scored a 6-2 decision over Rivas, then pinned Clayton Miller (Jay) in 0:55 for third place.

Santana Naugle (2-6) competed in Division 5 Open at 134 pounds and drew only one competitor. He pinned Brent Ingram (Pryor) in 1:06 for first place. 

Clayton Giddens (14-1) competed in Division 4 Open at 67 pounds and drew only one opponent. He pinned Andrew Havens (Sperry) in 2:38, then won a 21-4 tech fall for first place.

Owen Martin (15-1) competed in Division 4 Open at 70 pounds and took first place. He pinned Jordan Vernon (Team NEO) in 1:43, majored teammate Mitchell Smith 12-2, then scored an 11-4 decision over Braxton Sloan (Cowboy WC). Smith (7-8) pinned majored Sloan 12-4 and pinned Vernon in 1:54 for second place. 

Sammy Naugle (10-9) competed in Division 4 Open at 88 pounds and took first place. He pinned Cameron Smith (Bristow) in 0:26 and teammate Jacob Lewis in 1:20. Lewis (7-7) pinned Smith in 1:18 for second place. Lewis also competed in Division 4 Novice and took third place. He majored Gabriel Uphold (Broken Arrow) 11-3 and scored a 2-0 decision over Jeffery Perry (Cleveland), but was pinned in 0:54 by Walker Brown (Claremore) and in 2:50 by Jayce Ward (J4 WC).

Bryce Fisher (3-0) competed in Division 4 Open at 130 pounds and took first place. He pinned Stephan Freeman (Team NEO) in 0:28, Kaleb Owen (Cowboy WC) in 4:13, and Trenton Cole (Glenpool) in 1:12.

Jackson Martin (11-3) competed in Division 3 Open at 52 pounds and drew only one opponent. He pinned teammate Ayreson Reiss in 4:09 and 0:49 for first place. 

Kason McAffrey (7-6) competed in Division 3 Open at 58 pounds and took third place. He lost his first match 11-3 to Iziah Tusler (Cushing), defeated Colin Jones (Glenpool) 9-6, then was pinned in 4:27 by Cayden Cupps (Catoosa). In the consolation finals he pinned teammate Colt Cothran in 2:29.

Zander Grigsby (13-3) competed in Division 3 Open at 61 pounds and took second place. He defeated Isaiah Jones (Glenpool) 8-2, but fell 9-4 to Gage Walker (Jay) in the finals.

Robert Burke (13-4) competed in Division 3 Open at 64 pounds and took second place. He lost his first match 9-1 to Bryson Humphries (Catoosa), but majored James Shelton (Sperry) 11-1 and pinned Mason Moore (Owasso) in 1:49. 

David Ritchey (7-8) competed in Division 3 Open at 67 pounds and took third place. He pinned Bo Ware (Cleveland) in 3:42, then lost a 6-2 decision to Maddox Jackson (Claremore). He won out from there with a 2-1 decision over teammate Landyn Barnes, then pinned Madden Smith (OWA) in 1:44 and got payback on Jackson with a pin in 0:54 in the consolation finals. 

Grady Mittasch (18-2) competed in Division 3 Open at 70 pounds and took third place. He pinned Devon Miller (Ponca City) in 2:37 and John Webb (Jay) in 1:10, but lost a 5-0 decision to Jaxson Humphries (Catoosa). In the consolation finals he pinned Miller again, this time in 2:16. 

Dariuz Black (7-1) competed in Division 3 Open at 73 pounds and drew only one opponent. He pinned Andrew Haynes (Glenpool) in 4:16, then majored him 13-0 for first place. 

Jaxon Trotter (13-13) competed in Division 3 Open at 85 pounds and took third place. He lost a 4-3 decision to Tyler McCall (Catoosa), pinned Wyatt Slover (Miami) in 2:04, then lost 8-0 to Beau Hickman (Matrix WC). In the consolation finals he won a 10-8 decision over Michael Lovins (Catoosa).

