Lainey Stanfill leads Lady Sandites to 1-0 upset of Union

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The 2022 Lady Sandite soccer season has been all about making history, and Tuesday’s 1-0 win against Union was no exception.

With under seven minutes left to play, freshman star Lainey Stanfill connected on her 20th goal of the season to knock off the perennial powerhouse RedHawks (10-5, 6-1) and lift the Sandites (11-4, 4-2) to a new program-best record.

“The Union game was something out of a movie,” said first-year head coach Cisco Chavez.

“Ava (Watts) took it from about half field, it bounced right in front of the keeper and went over. She tipped it out right to Lainey’s foot. Lainey put it in the net and the rest is history, kind of like our season. Just making history, historic moments, and we’re going to keep going.”

The game marked the first time this season the RedHawks have been shut out. Union has averaged more than four goals per game this year, led by University of Arkansas commit Makenzie Malham.

“Lockdown defense,” said Chavez. “We stopped the Gatorade Player of the Year from last year (Malham). They stuck to the assignment and they played well.”

The Sandites had an unfortunate end to the week in a 5-0 loss at Edmond North (11-1, 6-1) with a district title on the line. 

The day got off to a rocky start from the very beginning when the Sandites arrived late to the match due to a scheduling mixup. 

The teams had agreed three weeks prior to move the match up from 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. to help the Huskies manage extensive Senior Night festivities between the girls’ and boys’ games. That change of schedule wasn’t documented on the Sandites’ end, however, and the girls had to go straight to action right off the bus.

To make matters worse, Katie Webb suffered a likely season-ending MCL sprain shortly into the first half, and the Sandites were on the receiving end of a 30 MPH headwind that made it nearly impossible to move the ball outside of their own box. 

“We haven’t had wind like this all year,” said Chavez. “First half, (Edmond North) came out, they put their chances away. Unfortunately, we couldn’t put it in the back of the net tonight, and that happens.”

The Huskies took a 4-0 lead into the half on goals by Ady Bechtel, Maddie Holub, Elle Schuppan, and Desi Abney. 

The Sandites played a far closer match in the second half but still only managed one shot on goal, with Leslie Miller recording the save. Julia McBride added the final goal of the night in the 52nd minute to put the match away.

Sophomore goalie Christina Thompson came away with seven saves in the contest.

“I’ll put this loss on me,” said Chavez. “This was mine for miscommunication with the other coaches. This loss was on me, not on the girls. We look forward to bouncing back and moving forward.”

Due to circular losses in a hotly contested district, the Sandites would have finished first with a win, but slipped to fourth with the loss. They will play the 6A-4 District Champions in the postseason, either Broken Arrow (10-1) or Owasso (14-0).

Sand Springs will wrap up the season Monday with a Senior Night district match against Putnam City (3-11, 0-6) at 6:00 p.m.

Boys

The Sandites (0-11, 0-6) fell by way of 10-0 mercy rule Tuesday against Union (10-5, 5-2) and lost 8-0 to Edmond North (9-3, 5-2) Friday night on the road. They will have one last shot at a win Monday at 8:00 p.m. when they host Putnam City (5-7, 2-3) on Senior Night. 

Sand Springs weekly sports roundup: Journey Armstead signs with Hutchinson CC

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Charles Page High School celebrated three athletes Wednesday, April 13th at the Ed Dubie Field House, who signed collegiate letters of intent.

Journey Armstead signed to play basketball at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. The Blue Dragons went 29-6 this past season, making it to the second round of the NJCAA tournament.

Armstead finished her career as one of the most accomplished Lady Sandite basketball players in school history, scoring 1525 points, and was named to the All-State team. 

Ashley Blake signed to cheer and Alyssa King signed to dance at Oklahoma Baptist University, an NCAA Division II school in Shawnee.  

Baseball

The Sandites’ nine-game win streak came to an end in a 2-0 upset against Southmoore (9-16, 3-7) on Monday, April 11. They won the second district meeting 1-0, however, and went on to beat Bartlesville and Glenpool in non-district action.

Sand Springs (22-4, 7-3) is off to its best start since 2012, but even district-leader Owasso couldn’t get past Southmoore.

The Sabercats played spoiler once again on Monday despite being out-hit six to two. The Sandites stranded two in the first, three in the fourth, two in the fifth, and two in the seventh. 

