Late Goal from Ava Watts Lifts Sandites to Tournament Title

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

On a brisk night at Colinsville’s Sallee Field, the Charles Page High School girls soccer team (6-2) found themselves all tied up with Oologah (4-3) in the Cardinal Classic finals.

With only three minutes left to play, sophomore forward Ava Watts found an opening and drilled the game-winner to lift her Sandites to a 2-1 win.

“I really didn’t want to go into PKs,” said Watts. “All I knew is that we needed to score because they had a better chance of winning in PKs than they did (in regulation).”

Oologah took the initial lead on a goal from Dallie Hill 14 minutes into the match, but freshman star Lainey Stanfill booted the equalizer on an assist from Watts seven minutes later. The next 36 minutes were scoreless for both teams.

“I’m really happy,” said Watts. “I think that we’re doing really good and if we keep it up we can make it to the playoffs.”

The Sandites got off to a 3-0 start on the season before falling 3-2 at Bartlesville (7-2) before spring break and 3-0 at Bixby (4-1) on Tuesday.

They got back on track with a 2-1 win over Durant (3-3) in the first round of the Cardinal Classic on Thursday, despite being severely shorthanded. 

“We’ve got a real beat-up team from previous weeks,” said head coach Cisco Chavez. “We had to use everybody tonight. We used all of our bench and everyone played their hearts out and we got it done.”

The Sandites started the season with 22 players but have lost seven to injuries, though only one is suspected to be season-ending. 

“Over the next few weeks we need to work on getting healthy,” said Chavez. “That’s number one. Number two, we just need to keep reminding them to play hard and leave it all out there every time they go out there because you never know when it’s going to be your last one because of injury or something like that.”

Stanfill scored the Sandites’ first goal against Durant and Alyssa Cunningham scored the game-winner on an assist from Ashlee Feigenbaum.

Watts scored two goals in the semifinal win over Collinsville (4-2), and recorded an assist on the opening goal from Stanfill.

Watts now leads the team with ten goals on the season, followed by Stanfill with eight.

“They make everyone better every day,” Chavez said of his two lead scorers. “They push everyone to the limit with their talent. Overall, just a great tournament by those two.”

Chavez is currently in his first season as full head coach, though he shared duties with Mathew Watkins last year as co-head coaches.

“It definitely feels like first year jitters for everything: tournaments, big games, things like that. I’m just really proud of the girls. If I had to describe this team in two words, it’d be ‘Sandite tough.’”

“They’re fun to watch. I’m really proud to be their coach. Really great job by them and we’ll keep moving forward and hopefully contend for the gold ball at the end of the year. The limit is whatever they set their bar to. Obviously the gold ball is what we’re looking forward to.”

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. with a non-district home game against Ponca City (0-5), followed by a district home game against Enid (4-4) on Friday.

“We’ve got our first district game against Enid next Friday night, which is our Family Fun Night,” said Chavez. “Kids get in free if they wear their soccer jersey. It should be fun. Moving forward we’ll get everyone healthy and we’ll keep competing.”

Sandite Baseball wins Best of the West tournament

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The Sand Springs baseball team won the 2022 Best of the West tournament in Peoria, Arizona. Photo courtesy of Carrie Schlehuber.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

In the second round of the Best of the West tournament in Arizona, the Sandite baseball team (8-2) took a huge loss. 

They won the game 10-3 against Bradshaw Mountain (6-3), but lost Jacob Shields in the process. 

“He was just running, trying to catch a fly ball in the outfield,” said head coach Matt Brown.” It was kind of a freak deal, he got rolled up on his foot.”

The senior center fielder had unexpectedly ended his career, breaking his fibula. That loss, however, motivated the Sandites to win their first tournament title since 2018. 

Sand Springs went 5-0 at the tournament and won 9-8 against Boulder Creek (8-3) in the finals after a huge comeback.

“Those kids just rallied behind him,” said Brown. “They were playing for him and they were not going to give up because he doesn’t give up.”

“It was like there was no other option but for them to come back and win, just because they were doing it for him, for their buddy that they love.”

The Sandites were down 7-3 in the bottom of the sixth in the tournament finals, but rallied to a 9-7 lead with an RBI single from Kayden Campbell, a two-run triple from Jabe Schlehuber, an RBI single from Keaton Campbell, and a two-run single from Gabe Glenn.

“Everybody was a little bit down after Tuesday and upset because we knew he was hurt,” said Brown. “He’s such a big part of our team.”

“The guys who filled in did a great job. They were battling at the plate for him. He was on a plane back to go see his orthopedist so he didn’t get to be there for the rest of the games, but he was watching them online and we got to talk to him on FaceTime in the huddle after the game when we won and it was pretty special.”

