Sports Roundup: Softball ends season at Owasso Regional

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A version of this story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Sandite fast-pitch softball team wrapped up the season with an 18-15 record, going 2-2 at the 6A Regional playoffs at Owasso last weekend. 

The Sandites beat Muskogee 8-5 in the first round and again 6-1 in the loser’s bracket, but dropped games of 6-1 and 11-1 to the host team and returning State finalists.

In the first game the Sandites made the most of three walks, three errors, and four singles in the top of the first to take an 8-0 lead and held on for the win behind Kelsi Hilton’s pitching.

Avery Tanner scored the only Sandite run of the first game against Owasso on an error, but the Sandites only trailed 3-1 till the fifth when the Rams began to pull ahead.

In the Muskogee rematch Hilton held the Roughers to only one run with three strikeouts, while Lauren Hammock led the offense with two hits, one run, and two RBI.

The host Rams rolled to a six-inning run-rule win in the elimination match, however, with Tanner’s RBI double scoring Kaylei Rake for the lone Sandite run.

Volleyball

The Class 6A No. 16 Sandite volleyball team (14-19) picked up a 3-0 non-conference sweep of 5A No. 12 Glenpool (13-18) on Senior Night, October 5th, with sets of 25-18, 25-16, and 25-12.

Layla Lenex scored 14 kills, Payton Robbins scored 11, and Jacelyn Smith and Kasidy Holland scored 7 apiece. Tehya Johnson recorded 38 assists, Charley Fahland made 13 digs, and Olivia Dewitt served three aces.

On Thursday they fell 3-0 at No. 10 Union (23-9) to wrap up conference action with a 2-6 record. Robbins scored 8 kills with 17 digs, Johnson had 9 digs and 19 assists, and Fahland had 14 digs.

The Sandites will travel to No. 1 Bishop Kelley (26-5) Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. for Regionals with a first-round match against Booker T. Washington (14-20).

Sports Roundup: Daton Fix wins World Freestyle Silver

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A version of this story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Sand Springs fast-pitch softball team (16-13) has received its Regional assignment. The Sandites will be traveling to Owasso on Tuesday and Wednesday October 5-6th. 

In the first round they will play Muskogee (17-16) Tuesday at 12:30 in the first meeting of the season between the two teams. On the other side of the bracket is Owasso (27-5) vs. the combined Tulsa Memorial / Booker T. Washington team (2-21). 

Sand Springs previously lost 8-0 to Owasso in the second game of the season while it was short five starters due to injuries and COVID protocols. They beat the Tulsa Public Schools team 16-0 twice in district play.

Sand Springs has won ten Regional Championships in its 25 years under head coach Shelli Brown, including five in a row from 2015 to 2019 before coming up one game short last season. The team will look for its 18th in school history. 

Sand Springs finished the regular season with a 7-2 senior night win over Sperry, Monday, September 27th. 

After giving up two runs in the top of the first inning, the Sandites tied it up in the bottom of the fourth. Lauren Hammock hit a double and scored on an error, then Kelsi Hilton hit an RBI double to score Nataley Crawford.

Avery Tanner’s RBI single gave her team the lead in the fifth, then Crawford added a two-run double. Hammock scored on a passed ball and Crawford made it 7-2 on a ground out for the final run of the game.

Hilton picked up the win in the pitcher’s circle with no hits, no runs, no walks, and three strikeouts in four innings. 

The final game of the regular season, scheduled for Thursday at Oologah, was canceled due to rain.

Cross Country

The Sand Springs Varsity Boys Cross Country team placed seventh and the girls took ninth at Claremore, Friday, October 1st. 

Jazmin Lopez placed 13th in the 5K run, finishing in 21:57 to lead the girls. Alejandro Lopez led the boys in 18:01 for 28th place, closely followed by Noah Hanlon in 18:03 for 31st. 

The junior high boys placed ninth in the two-mile run, led by Taigh Wright in 12:05 for 20th. 