Jabe Schlehuber (4-1) struck out 11 while giving up only two hits and three walks in his first loss of the season.

The Tuesday rematch was equally close with the Sandites stranding two in the second, three in the third, and two in the fifth before Gabe Glenn hit his third home run of the season to lead off the sixth.

Southmoore loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning but Kayden Campbell (2-0) struck out the side to earn a save. Carson Seabolt (4-1) struck out six batters in five innings with three hits for the win.

The Sandites’ bats got hot again on Thursday with a 5-0 shutout of Bartlesville (19-9) that saw Keaton Campbell hit his fourth homer of the year. Jace Arnold (5-0) tossed a complete game with seven strikeouts and only two hits.

Dom Ornelas blasted his team-leading sixth homer of the year in a 10-1 five-inning run-rule win over Glenpool (9-19) on Friday. The Sandites combined for 11 hits in the win.

John Keim (4-0) tossed three strikeouts, three walks, and two hits in four innings, and Kayden Campbell tossed one strikeout and one walk in an inning of relief.

Sand Springs will return to action Monday with a district double-header at U.S. Grant (1-10, 0-6) before traveling to Oologah (13-7) on Thursday, hosting Bixby (24-5) on Friday, and traveling to Tahlequah (8-15) on Saturday.

Girls Golf

Gina Foster shot a 111 and Madison Chambers shot 119 at the Union tournament on Tuesday, then Foster shot 103 and Chambers scored 106 at Sapulpa on Wednesday. 

Slow Pitch

The No. 15 Sand Springs softball team (6-10) ended a tough week on a high note, beating Bartlesville 9-6 on the back end of a double-header. 

The Bruins won the first game 8-6 after a sixth inning rally spoiled the Sandites’ 6-3 lead. Earlier in the week the Sandites fell 16-6 to both Berryhill and No. 5 Jenks.

The Sandites will host Bixby and Union in a double-header on Tuesday before traveling to Jenks on Thursday to wrap up the regular season against the Trojans and Pryor.

Boys Soccer

The Sandites’ Tuesday Senior Night district match with Putnam City was rescheduled for April 25th at 6:00 p.m. due to inclement weather. They fell 3-0 to Stillwater (7-6, 1-4) on Friday and dropped to 0-9 on the season.

Tennis

The Sandite girls tennis team won a quad meet with Rejoice Christian on Tuesday. 

Abbie Dubb won the No. 2 Singles battle 2-1 against Reagan Cherry, with sets of 10-7, 5-7, and 10-7. 

The No. 1 Doubles team of Caitlin Shipman and Daffaney Snyder won their match 2-1 with sets of 6-4, 2-6, and 10-6.

Track & Field

The girls track team placed fifth and the boys took eighth at the Broken Arrow Track Classic on Friday.

Layne Kirkendoll won the high jump with a mark of 5 ft. 6 in. and the long jump with a distance of 17 ft. 11.25 in. Jestin Rawlins was runner-up in discus throw with a mark of 164 ft. 8 in.

Kelsi Hilton placed third in the 3200 in 12:52.42 and Gracie Gifford took sixth in 13:51.81.

Caleb Goodman placed fourth in the 110 hurdles in 19.1 seconds. Preston Kennedy was seventh in the high jump with a mark of 5 ft. 6 in. Matthew Shelton was eighth in the shot put with a distance of 41 ft. 11.25 in.

The girls relay teams placed third in the 1600 sprint medley, fourth in the distance medley, fourth in the 4x200, and seventh in the 4x100.

The boys relay teams placed sixth in the distance medley, seventh in the 1600 sprint medley, 11th in the 4x100, and 14th in the 4x200.

Lady Sandite Soccer enjoying winningest season in school history

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Ten wins down, seven to go.

The Charles Page High School girls’ soccer team reached ten wins for the first time in school history Friday night at Pioneer Stadium, beating Stillwater 2-0 in district action to improve to 10-3. 

In the post-game huddle, after getting doused by the team’s water bottles in celebration, a soaking wet Cisco Chavez had a simple request for his Lady Sandites. 

“Win out.”

A tall order for a program that has only sniffed the post season a few times in school history, but Chavez has insisted from the beginning of the season that this team has the potential to do something special.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Chavez. “I’m so proud of the girls and the coaching staff.”

The previous best mark for the Sandites was 9-6, first accomplished under Lucas Gray in 2010 and repeated by Bobby Behrens’s team in 2016. 