Adrian Flores (13-10) competed in Division 3 Open at 100 pounds and took second place. He pinned Jake Girty (Stilwell) in 2:57 and Kole Lamont (Broken Arrow) in 3:33, then scored a 7-3 decision over Kylar Bearpaw (Sapulpa). In the finals he was pinned in 0:58 by Bryson Kelley (Cushing). 

Tyler Smith (5-3) competed in Division 3 Open at heavweight and took second place. He pinned Hemi King (Jay) in 1:13, but was pinned in 1:12 by Gunner Wilson (Catoosa).

Will Meredith (15-2) competed in Division 2 Open at 43 pounds and took first place. He pinned Kyler Seaton (Cleveland) in 0:34 and scored a 7-0 decision over Roman Tyler (Berryhill).

Jaxon Grigsby (11-2) competed in Division 2 Open at 49 pounds and took second place. He fell 9-2 to Mason Burnham (Catoosa) in the opening round, but rebounded with a 10-0 major decision over Kreedon Hockett (Ponca City) and pinned Lachlan Barclay (Catoosa) in 2:41. 

Kaden Pope (9-1) competed in Division 2 Open at 58 pounds and took third place. He edged out Brodan Oneal (Catoosa) 3-2, but fell 9-0 to Javon Freeman (Cleveland). In the consolations he pinned Kale Fruits (Bristow) in 2:32, then beat Oneal 8-4 in the finals.

Hunter Spencer (11-5) competed in Division 2 Open at 61 pounds and took second place. He pinned Seth Kysar (Cleveland) in 4:22 and Wiley Wilson (Cowboy WC) in 0:46, but lost 8-2 to Jaedan Adams (Cowboy WC) in the finals. 

Carter Wood (9-4) competed in Division 2 Open at 67 pounds and took first place. He scored an 11-0 major decision over Maddux Moore (Ponca City) and was one point short of a tech fall in a 14-0 victory over Cooper Barrington (Berryhill). He then pinned Promised Johnson (Bristow) in 1:00 and Jackson Vaught (Threestyle WC) in 1:07. 

Dallas Flores (7-5) competed in Division 2 Open at 70 pounds and took third place. He was pinned in 2:14 by Talon Delk (Sperry), but won out from there with two decisions and a pin. He defeated Hudson Claggett (Bristow) 10-4, pinned Noah Lewis (Ponca City) in 2:52, then won a 13-11 shootout with Nickolas Formin (Broken Arrow).

Tabor Reiss (9-1) competed in Division 1 Open at 37 pounds and took first place. He scored a 14-0 major decision over teammate Bentley Cole, then pinned Gabriel Sharp (Broken Arrow) in only five seconds. Cole (8-2) took third place. He majored Bryson Cupps (Catoosa) 11-3, then pinned Cupps in 1:42 in the consolation finals. 

Ryder Flores (13-3) competed in Division 1 Open at 40 pounds and took second place. He pinned Bentlee Starks (Sperry) in 0:55, then fell 8-0 to Cael Dolan (Berryhill). Asher Giddens (6-5) took third place, falling in 0:35 to Dolan, but pinning Starks in 0:33. Flores also competed in Division 1 Novice and took second there as well. He majored both Rowden Benavidez (Sperry) and Rylan Sams (Sapulpa) 10-2, then fell 9-4 to Knox Lopez (Pryor). 

Jim Watkins (2-2) competed in Division 4 Novice at 70 pounds and took first place. He defeated Kaleb Collins (Broken Arrow) 10-9 and teammate Jayden Pait 12-4. 

Joey Marris (1-3) competed in Division 4 Novice at 80 pounds and took second play. He fell 7-6 to Zamar Gardner (J4 WC) but pinned Kassandra Buckner (Sapulpa) in 2:50.

Codey Cramer (2-0) competed in Division 4 Novice at 110 pounds and took first place, pinning Aaron Braswell (Claremore) in 1:57.