“You feel so awful for him because it’s the same senior group that had their entire sophomore year taken away when they canceled our season (due to COVID). He’s been a three-year starter for us, he played a little bit as a freshman too. He’s a really good player who just has caught some bad breaks.”

The lead-off hitter for the Sandites had already made up his mind not to play college ball and is preparing for a career as a firefighter, taking EMT training at Tulsa Tech all year.

He will continue to travel to tournaments and be with the Sandites throughout the season, however. 

The Sandites had to make three big rallies over the course of the tournament and also trailed 6-2 in pool play against Cherry Creek (0-4), and were down 5-2 against Tolleson Union (6-4) in the semifinals.

Keaton Campbell hit an RBI double, Dom Ornelas and Glenn scored on errors, and Jason Clark scored on a bases-loaded walk to lift the Sandites over Cherry Creek on Tuesday.

Then, in Wednesday’s semifinal round, Schlehuber hit an RBI double in the sixth and Wyatt Rutledge walked in on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch. Glenn hit a two-out, full-count double to clear the bases and put his team on top, and Schlehuber added a two-run single in the seventh.

A deep bullpen also proved to be a difference-maker for the Sandites.

The Sandites won 6-1 against Centennial (5-5) in the tournament opener behind a three-hit, four-strikeout performance from Schlehuber (2-0).

Kayden Campbell (1-0) threw eight strikeouts in the win against Bradshaw Mountain, Rutledge (1-0) only gave up two hits in two innings against Cherry Creek, Jace Arnold (3-0) threw seven strikeouts against Tolleson, and John Keim (1-0) only gave up three hits to Boulder Creek.

Sophomore closer Eli Buxton recorded saves in both the semifinals and finals, including a clutch bases-loaded strikeout against Tolleson. 

“We threw 60 innings with freshmen last year on the mound, which is unheard of for a 6A program,” said Brown. 

“One of those guys in the semifinals goes six and two-thirds and gets the W. Eli Buxton was a freshman last year, and Jace Arnold was too. Eli Buxton gets the save in both games. Is that going to happen for them if we don’t throw them last year? Probably not because they’re not ready. They still need that experience.”

“We kept running them out there because they were good and they needed the work. And now it’s really paying off for us.”

Buxton was named the tournament MVP pitcher after only surrendering one run in the tournament, and Glenn was named Offensive MVP for going 8-of-16 at the plate with 8 RBI and 4 runs. 

Sand Springs will return to action Monday and Tuesday with district games against Ponca City (3-5, 2-0). They will then compete at the Bartlesville tournament over the weekend.

Sand Springs Weekly Sports Roundup: Lady Sandite Soccer Routs Muskogee 7-0

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Sand Springs Baseball (3-2, 0-2) hit a hiccup against the top-ranked Owasso Rams (7-0, 4-0) to start district action, falling 5-0 on Monday and 2-0 on Tuesday.

Oklahoma State commit Brennan Phillips tossed eight strikeouts and no walks against the Sandites on Monday, with Jacob Shields recording the Sandites’ only two hits. 

Jabe Schlehuber threw eight strikeouts for the Sandites on Tuesday and the Sandites combined for five hits but couldn’t bring anyone home. 

They got back in the win column on Thursday with a 7-1 win over Carl Albert (3-4) at the Owasso Festival. 

Jace Arnold surrendered only three hits over five innings while Ty Pennington went three-for-three at the plate with two runs and two RBI.

The Sandites had their Friday game against Berryhill canceled and will return to action Monday at the Best of the West tournament in Arizona.

Golf

The boys golf team competed at Muskogee on Monday and Skiatook on Wednesday. Mason Ward led the team with a score of 85 at each event. 

Muskogee (374): Mason Ward 85, Zane Downey 90, Seth Benton 96, Drew Paden 103, Cameron Villines 105.

Skiatook (346): Mason Ward 85, Zane Downey 86, Cameron Villines 87, Seth Benton 88, Drew Paden 97.

Soccer

The boys soccer team is still looking for its first win of the season after falling 3-2 Tuesday against Muskogee and Thursday at Bartlesville.

The Lady Sandites won a 7-0 rout of Muskogee led by a four-goal performance from Ava Watts and three assists from Karsen Lynch. Evelin Marino, Carson Sargent, and Alyssa Cunningham also scored goals, and Allie Wright and Kasandra Burgess also had assists.

On Thursday they suffered their first loss 3-2 in an injury-ridden trip to Bartlesville despite a two-goal effort from Stanfill with an assist from Watts.

The Sandites will take spring break off and return to action on the 22nd at Bixby.

Lady Sandite Dream Season Comes Up Short; Future Looks Bright

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

For the first time since 2017, the Sand Springs girls basketball team made it as far as the State semifinals before its season came to an end.

The Sandites (23-4) won a 48-38 quarterfinal matchup with West No. 2 Choctaw (22-3) Thursday night at the Carl Albert Field House before falling 55-35 to No. 1 Edmond North (28-1) Friday afternoon at OU’s Lloyd Noble Center.