More important than the team’s ten wins overall is its 3-1 record in district play. The Sandites haven’t pulled off that feat since 2012, the last time they qualified for the postseason.

“I’m just proud,” said Chavez. “There’s no words. I’m emotional because these girls have been working hard through everything and I’m so proud of them. “It doesn’t matter who I call on, they all give me their everything.”

Sand Springs dominated the Pioneers (5-8, 2-3) offensively and spent 59 minutes of play on Stillwater’s half of the field. However, they had few shots on goal thanks to a stingy Stillwater defense.

The game remained scoreless until sophomore Ava Watts snuck in a lefty shot with only 56 seconds left in the half for her 16th goal of the year.

Stillwater opened the second half much more aggressively and Chrissen Harland broke through the Sandite backfield 12 minutes into the half to threaten an equalizer, but Christina Thompson made the save on Stillwater’s only shot on goal.

Freshman Lainey Stanfill connected on her 19th goal of the season in the 57th minute and nearly added another nine minutes later but put it just a hair over the top. 

The Sandites have now outscored their opponents 46 to 16 this season with six clean sheets. 

“We have an outstanding defense,” said Chavez. “We continue to tell them that they’re one of the best in the state. They’re one of the youngest in the state defensively. That D is really no joke.”

The Sandites’ schedule won’t get any easier in the coming week. Next up is a home battle with district leader Union (10-5, 5-0) on Tuesday before traveling to Edmond North (9-1, 4-1) on Thursday.

“We’ve got Union Tuesday, it’s going to be a really tough game. Hopefully we can pull out a victory and try to secure a home playoff game.”

Sandite Baseball wins nine in a row, sweeps Jenks and run-rules Union

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The train keeps rolling for Sandite baseball.

The Charles Page High School varsity team (19-3, 6-2) has now won nine in a row, including a pair of crucial district bouts with Jenks (20-3, 6-2) to take second place in District 6A-3.

On Monday, April 4, the Sandites won 8-2 on the road at Jenks behind a five-strikeout, four hit performance from Jabe Schlehuber (4-0). 

Keaton Campbell went 3-of-4 at the plate with two runs and Gabe Glenn scored two runs and two RBIs with a triple. 

Tuesday’s rematch was much closer, but the Sandites still won 2-1 at home behind a two-hit pitching performance from Carson Seabolt (3-1).

Dom Ornelas hit an RBI single in the first inning and Seabolt added another in the fourth.

“(Schlehuber) and Carson (Seabolt) threw freaking great this week,” said Sand Springs coach Matt Brown.

“Those guys are giving us great outings every time they go out there, so I’ve got full confidence in both of those dudes.”

On Friday the Sandites won a 10-0 run-rule victory against NOAH (8-16) with 11 hits, including two-hit outings from Keaton Cambell, Ty Pennington, Ornelas, and Gabe Glenn.

John Keim (3-0) got the win with two hits and four strikeouts in four innings, and Kayden Campbell (2-0) threw three strikeouts in one inning of relief.

“They’re just playing together as a team, playing for each other, and when that happens good things happen,” said Brown. “They’re playing for each other, our pitchers are throwing strikes, the guys in the lineup are picking each other up, so it’s just good stuff all the way around.”

The bats stayed hot on Saturday as the Sandites won 12-2 against Union (14-9) in five innings. 

The Redhawks scored first in the top of the second, but Ornelas and Glenn hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the inning and Keaton Campbell added a three-run homer in the third.

Sand Springs scored seven more runs in the fourth on an error, six walks, an RBI single from Kayden Campbell, and a two-run single from Pennington.

Coach Brown was more happy about the bases-loaded walks than the home runs.

“They’re willing to take their walk and let the next guy do it, and that’s unselfish, man. That’s what’s good. It’s a different guy for us all the time, and they’re willing to let it be a different guy, which is awesome.”

Having already played their district meetings with Owasso, Broken Arrow, and Jenks, the Sandites are likely past the toughest part of their schedule, but Brown isn’t overlooking Southmoore (8-12, 2-6) or anybody else.

“We’re just focused on the next game we’ve got to play. Southmoore is going to show up here on Monday - they’re going to be tough. They’re a good team. And we’ve got to go out and put a good game together.”