Chase Kelly (2-4) competed in Division 4 Novice at 130 pounds and took second place. He pinned Colton Ingram (Pryor) in 2:25, but was pinned in 0:27 by Daltyn Jory (Jay).

Matthew Moore (11-3) competed in Division 3 Novice at 58 pounds and took first place. He pinned Edward Jones (Sapulpa) in 1:39 and teammate Joshua Spurgeon 11-6. Spurgeon (14-4) scored a 13-0 major decision over Jones for second place.

Landyn Barnes (8-4) competed in Division 3 Novice at 70 pounds and took first place. He defeated Dylon Link (Cushing) 9-2 and teammate Hunter Jewel 2-1. Jewel (2-1) pinned Cole Davis (Glenpool) in 0:18 and Tevin Minney (Cushing) in 2:42 for second place.

Jesse Moore (7-4) competed in Division 3 Novice at 76 pounds and took second place. He lost 5-3 to Clay McKiddy (Cushing) in a sudden victory overtime round, but pinned Eli Phemister (Glenpool) in 0:25. 

Dayne Ficken (5-4) competed in Division 2 Novice at 55 pounds and took fourth place. He pinned Collier Tracy (Glenpool) in 0:24 and Ethan Moss (Berryhill) in 2:36 before falling 6-2 to Cadyn Dodson (Cushing). He then defeated Jameson Allen (Sperry) 7-3 but lost 12-5 to Carson Epperson (Ponca City) in the consolation finals. 

Tanner Copeland (4-0) competed in Division 2 Novice at 61 pounds and took first place. He pinned Carter Beaston (Ponca City) in 0:44 and Alex Patton (Broken Arrow) in 0:45, then received a pair of forfeits. 

Skyler Wood (8-1) competed in Division 2 Novice at 64 pounds and took second place. He defeated Rhodes Molenda (OWA) 4-2, then pinned Drake Blue (Sperry) in 2:49 before falling 8-1 to Brody Stevenson (Glenpool). 

David Cline (4-4) competed in Division 2 Novice at 70 pounds and took second place. He was pinned in 1:37 in his opening match by Cruz Morrison (Catoosa), but won his next two. He defeated Griffin Goins (Broken Arrow) 10-5, then teched Brendan Stalnaker (Broken Arrow) 16-1.

Jaxton Grundy (10-7) competed in Division 1 Novice at 43 pounds and took fourth place. He was pinned in 1:20 by Kyson Buckner (Sapulpa) and in 2:41 by Max Dunkelbrger (Sapulpa), but pinned his other four opponents. He took down Hunter Pryor (Pryor) in 0:14, Braxton Johnson (Pryor) in 0:40, Roman Parker (Oologah) in 0:45, and Cooper Lewis (Claremore) in 1:54.

London McGinnis (10-5) competed in Division 1 Novice at 46 pounds and took first place. He pinned Jeter Ketenbrink (Coweta) in 0:37, Nathan Kendall (Sapulpa) in 0:20, and Angel Estrada (Glenpool) in 0:28, then scored a 16-0 tech fall over teammate Samuel Moore. Moore (14-7) pinned Noah Sotelo (Ponca City) in 0:08 and Cash Pope (Glenpool) in 0:18, then won a 10-8 decision over Weston Little (Bristow) for second place.

Jareb Boatman (4-0) competed in Division 1 Novice at 52 pounds and took first place. He defeated Tynan Justice (Cleveland) 12-8, Noah Hall (Broken Arrow) 11-8, Kyler Ward (Cushing) 10-7, and pinned Jace Davis (Broken Arrow) in 2:31. 

Brody Wafford (4-4) competed in Division 1 Novice at 55 pounds and took second place. He pinned Cody Davis (Glenpool) in 0:58 and scored a 6-4 decision over Legend Johnson (Bristow) before falling in 2:32 to Cade O'Rourke (Sperry). 