Volleyball

The Class 6A No. 16 Sandite Volleyball team (13-18) lost a 3-0 set to No. 3 Jenks on Tuesday, September 28th. The Sandites are 2-5 in Frontier Valley Conference action.

Senior setter Tehya Johnson surpassed the 1,000 assist career milestone in the match, and Layla Lenex set the school record in career blocks.

The Sandites were supposed to host Booker T. Washington on Thursday, but that match was canceled due to a leak in the roof of the Ed Dubie Field House, and will not be rescheduled. 

Sand Springs will host 5A No. 12 Glenpool (13-16) for senior night Tuesday, October 5th at 6:00 p.m. and will wrap up regular season action at No. 9 Union (21-9, 4-3) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Wrestling

Charles Page High School graduate Daton Fix placed second at the Senior Freestyle World Championship finals Sunday in Oslo, Norway. 

The Oklahoma State University redshirt junior won his first four matches by technical superiority, outscoring his opponents 41-0. 

In the finals he fell 4-1 to Russia’s Abasgadzhi Magomedov in a rematch of their 2015 Cadet World Championship finals match, which Madomedov won 3-2. 

The tournament earned Fix his first Senior-level World medal, and his sixth World Championship medal at any age level. He has won one World Championship, earning Junior gold in 2017 in Finland. He currently holds a 37-10 record in Senior Freestyle. 

Sand Springs Sandites kick off Spring sports season

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Spring sports have arrived in Sand Springs, with soccer, baseball, and track kicking off their seasons this past week. Both varsity soccer teams recorded wins to start the season. The boys won 3-2 against Glenpool on Tuesday, and the girls won 5-0 against Muskogee on Friday.

Click here to read the full story in the Sand Springs Leader.

CPHS Volleyball: Sandites win five-straight, place second at home tournament

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A short-handed Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (18-13, 2-6) dropped a tough 3-0 conference loss to Booker T. Washington Tuesday evening on the road, but rebounded with their longest win streak of the year. They beat Claremore 3-0 Thursday on the road, then won their first four games of the Sand Springs Showdown.

The tournament was originally supposed to be hosted at Glenpool two weeks ago, but after the Warriors canceled it, Sand Springs decided to host. They rode the home court advantage to a five game streak before falling to Highway 97 rival Sapulpa in the de facto Championship game.

6A No. 17 ranked Booker T. Washington (8-12, 3-3) has shown streaks of brilliance this season, despite their losing record, and even managed to take down a pair of top-five teams in tournament play. They’re not a school you want to play without your full starting lineup, and it showed as the Hornets rolled to wins of 25-11, 25-16, and 25-15 on their Senior Night.

Sand Springs was missing libero Madison Blaylock, and two of their top-scorers in Layla Lenex and Payton Robbins. Jacelyn Smith led the offense with nine kills and two aces, while Olivia Dewitt anchored the team defensively with 22 digs. Teyha Johnson had 12 assists and two aces. 

5A No. 18 Claremore (6-21) was much more manageable, though the Zebras kept it fairly competitive. Sand Springs got the sweep with sets of 25-21, 25-20, and 26-24. They got back Blaylock and Lenex but were still missing their top offensive player. 

The Sandites got an early start on Saturday and earned a 2-0 sweep of 5A No. 10 Glenpool (13-12) with sets of 25-15 and 25-23. 

They picked up their third straight win 2-0 against 5A No. 6 Lawton MacArthur (18-10) with sets of 25-20 and 25-19. Game one was close till 16-16, then Smith served up three-straight aces in a five point run that pushed Sand Springs ahead for the win. In game two they held a narrow 21-19 lead before Smith scored a kill to kick off a four-point streak for the win. Smith scored a team-best six kills with four aces, and Lenex had four kills and four blocks. Johnson recorded 14 assists and ten digs. 

Their fourth-straight win came against Will Rogers (8-12) who they had already beaten last month on Senior Night. Smith served two aces in an 11-point streak in set one and scored a team-high six kills in the match. Sophie Singleton and Holland scored five kills each and Johnson had 14 assists. The Sandites won sets of 25-12 and 25-10. 