“That’s the main thing, is just play the next game that’s in front of us, whatever it is, whatever kind of arm shows up on the mound, we play the game that’s in front of us and we’ll deal with tomorrow tomorrow.”

“We’re not ever playing against the other team, we’re playing against ourselves. We’re trying to play the best game that we can play. It doesn’t matter who shows up on the other side.”

The Sandites will play Southmoore at home Monday at 6:00 p.m. and on the road Tuesday at 6:00 p.m., followed by non-district games against Bartlesville (16-7) on Thursday and at Glenpool (6-17) on Friday. 

Weekly Roundup: Armstead Gets All-State, Track Crowns Five Champions

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Baseball

Following its tournament championship at Peoria, Arizona, the Sandite baseball team (11-3, 2-2) pushed its winning streak to eight before taking a loss on Thursday at the Bartlesville Tournament. 

The Sandites started the week with a Monday district rainout at Ponca City (5-6, 2-2), but run-ruled the Wildcats on Tuesday, 12-2, in five innings.

Sand Springs talled ten hits, led by Carson Seabolt with a 3-of-3, four RBI performance at the plate. Keaton Campbell, Ty Pennington, and Miller Tavaglione all hit triples in the game. Jabe Schlehuber (3-0) tossed eleven strikeouts to remain undefeated on the mound.

On Thursday the Sandites met the Wildcats again in the first round of the Bartlesville tournament and used it as a makeup for the district rainout. 

This time they won 8-0 behind a four-hit, four strikeout performance from Seabolt (1-1) who pitched all seven innings. Nathan Gibson and Brody Rutledge both went 3-of-4 at the plate and the team tallied 14 hits.

The success streak came to an end in a six-inning 8-0 loss to Highway 97 rival Sapulpa (8-5). Sand Springs managed five hits while only surrendering seven, but left seven runners stranded on base and committed four errors.

They got back in the win column on Friday with a 6-1 win over Bartlesville (8-4) behind a seven-hit, two-strikeout performance from Kayden Campbell (2-0).

Dom Ornelas went 2-of-3 with a double and an RBI and Gabe Glenn was 2-of-4 with a double, a run, and two RBIs.

The Sandites will return to action Monday at Broken Arrow (9-5, 4-0) in district action, with home games against Broken Arrow on Tuesday, Midwest City on Friday, and Bishop Kelley on Saturday.

Friday will be Teacher Appreciation Night at the Sandite Baseball Complex, and all Sand Springs teachers will get free entry with their school ID.

Girls Basketball

Senior star Journey Armstead was selected to the Large East All-State basketball team by the OGBCA, and Sandites coach Josh Berry was selected to lead the team. The All-State game will be played June 4th at Mustang High School at 2:00 p.m.

Berry holds a 50-21 record after three years with the Lady Sandites and took them to the State semifinals this season. Armstead wrapped up her four-year starting career with 1,525 points and is still deciding on a college 

Boys Golf

The Sandites took third place at their home tournament Tuesday at the Canyons at Blackjack Ridge. 

Seth Benton shot an 85 for sixth place, followed by Drew Paden in seventh. Mason Ward shot 89, Zane Downey shot 95, and Cameron Villines shot 98 with an ace on hole nine.

Boys Soccer

The boys’ soccer team is still searching for its first win after falling 4-0 to Bixby on Tuesday. They picked up a program win on Friday however in the form of a successful first Boys Soccer Night at Memorial Stadium. The Sandites hosted dozens of local junior high club players who will be the future of the program in a night filled with games, activities, and giveaways.

Softball

The No. 16 ranked Sand Springs slow-pitch softball team is off to a 2-2 start on the season, losing 7-6 to No. 13 Union and 14-2 to No. 2 Broken Arrow, but picking up wins of 9-7 against Bartlesville and 17-5 against No. 10 Bixby.

The Sandites will return to action Tuesday at Berryhill at 5:00 p.m. before competing at the Haskell Tournament on Thursday.

Girls Tennis

The girls tennis team had a successful event at the Edison Tournament on Wednesday. Kira Shipley placed seventh in #1 Singles, Catilin Shipman and Daffaney Snyder placed sixth in #1 Doubles, and Abbie Dunn and Macie Willits placed seventh in #2 Doubles.

“These girls are all brand new to tennis and are playing opponents who have been playing for years and are juniors and/or seniors,” said head coach Dana Peacock. “Pretty proud of them!”