Bently Furr (10-4) competed in Division 1 Novice at 60 pounds and took third place. He was majored 12-1 by Noah Boulware (Broken Arrow) in the opening round, but won out from there. He pinned teammate Aiden Rhine in 1:53 and Reid Rose (Glenpool) in 2:32. 

Evan Sartin (1-1) competed in Division 1 Novice at 66 pounds and took first place. He majored Preston Hollis (Claremore) 11-0, then received a forfeit from teammate Cael Knight. Knight defeated Hollis 12-6 and took second place.

Clayton Giddens and Kaden Glass bring home Battle of the Belt titles

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Seven Sand Springs elementary and junior high wrestlers competed at the Battle for the Belt tournament this past weekend at the Oklahoma City Cox Pavilion and two took first place in their divisions.

Clayton Giddens (9-1) picked up his second first-place finish this season at 64 pounds in Division 1. He won a 12-0 major decision over Lawson Knox (Marlow), defeated Matthew Patton (Sperry) by 16-0 tech fall, and recorded two pins. He took down Andrew Havens (Sperry) in 1:23 and Krystian Moore (C4 WC) in 1:15.

Kaden Glass (6-0) competed in Division 5 at Heavyweight and took first place for his second-straight tournament. He defeated Colin Naney (Tiger WC) 3-0 and pinned Tony Davidson (Geary) in 0:27 to remain undefeated for the season.

Grady Mittasch (10-1) was just one win shy of his fourth-straight first place victory, instead settling for third place after a close 4-2 decision to OKUSA State Champion Camden Webb (Muskogee). He snapped back with a 4-1 decision over Wesley Madden (OWA), then pinned Legend Yates (Marlow) in 1:23 and Bo Ware (Cleveland) in 1:05 for yet another stellar performance. He competed in Division 3 at 70 pounds.

Carter Young (5-1) competed in Division 5 at 100 pounds and took second place. He majored Kolbe Madron (Premier WC) 9-0 and decisioned Caleb Williams (Tironook) 6-3, but was pinned in 2:29 by State Champion and Dual National team member Tucker Owens (Matrix).

Ethan White (2-1) wrestled his first tournament of the season and drew only one competitor. He was defeated 10-1 by Harley Andrews (Tiger WC), but received a pair of forfeits for second place. He competed in Division 4 at 120 pounds. 

Sam Harris (5-6) competed in Division 5 at 120 pounds and took fourth place. He lost 13-5 to Cody Hicks (Durant) and was pinned in 0:58 by Parrish Terry (Tiger WC), but received a forfeit from Luke McCain and defeated Brayden Early (Harrah) 6-4. 

Jaxon Trotter (8-5) competed in Division 3 at 85 pounds. He pinned Kenison Rodgers (StandFast WC) in 3:27 and Trey Linam (Marlow) in 0:43, but fell in 1:25 to Ladarion Lockett (Cowboy WC) and was defeated 6-0 by Tyler McCall (Catoosa).

CPHS senior Michael Ritchey takes first place at Joe Zamora Open

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Several members of the Sand Springs wrestling team traveled to Broken Arrow this past weekend for the Joe Zamora/Skyler Holman Open, and seven wrestlers took first place.

Charles Page High School senior Michael Ritchey competed in the high school division at 126 pounds and took first place with a 4-0 record. He won his first match 3-0 over Ernie Chavez of Jenks, then majored Garrett Jarvis of Broken Arrow 8-0. In the semifinals he won another 3-0 decision, this time over Owasso's Tristan Herrera, and wrapped it up with a close 3-2 win over Chase Slatton of Jenks.

Rhett Peak competed in the sixth-seventh grade division at 80 pounds and finished 4-1 for third place. He lost his opening round in a 6-0 decision to Aiden Boyd (Claremore), but finished strong with a 20-10 major decision over Jaden Mathis (Pryor), then pinned his next three opponents in a cumulative 1:27. Kaleb Burns (Sallisaw) went down in 0:12, Denton Degner (Bristow) fell in 0:36, and Bradley Vanblaricom (McAlester) lost in 0:39.