5A No. 8 Santa Fe South (14-5) was another tough competitor but Sand Springs got another 2-0 sweep with sets of 25-17 and 25-19. They led only 17-16 when Holland kicked off a seven point streak, and Holland also scored the final kill of the game. In set two they only led 19-18 before winning six of the last seven rallies. Singleton led the team in kills with six, followed by Lenex and Holland with five each. Johnson had 19 assists, Charley Fahland made five digs, and Blaylock served four aces. 

5A No. 11 Sapulpa (15-15) finally put an end to the Sandite streak to win the tournament and pay back a pair of Sandite wins from earlier in the season. Sand Springs led 20-17 late in set one before the Chieftains went on a six-point run and won 25-22. In game two the Sandites trailed by as much as 17-11 but battled back and cut it as close as 21-19. Lenex went down with an ankle injury late in the set, however, and Sapulpa won four of the last five rallies to finish 25-20. Holland led the team with five kills, and Singleton and Lenex had four each. Smith had three kills and three aces. Johnson posted 15 assists and Blaylock had 17 digs.

Sandite Volleyball will return to action Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. with a conference home game against No. 13 Union (14-10, 3-3) and will wrap up the regular season Thursday at 6:30 p.m. against 5A No. 12 Collinsville (12-18). Robbins is expected to miss the match against Union, but should return to the lineup in time for Collinsville.

CPHS Baseball: Keaton Campbell hits grand slam in final pre-season game

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The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team went 4-4 in preseason scrimmages and is set to start the regular season with a district home game against Edmond Memorial Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at the Sandite Sports Complex.

SEE RELATED: CPHS Baseball: Tatum Watie throws 9 strikeouts in 9-3 scrimmage win against Booker T. Washington.

The Sandites won 6-2 against Bartlesville behind a solid hitting performance that included six doubles and a home run from Ethan Sartin. Brycen Peterman and Keaton Campell both hit two doubles apiece and Kiefer Massey and Ty Pennington also had one each. 

Campbell was a perfect three-for-three at the plate with one RBI. Pennington led the team in runs with two, and Sartin led the team in RBI with two. The team was .360 batting and .720 slugging. 

Brock Swanson got the start and the win on the mound with three hits, one run, one walk, and four strikeouts in five innings. Massey tossed two innings in relief and threw one hit, one run, three walks, and two strikeouts. 

They struggled early on in a 10-3 loss to Bixby and didn’t get on the board till the sixth inning. Sebastian Cassidy got the start and the loss on the mound with seven hits, four runs, three walks, and seven strikeouts in three innings. Jasper Adams gave up eleven hits, six runs, one walk, and three strikeouts in two innings. Pennington tossed one perfect inning with no hits or walks. 

The Sandites were .207 at the plate with six hits. Bixby took a 10-0 lead before Jacob Shields scored on a dropped third strike in the sixth. Peterman scored on an error and Shields brought in Jaxon Skaggs on a sacrifice in the seventh. 

Last Monday they fell 6-3 to Bishop Kelley after giving up a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth. Massey scored the first run of the game on a dropped third strike in the second, but Kelley scored in the third and the fourth to take the lead.

Massey batted in Pennington in the sixth to tie it up, then Kaden Young stole home. The Comets’ bats came alive in the bottom of the inning with two RBI doubles, and a trio of Sandite errors allowed the comeback.

Carson Seabolt got the loss, giving up three hits and four runs with three strikeouts in two innings. Skaggs tossed seven hits, two runs, four strikeouts, and three walks in four innings.

The Sandites cleaned up the errors the next day against Jenks, but gave up 8 hits in an 11-3 loss. Watie, Young, Peterman, and Hayden Blair combined for 10 walks and three strikeouts on the mound. Campbell and Pennington hit doubles, and Campbell’s brought in Pennington and Cody Pulscher. Pennington scored the first run of the game on a steal of home.