Track and Field 

The Sand Springs boys placed ninth and the girls took fifth at the Okmulgee Bulldog Invitational on Friday, winning five total events. 

Kelsi Hilton won the 1600-meter run in 6:23.25 and the 3200-meter run in 11:39.50. She also placed second in the 800 behind fellow Sandite Jazmin Lopez. Lopez won with a time of 2:32.64.

Sam English won the 1600 boys' run in 5:16.69 and Lucy Beckner won the girls’ long jump at 14 ft. 9 in.

Gracie Gifford placed third in the 3200, Briona Searcy placed third in the long jump, and Hannah George placed sixth in the 100-meter hurdles.

Dalton Wilcox placed second and Alex Lopez took fourth in the 800. Alex Turner placed second in the discus throw and Matthew Shelton placed third in the shot put. Michael Lopez placed fifth and Michael Johnson took sixth in the 1600. 

Noah Hanlon placed third in the 1600 and fifth in the 3200. Preston Kennedy placed fifth in both the high jump and the long jump. 

The boys relay teams placed second in the 4x800, fifth in the 4x100, and fifth in the 4x200. The girls relay teams placed third in the 4x200 and fifth in the 4x100.

Sandite alum and Oral Roberts University sophomore Aden Baughman took first place in two events at the ORU Invite. He won the 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.54 and the 400-meter dash in 48.56 seconds.

Sandite Basketball: Friday's Games at Owasso Snowed Out, Muskogee Games Rescheduled

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The 6A-East No. 4 Charles Page High School girls’ basketball team (13-3 overall, 6-2 overall) is headed for a busy week at home after taking a week off due to snow. 

After a 38-34 upset of No. 2 Union (12-4, 6-2) Tuesday, February 1st, at the UMAC, the Sandites had their Friday night game at Owasso canceled, giving them an opportunity to rest up before a triple-header week.

In addition to games against No. 13 Jenks (5-9, 2-6) on Tuesday and No. 7 Booker T. Washington (8-9, 5-3) on Friday, the Sandites will also squeeze in a Thursday night makeup game against No. 15 Muskogee (2-9, 1-6), and all three games will be at home.

The Muskogee game was originally scheduled for January 18th, but was canceled by the Roughers due to the Omicron surge. The athletic departments are still working to reschedule the Owasso game.

The Lady Sandites previously won 64-30 against Jenks and 60-40 against the Hornets, but have yet to face the Roughers this season.

In their last outing the Sandites knocked off the top team in the conference to improve to second in the Frontier Valley standings.

Union managed to hold Sand Springs’ leading scorer Journey Armstead without a field goal, but the senior star did her damage at the free-throw line instead, shooting 10-of-13 with 8 points in the fourth quarter.

The Sandites won a war of attrition against the RedHawks, taking advantage of three foul-outs in the final two minutes.

“I just love it for my girls,” said head coach Josh Berry. “They went out there and fought hard.”

“They’re going out there against a well-coached team in Union,” said Berry. “But you know, we’re a good team too. So to be able to finally come out with a win against one of those top teams shows that we are a top team as well.”

The Sandites had previously lost three of their last four games against top-ranked foes Edmond North, Bixby, and Sapulpa. 

“I think that’s huge,” said Berry. “I think they responded, they learned from some of the losses that we had, and they bonded together.”

“We had some big contributions with Journey being in foul trouble and some people stepped up,” said Berry. “That’s what you need to advance and survive from here on out.”

Hailey Jackson and Armstead scored 10 apiece for the Sandites, while Layne Kirkendoll finished with 6 points and 10 rebounds, and Sakauri Wilson added 7 points.

No. 1 Bixby currently leads the conference with a 45-34 win against Sand Springs. There’s no rematch scheduled this season, so the Sandites will need Bixby to stumble in at least one of their five remaining conference games for a shot at the FVC title.

Boys Basketball

The No. 14 Sandites (5-11, 1-7) suffered a 79-38 loss at the hands of the No. 7 RedHawks (9-8, 5-4) on Tuesday despite a 12-point effort from JD Dickson, and the schedule doesn’t get much easier this week.

With No. 2 Jenks (14-4, 7-2) coming to town on Tuesday and No. 1 Booker T. Washington (16-1, 8-1) visiting on Friday, the Sandites’ best chance at picking up a win will be in a rescheduled meeting with No. 11 Muskogee (4-8, 2-5) Thursday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.