Ryder Barnes competed in the sixth-seventh grade division at 98 pounds and finished 3-0 for first place. He won his opening match with a 10-5 decision over Bradley Saucedo (Broken Arrow), then pinned Rashaud Morgan (Vinita) in 3:26. His final match was a close 2-0 decision over Brock Mattioda (Broken Arrow).

Chase White competed in the sixth-seventh grade division at 113 pounds and finished 2-1 for second place. He won his opening bout with a 1:13 pin over Drake Norfleet (Broken Arrow), then defeated Carson Young (Claremore) by 5-0 decision before falling in 3:56 to Isaac Xiong (Oologah) in the finals. 

Luke Burdette competed in the sixth-seventh grade division at 126 pounds and finished 5-1 for third place. He won his opening match with an 1:21 before falling in 1:53 to Gustabo Ramirez (Bixby). He won out with a 9-3 decision over Jarahmy Blakely (Oologah) and a 2-1 decision over Connor Linam (Oologah), before pinning Jon Lane (Muskogee) in 2:41 and Daltyn Jory (Jay) in 1:21. 

Carter Young competed in the junior high division at 89 pounds and finished 3-0 for first place. He won his opening match 9-3 over Blazik Perez (Broken Arrow) then pinned Grant Edwards (Oologah) in 3:00. The final match was won with a 16-4 major decision over Garett Strickland (Collinsville).

Caden Vaughn competed in the junior high division at 113 pounds and finished 3-1 for third place. He won his opening match with a 1:16 pin of Dayton Hill (Broken Arrow) before giving up a 9-0 major decision to teammate Josh Taylor. He rebounded with a 2-0 decision over Christian Knight (Broken Arrow) and wrapped the tournament up with a 6-1 decision over Kolby Encinas (Pryor).

Josh Taylor competed in the junior high division at 113 pounds and finished 4-0 for first place. He won his opening match with a 2:57 pin of Kaelan Drake (Broken Arrow), then majored Blake Salt (Oologah) 11-1 and Caden Vaughn 9-0 before pinning Pason Dotson (Sallisaw) in 1:38. 

Tyler Rush competed in the junior high division at 126 pounds and finished 4-1 for third place. He was pinned in 2:33 in his opening match by Kohlin Garriott (Jenks), but rebounded with a 1:00 pin over Gunnar Spence (McAlester) and a 1:34 pin of teammate Jared Jenkins. From there he won a close 4-1 decision over Jared Douglas (Cascia Hall) and a 5-2 decision over Christian McIntosh (Pryor).

Caleb Phillips competed in the junior high division at 126 pounds and finished 3-0 for first place. He won his opening match with a 1:02 pin of Eric Wilson, then majored Nate Shaw (Metro Christian Academy) 11-0. In the finals he took down Garrett Weis (Jenks) 8-4.

Christopher Kirby competed in the junior high division at 140 pounds and finished 3-0 for first place. He won his opening match with an 0:31 pin of James Cothran (Bixby), then pinned Devon Vazquez (Broken Arrow) in 0:36. In the finals he majored Caleb Buzzard (Jay) 16-6.

Teagan Campbell competed in the junior high division at 175 pounds and finished 3-1 for third place. He won his opening match with an 0:28 pin of Jonathan Navarro (Broken Arrow), before giving up a 10-3 decision to Bryce Jackson (Oologah). The next two rounds were close, but Campbell prevailed 4-3 over Tyler Bachman (Bixby) and 3-0 over Matt Roach (Bristow).

Kaden Glass competed in the junior high division at 200 pounds and finished 4-0 for first place. He won his opening match in an 0:12 pin of Zach Garrison (Pryor), then won an 8-2 decision over Aaron Lytle (Sapulpa). He finished out with pins of 3:17 over Cameron Johnson (Broken Arrow) and 1:27 over Chad Tinney (Bixby). 