The Sandites got back in the win column Thursday with an 8-2 win over Glenpool that saw both teams commit three errors. Blair, Taegan Cook, and Carter Williams all hit doubles, and Peterman had a triple.

Swanson got the win on the mound with four hits, two runs, three strikeouts, and three walks in four innings. Cassidy tossed three strikeouts with no hits or walks in two innings, and Adams tossed one strikeout with no hits or walks in one inning.

The pre-season ended on a high-note with a 13-8 win over Jay, including a fourth inning grand slam from Campbell. Campbell was walked twice and scored on all three plate appearances, leading the team in runs and RBI.

Massey got the start and the win on the mound with one hit, three runs, five strikeouts, and four walks in three innings. Adams struck out the side in the fourth, Watie tossed one strikeout and three walks in the fifth, Pennington threw one hit, one strikeout, and two walks in the sixth, and Blair had three hits, five runs, one strikeout, and two walks in the seventh.

Sand Springs hosts All-State wrestling, West wins both duals

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Charles Page High School in Sand Springs hosted the Oklahoma Coaches Association All-State Duals Wednesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House, and the Western squads defeated the East in both Large and Small classifications.

Sand Springs had one senior wrestler receive an All State commendation, but he was unable to compete due to a shoulder injury. Baker University-commit Scott Patton won thirty straight matches his senior year, finishing with a 31-2 record and 2nd Place medal at the State Tournament. Broken Arrow’s Diego Maturino filled in for Patton in the 160 pounds spot.

Overall, western athletes won fifteen matches, the east won nine, and two matches resulted in ties. The Large West squad coached by Duncan’s Bobby Cook won its dual 36-21 over the Eastern unit coached by Durant’s Jim Taylor.

The dual started with a 2-2 tie after a scoreless overtime period between David Boucher and Dominic Derr. Cameron Picklo got a payback win at 138 pounds with a 4-2 decision over State Champion Spencer Schickram, who he was pinned by at the State Tournament. Two-time State Champion Kobi Gomez won a 4-2 overtime decision against three-time State Finalist Gage Hight to tie the dual at 12-12.

The West won seven straight matches and Carson Savage clinched the dual with a fall at 195. The East evened things up a little bit with a decision at 220 and an upset at heavyweight. 6A State Runner-Up Caleb Orr pinned two-time 5A State Champion Josh Heindselman to wrap the night up.

The Small West company coached by Anadarko’s Craig Pruitt rolled to a 30-9 advantage before the East began to battle back. Wagoner coach Micco Charboneau rallied his boys to win their final four matches for a close 30-27 defeat.

The Small West won their first two matches and never trailed in the dual. Thaddeus Long and Logan Farrell battled to a 4-4 tie in a rematch of 4A State Finals. Wesley Scott picked up a fall for the East, then viewers were treated to yet another Finals rematch. Kobe Kizarr repeated his State Championship win with a 3-0 decision against Price Perrier to kick off a five-match win streak.

Alec McDoulett won 11-4 in a battle of State Runners-Up against Abel Perez and 3A State Runner-Up Tyler Lavey knocked off State Champion Luke Ahrberg 6-4. Nathan Ulmer kicked off the Eastern rally attempt by pinning Denver Dahlenburg. Teaguen Wilson had the chance to tie the dual with a pin in the final match, but had to settle for a 4-1 decision.

Prior to the dual, awards were presented to the coaches and wrestlers of the year in each classification.