The Sandites trailed 8-7 after the first quarter against Choctaw, but early in the second period uncommitted senior star Journey Armstead hit a three-pointer to surpass 1,500 career points, and Layne Kirkendoll hit a putback for their first lead of the game.

The bucket was Armstead’s first of the game after going scoreless in the first quarter, but she was unstoppable after that.

“I kept on shooting but my shots weren’t falling,” said Armstead. “We were nervous at first but I had to get our rhythm going, step up, and when I got the opportunity to shoot I had to take it.”

“She’s special,” said Sandite head coach Josh Berry. “She doesn’t get the credit she deserves…the girl just keeps rolling.”

Mya Purifoy briefly lifted her team back on top, but Kirkendoll added another basket, Armstead hit two layups, and the Sandites never trailed again. 

The Sandites took a 24-17 advantage into halftime and won the second half 24-21.

Armstead hit the final bucket of the evening to finish the game with 17 points, and Kirkendoll added a career-high 14 for the Sandites.

On Friday the Sandites had to face the tournament frontrunners from Edmond North (28-1) who previously defeated Sand Springs 56-32 at the Jenks/Union Invitational in January. 

The Huskies routed Stillwater 72-37 in their quarterfinal game, then beat East No. 1 Bixby 59-57 in overtime for their first-ever State title on Saturday.

Taiona Morris hit a three-pointer to open the game but the Huskies scored six in a row and never trailed again. 

Down 18 after three quarters, the Sandites went on a 10-2 run to make it 43-33 with 4:02 to play, but the Huskies went on a 12-2 run of their own to end the game.

Jackson scored 11 to lead the Sandites and Armstead added 9.

The Sandites will graduate Armstead, Kirkendoll, and Leyshia Morris this year. 

Armstead scored 1525 points in her career, including 1153 in her three years at Sand Springs after playing for East Central as a freshman. She averaged 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.7 steals this year.

Kirkendoll averaged six points, 6.5 rebounds, and two blocks per game with a team-best field goal percentage. Morris averaged 3.3 points and 2.4 rebounds.

Next year’s Sandites will be led by Jackson, who averaged 13.9 points, six rebounds, and 1.5 steals in her junior year. She led the team on 12 occasions with three double-doubles and a career-best 31-point performance against Broken Arrow.

Sophomores Taiona Morris, Sakauri Wilson, and Kiaryn Taylor will also be expected to make a big impact. Morris averaged 5.7 points, Wilson added 5.6, and Taylor had 2.9. Taylor and Fayth Walker will be the frontrunners to compete for the two vacant starting spots. 

CPHS 48 Choctaw 38
1Q: Choctaw 8-7.
2Q: CPHS 17-7.
3Q: Choctaw 11-10.
4Q: CPHS 14-10.

Scoring: (CPHS) Armstead 17, Kirkendoll 14, Jackson 7, T. Morris 3, Taylor 3. (Choctaw) Hunt 12, Adams 8, Jackson 7, Gasaway 5, Smith 4, Purifoy 2. 

EDN 55 CPHS 35
1Q: EDN 10-5.
2Q: EDN 20-7.
3Q: All 11-11.
4Q: EDN 14-12.

Scoring: (CPHS) Jackson 13, Armstead 9, T. Morris 6, Wilson 4, Kirkendoll 3. (EDN) Steele 21, E. Papahronis 14, Heathcock 9, T. Papahronis 7, Franklin 4.

Lady Sandites Place Fourth at First Girls Powerlifting State Meet

Courtesy of Kevin Avey.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Anyone who watched Jaden “JJ” Jordan on the softball field as a sophomore can testify to the strength of the .743 slugger. Now a junior, Jordan is starring in a brand new sport. 

In her first year of competition in girls powerlifting, Jordan finished as a State runner-up and led her team to a fourth-place finish at the State meet. 

When strength and conditioning coach Kevin Avey saw her strength in the gym last winter, he knew she was special. In fact, her numbers on squat, bench, and deadlift were higher than last season’s state champion in girls powerlifting. 

“I looked it up and last year, she would have won State,” said Avey. “So I said, you know what, next year we’re going to do this. And then it just kind of expanded.”

Mikah Hampton and Melanie Skelly joined up and the Sandites competed at their first OGPCA meet in Nowata this January. 

“I realized that with three girls we weren’t going to do very well as a team,” said Avey. “So I started recruiting even more and I got four more right at the end of January.”

As the strength coach for all of the district’s athletic programs, Avey already knew which girls would be the most competitive in their weight classes, and who would be most interested.

He recruited Ashley Blake and Madison Thompson from cheer, Kasidy Holland from volleyball, and Carson Sargent from soccer in time for the Catoosa Invitational. There, the Sandites took seventh place with Jordan winning all three events.