Sandite of the Week: Carter Young takes Gold at Pan-American Championship in Colombia

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Clyde Boyd Middle School Eighth Grade student Carter Young was selected as the Sandite Pride Sandite of the Week for his outstanding performance at the first annual Schoolboy Pan-American Championship this past weekend.

The young Sandite departed last week for Medellin, Colombia as a member of the Team USA schoolboy wrestling squad. He was one of only ten Americans selected to the team, which featured three Oklahomans.

Young went undefeated in the Freestyle competition, taking the Gold medal with four technical falls without giving up a single point. He was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament for his dominating performance. In Greco-Roman he came in Runner-Up after losing in the finals and took home a Silver medal. 

Earlier this summer he took first place at the ASICS Kids Freestyle National Championship and achieved All-American honors in both Freestyle and Greco for going undefeated in the Schoolboy National Duals on Team Oklahoma. 


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. The award is not given to anyone in 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 the Sandite Pride Editorial Board.

Businesses or organizations seeking to sponsor the Sandite of the Week award may contact the above email for inquiries.

Sandite Cross Country impresses at Sapulpa, boys and girls both place second

High School Boys' 2-Mile

11:18 Landin Green 8th Place (PR-0:05)
11:33 Jacob Garbey 12th Place
11:38 Aden Baughman 16th Place
11:49 Pierson Balsters JV 2nd Place
12:06 Ian Baustert 30th Place
12:08 Nelson Yazzie 33rd Place
12:20 Kaegan Murray 42nd Place
12:21 Jaedyn Jackson JV 3rd Place
12:32 Cooper Lynch JV 8th Place (PR-0:11)
12:33 Phillip Elleman JV 9th Place
12:49 Danny Murray JV 12th Place
12:51 Austin McCaskey JV 14th Place
12:57 Jaden Weiser 68th Place
13:00 Nathan McKnight JV 20th Place (PR-0:01)
13:08 Jacob Smith JV 22nd Place
13:58 Charlie Everett JV 37th Place
14:02 Alex Newport JV 38th Place (PR-0:41)
14:30 Russell McCaskey JV 56th Place (PR-0:30)
17:04 Josh Ivy JV 84th Place

High School Girls' 1-Mile

5:21 Cheyenne Walden 1st Place (PR-0:02)
6:11 Alexis Davis 8th Place (PR-0:13)
6:14 Tiqvah Soap 9th Place (PR-same)
6:44 Elizabeth Watts 21st Place (PR-0:10)
6:45 Julia Lewis 23rd Place (PR-0:20)
6:49 Sara Abbet 29th Place (PR-0:18)
6:53 Stephanie Genn 33rd Place (PR-0:19)
6:58 Nia Byrd JV 4th Place
7:07 Kaitlyn Walden JV 6th Place (PR-0:10)
7:12 Erika Baker JV 9th Place
7:19 Madison Englestead JV 13th Place (PR-0:19)
7:20 Chezney Kelley JV 15th Place (PR-0:20)
7:37 Madelynn Adams JV 24th Place (PR-0:17)
7:52 Kaileeann Worthington JV 29th Place
7:58 Lily Reed JV 33rd Place (PR-0:43)
8:17 Erindira Cuevas JV 36th Place
9:22 McKenzie Cypert JV 49th Place
9:36 Ayden Meade JV 51st Place (PR-0:42)
10:41 Hope Pollard JV 54th Place (PR-0:20)
13:17 Hanna Nelson JV 55th Place
13:18 Lauren Barkdull JV 56th Place

Junior High Boys' 1-Mile

6:53 Blain Baldridge 49th Place
7:07 Caleb James 56th Place
7:30 Carter Young 69th Place

Junior High Girls' 1-Mile

6:00 Kalea Fleming 3rd Place (PR-0:11)
7:24 Kenzie Burkes 31st Place
8:10 Jolie Currie 49th Place
9:15 Sidney Cross 61st Place
9:41 Kaitlyn Converse 65th Place