Oklahoma Wrestling Coaches Association Awards
Region 1 Coach of the Year - Brian Picklo (Mustang)
Region 2 Coach of the Year - Laddie Rupp (Cushing)
Region 3 Coach of the Year - Micco Charboneau (Wagoner)
Region 4 Coach of the Year - Michael Miller (Lawton MacArthur)
Region 5 Coach of the Year - Andy Howington (Marlow)
Region 6 Coach of the Year - Josh Cunningham (McAlester)
Region 7 Coach of the Year - Shawn Jones (Broken Arrow)
Region 8 Coach of the Year - J. Wesley Ruth (Del City)
3A Head Coach of the Year - Andy Howington (Marlow)
3A Assistant Coach of the Year - Keith Kizarr (Marlow)
4A Head Coach of the Year - Laddie Rupp (Cushing)
4A Assistant Coach of the Year - Bobby Williams (Tuttle)
5A Head Coach of the Year - Erik Ford (Piedmont)
5A Assistant Coach of the Year - Luke Brummett (Skiatook)
6A Head Coach of the Year - Shawn Jones (Broken Arrow)
6A Assistant Coach of the Year - Rod Jones (Broken Arrow)
Junior High Coach of the Year - Casy Rowell (Comanche)
Official of the Year - Danny Blackshear
3A Wrestler of the Year - Drake Barbee (Blackwell)
4A Wrestler of the Year - Thaddeus Long (McLain)
5A Wrestler of the Year - Josh Heindselman (Piedmont)
6A Wrestler of the Year - Zane Coleman (Choctaw)
Wrestler of the Year (All Classes) - Josh Heindselman (Piedmont)

Small West 30 Small East 27
113: Remington White (Walters) FALL Kaleb Harris (Sallisaw), 6-0.
120: Jaxon Miller (Comanche) 5-3 Luke Montgomery (Bristow), 9-0.
126: Logan Farrell (Tuttle) 4-4 Thaddeus Long (McLain), 12-3.
132: Wesley Scott (Pawnee) FALL Nikolas Gers (Blanchard), 12-9.
138: Kobey Kizarr (Marlow) 3-0 Price Perrier (Pawhuska), 15-9.
145: Stone Snodgrass (Kingfisher) 1-0 Alec Capehart (Sallisaw), 18-9.
152: Alec McDoulett (Little Axe) 11-4 Abel Perez (Catoosa), 21-9.
160: Tyler Lavey (Marlow) 6-4 Jacob Ahrberg (Cushing), 24-9.
170: Ethon Hamrick (Comanche) FALL Tyler Bingham (Tecumseh), 30-9.
182: Nathan Ulmer (Poteau) FALL Denver Dahlenburg (Hinton), 30-15.
195: Eriq Simpson (Cushing) FALL John Mark Holten (Anadarko), 30-21.
220: Drake Barbee (Blackwell) 7-4 Cameron Gregg (Pauls Valley), 30-24.
285: Teaguen Wilson (Perry) 4-1 Chase Merkey (Geary), 30-27.

Large West 36 Large East 21
113: David Boucher (Bartlesville) 2-2 Dominic Derr (Westmoore), 3-3.
120: Laif Jones (Bartlesville) 11-2 Jayston Cato (Carl Albert), 3-7.
126: Mitchell Lance (Piedmont) 4-0 Ty Nohelty (McAlester), 6-7.
132: Reece Witcraft (Broken Arrow) TECH Kylon Burgert (Yukon), 6-12.
138: Cameron Picklo (Mustang) 4-2 Spencer Schickram (Ponca City), 9-12.
145: Kobi Gomez (Altus) 5-2 SV Gage Hight (Glenpool), 12-12.
152: Kyle Knowles (Edmond Memorial) FALL Ja’len Hernandez (Union), 18-12.
160: Hunter Jump (Duncan) 4-2 Diego Maturino (Broken Arrow), 21-12.
170: Zane Coleman (Choctaw) FALL Mason Seth (Muskogee), 27-12.
182: Christian Maldonado (Lawton MacArthur) DECISION Abram Arechiga (Ponca City), 30-12.
195: Carson Savage (Deer Creek) FALL Braxton Kearns (Glenpool), 36-12.
220: Tony Opichka (Choctaw) DECISION Matt Woods (Lawton MacArthur), 36-15.
285: Caleb Orr (Jenks) FALL Josh Heindselman (Piedmont), 36-21.