The team improved to fourth place at the Dickson Invitational with Jordan and Holland finishing as runners-up. 

Then, at the North Regional, the team finished second with Jordan winning deadlift and squat, and placing second in bench. 

Jordan, Hampton, and Thompson all qualified for the 6th annual State meet on Monday, March 7th, at Dickson High School in Ardmore.

Jordan was second overall at heavyweight, placing fourth in squat, third in bench, and second in deadlift at 405 pounds.

Hampton placed sixth overall at 108, third in squat, and was first in bench with 120 pounds. 

Thompson was just ten pounds shy of placing in the top-ten at 198 pounds.

The Sandites are also poised to see increased participation next year. Avey coaches more than 60 girls in the high school strength program and has a growing junior high program as well. Several underclassmen have already expressed interest in joining the powerlifting team next year.

“After Jaden, there were two other girls that had quit their sports and were still wanting to do something. And I’ve got seven already that have asked about it for next year, and I know one of them doesn’t do any sports.”

“So my idea is just for more athletes to just come and do something as opposed to nothing. Yeah Carson Sargent and Kasidy, they can do another sport - we all welcome them in. But my real main focus is let’s get more people involved and get them lifting and exercising. It opens up so many avenues while they’re in high school but especially when they graduate.”

The program is also a great opportunity for athletes who want to compete but aren’t seeing a whole lot of minutes in their primary sports. 

“In whatever sport it is, there’s only nine, five, eleven players on the field at a time,” said Avey. “In powerlifting, you can take as many as want to go.”

For now, there’s no immediate plans to start a boys team, though a few guys have expressed interest.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” said Avey. “I started with Jaden then went to two girls, then went to seven, now there’s seven more wanting to do it. I’m just trying to figure out how to make it better.”

Lady Sandites top Choctaw 48-38 in State Quarterfinals, Armstead surpasses 1500 career points

For the first time since 2017, the Sand Springs girls’ basketball team is headed to the State tournament semifinals after a 48-38 Thursday night win over 6A-West No. 2 Choctaw (22-3) at the Carl Albert High School Field House.

The Sandites trailed 8-7 after the first quarter, but early in the second period uncommitted senior star Journey Armstead hit a three-pointer to surpass 1,500 career points, and Layne Kirkendoll hit a putback for their first lead of the game.

The bucket was Armstead’s first of the game after going scoreless in the first quarter, but she was unstoppable after that.

“I kept on shooting but my shots weren’t falling,” said Armstead. “We were nervous at first but I had to get our rhythm going, step up, and when I got the opportunity to shoot I had to take it.”

“She’s special,” said Sandite head coach Josh Berry. “She doesn’t get the credit she deserves…the girl just keeps rolling.”

Mya Purifoy briefly lifted her team back on top, but Kirkendoll added another basket, Armstead hit two layups, and the Sandites never trailed again.

Ranked No. 2 on the East side of the state, the Sandites improved to 23-3 after taking a 24-17 advantage into halftime and winning the second half 24-21.

Sakauri Wilson took a steal coast to coast with 50 seconds left to make it 46-36. Kylee Hunt hit a pair of free throws for the Yellowjackets, then Armstead hit the final bucket of the evening to finish the game with 17 points.

Kirkendoll added 14 for the Sandites, and Hunt was the only Yellowjacket in double digits with 12.

Sand Springs will get a rematch with West No. 1 Edmond North (26-1) who previously defeated the Sandites 56-32 at the Jenks/Union Invitational in January. The Huskies routed Stillwater 72-37 in their quarterfinal game.

“It’s like David going against Goliath out there,” said Berry. “We lace them up just like they do. It’s the State tournament. It’s one game, one day; anything can happen. We’re going to go out there and play hard and we’re gonna see what’s going to happen.”

“The first game, you learn from it. And hopefully we do and we’ll see if we get better from it.”

The semifinal matchup will be played at noon at the Lloyd Noble Center on the campus of the University of Oklahoma.

CPHS 48 Choctaw 38
1Q: Choctaw 8-7.
2Q: CPHS 17-7.
3Q: Choctaw 11-10.
4Q: CPHS 14-10.

Free Throws: CPHS 5-of-11, Choctaw 12-of-17.
Field Goals: CPHS 20-of-39, Choctaw 12-of-38.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 3, Choctaw 6.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 13, Choctaw 12.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 16, Choctaw 18.
Steals: CPHS 6, Choctaw 2.
Blocks: CPHS 2, Choctaw 2.
Fouls: CPHS 15, Choctaw 13.

Scoring: (CPHS) Armstead 17, Kirkendoll 14, Jackson 7, T. Morris 3, Taylor 3. (Choctaw) Hunt 12, Adams 8, Jackson 7, Gasaway 5, Smith 4, Purifoy 2.