Co-Ed Elementary 1-Mile

6:35 Ava Watts 3rd Place
6:53 Kelton Tarr 11th Place
6:56 Jacob Lewis 12th Place
7:21 Morgan Rector 28th Place
7:24 Brynlee Durborow 32nd Place
7:37 Dawson Briscoe 44th Place
7:42 Kodah Gregory 50th Place
7:45 Chloe Grona 59th Place
7:53 Korben McCaskey 66th Place
7:53 Braden Gregory 67th Place
8:09 Gavin Corbin 80th Place
8:18 Rogelio Ayala 83rd Place
8:19 Josie Myers 84th Place
8:20 Koby Hadley 87th Place
8:51 Sawyer Briscoe 103rd Place
9:11 Corbin Sutton 110th Place
9:23 Brody Carter 119th Place
9:32 Scout Mushrush 117th Place
9:35 Carter McDonald 119th Place
9:46 Cooper McDonald 122nd Place
9:53 Jackson Roley 125th Place

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Sixty-nine Sand Springs students traveled to the Sapulpa Cross Country meet Saturday and performed excellently in all divisions. Senior State Champion Cheyenne Walden won her fifth-straight race with a 0:15 lead on her closest competitor. Thirteen total Sandites placed in the top ten in their respective divisions. The JV boys team took first place, and the JV girls and both varsity teams placed second.

Just last week the Charles Page High School teams made their season debut at Kiefer and both varsity squads won their races for the first time in school history. It was the first time the boys had ever won a meet, and they nearly did so again at Sapulpa.

Walden finished her one mile run in 5:21, a two-second improvement over her previous personal record that she had just set last week at Kiefer. Second for the Lady Sandites was Alexis Davis who finished in eighth place with a PR of 6:11, improving 0:13 over last week. Tiqvah Soap tied her last week’s record of 6:14 for a ninth place finish.

The varsity girls finished with 54 points and an average time of 6:15. The varsity boys scored 96 points and averaged 11:45. Lincoln Christian swept both races with five runners in the top-ten girls and only 26 points, while their boys team placed four runners in the top-ten and scored 36 points. 

The Lady Sandites held a thirteen point lead on third place Sapulpa, and the boys got the edge on Holland Hall by nine points.

Landin Green led the pack for the Sandite boys team, placing eighth overall with a time of 11:18, a five-second improvement over his previous PR. Jacob Garbey wasn’t far behind, finishing in twelfth place with a PR of 11:33. The boys ran a two-mile course.

The JV girls trailed Lincoln by only ten points and placed three runners in the top ten. Nia Byrd trailed varsity by a mere five seconds and finished in fourth place with a PR of 6:58. Freshman Kaitlyn Walden wasn't far behind in sixth place with a time of 7:17, knocking ten seconds off her PR. Erika Baker took ninth place with a time of 7:12.

Freshman Pierson Balsters performed incredibly in JV boys, coming in runner-up to Sapulpa's Caleb Walsh by a mere two seconds. Balsters had the fourth best time of the Sandite boys, beating four varsity runners. His time would have put him in twenty-third place in varsity. Jaelyn Jackson, Cooper Lynch, and Phillip Elleman all finished in the top ten and Jackson trailed varsity by just two seconds. Lynch also bested his last week's PR by 0:11. The great performance gave the boys a huge lead for first place over Sapulpa.

The Lady Sandite Junior High team only had five runners and placed seventh, missing sixth by only eight points. Kalea Fleming led the team with a PR of 6:00 for third place. The great time would have landed her in seventh place in varsity. The eighth grader will be a huge help in filling the void that will be left when Walden and Davis graduate. Only three junior high boys competed, so the team was unable to place. 

The elementary team also turned out in great numbers to compete, and the co-ed Sandites placed second behind Sapulpa. Ava Watts came in third with a time of 6:35, followed by Kelton Tarr and Jacob Lewis and eleventh and twelfth, respectively.