Sandites Sign Three on College Signing Day

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This story was originally written for the Tulsa World.

Three Sand Springs Sandites made their college selections official Wednesday morning at the Ed Dubie Field House on National Signing Day. 

Raegan Rector and Avery Tanner signed to play softball at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, a four-year private school in Bartlesville that competes in the NAIA and Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. 

The two were both All District and All Region selections this year, and Rector was named to the All State team, while Tanner was named an All State alternate. The Sandites went 89-44 during their four-year careers and twice advanced to the State tournament. 

“The big thing for me is, number one, they’re great kids,” said Wesleyan head coach Shawn Woods. “They’re good in the classroom, and they come from great families. Those are the first things that we look at.”

“In terms of Avery - speed, enthusiasm. She’s just a gamer, I like that about her. She really sets the tone. Every time we watched her play, she was the firestarter for the team.”

“With Raegan, she’s a steal. She’s got a big bat in the lineup, she’s really good over at first base. We’re getting a steal with both of them. I’m really excited about them joining our program and looking forward to the future.”

Rector praised the atmosphere at Wesleyan as one of the top things that attracted her to it. “I really liked the people. It just felt welcoming, and it felt like home.”

Tanner and Rector have played softball together since the age of four, so getting to keep playing together is an exciting opportunity for both of them.

“I feel like it’ll be a lot easier going now that I’ll actually know somebody,” said Tanner. “I know a few people that are there, but I like having someone that I’m already so close to there to make it 100 times easier.”

Tanner committed to the Eagles earlier in the year, and her choice also helped guide Rector to hone in on Wesleyan. “She gave me some pointers (in the recruiting process) and that helped a lot,” said Rector.

“We just heard about this camp at Wesleyan, a college I’d never heard of,” said Tanner. “I got a free weekend and thought ‘might as well go.’ I went down there and the girls were super nice and I really liked it, so I went on a visit.”

“It was also really stressful talking to all the colleges at one time. I feel better now finding somewhere I belong. Coach Woods is like the coolest guy ever. I’m so glad to have him as a coach, and the environment at Wesleyan. It’s not like a partying college. I feel like I’ll be really driven there to get my work done, have good grades, and stay on track.”

Tanner plans on studying broadcast journalism with the goal of being a sideline reporter, something she’s already been getting experience at in high school as the unofficial photographer for most of the school’s athletic events. 

Rector is interested in the medical field, but hasn’t settled on a major yet. 

“They lead by example, they do well in school,” said head coach Shelli Brown. “I think they’re just now getting started in their careers. I think they’re going to do great jobs down there.”

Also signing an LOI was John Keim with the Eastern Oklahoma State College baseball team. EOSC is a two-year junior college in Wilburton, competing in the NJCAA.

The Mountaineers went 47-7 this past year, and Keim’s former Sandite teammate John Miller is currently on the team.

“The coaches really are what attracted me to Eastern,” said Keim. “They've really proved themselves the past few years as being great coaches. They’re really just amazing. I started talking to (Coach Matt Parker) at the start of the summer and slowly built that relationship till now.”

“It’s a big stress reliever. It makes it easier to know I don’t have to focus on getting recruited and I can just focus on getting better.”

As for his goals in the spring season, “I’d like to be one of the top guys here and help lead us to a State championship.” 

Keim is interested in studying engineering, but he isn't sure yet.

“He’s really developed over the last couple of years and honestly the sky’s the limit,” said Sandites head baseball coach Matt Brown. “We’re looking for big things from him for us this spring. He’s really going to help us and they’re going to get a really good player and a good kid.”

Sports Roundup: Daton Fix wins World Freestyle Silver

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. 

Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Softball Rolls at Bixby Tournament

Down 5-4 and riding a four-game losing streak, the Sandites needed a spark in the first round of the Bixby tournament Friday morning.

JoLee McNally stepped up to the plate with two runners on and smacked a ground ball single to center field in the top of the sixth, bringing in Morgan Rector and Kinzie King to kick off a great weekend for the Charles Page High School softball team (9-7).

After taking down Newcastle 6-5, the Sandites got a huge 5-4 upset against title contender Edmond Memorial then steamrolled Union 17-2 and El Reno 11-2 before falling 4-1 to Broken Arrow in the final game. 

“They had an awesome weekend, I thought,” said head coach Shelli Brown. “The turnaround from Bartlesville where we left a lot of runner-on-base opportunities, I felt like this weekend they were able to get the runners on and push them across the plate. That was the difference.”

Prior to the tournament, the Sandites had a rough stretch of district road games at Stillwater, Jenks, Bixby, and Bartlesville. 

Thursday was a tough loss, as the Sandites had previously beaten Bartlesville 12-3 at home, and led 5-0 early before the Bruins surged back with seven runs in the bottom of the third.

Friday’s win over Edmond Memorial (19-4), however, showed that this team is still capable of beating anyone in the state on any given day. 

The Bulldogs took a 4-2 lead in the third inning, but the Sandites rallied in the bottom with RBI doubles from Lauren Hammock and Nataley Crawford, and Kelsi Hilton scored on a passed ball for the lead.

Crawford got the wins in the pitching circle against Edmond and Newcastle, Hilton got the win against Union, and Addie Hughes got the win against El Reno.

“Team effort for sure on the pitching,” said Brown. ”We’ve been kind of double-teaming, so I thought our pitchers did a really good job with that.”

The team’s bats also came alive during the tournament, with McNally, Hammock, Hilton, and Crawford all hitting over .500. McNally scored eight runs and four RBI and Hammock had seven runs and seven RBI over the five games.

“I’m just happy with them,” said Brown. “I told them let’s keep moving forward. I felt like we’ve made the turn a little bit here.”

The Sandites are currently 3-4 in district action, sitting fifth in the standings. They’ll be heavily favored in four of their remaining seven district games, and they’ll have home-field advantage in their rematches with Jenks, Stillwater, and Bixby.

The Sandites have hosted Regionals seven consecutive years but that streak could be in jeopardy if they don’t finish strong in district action.

“We need to focus one game at a time, win those games, and get ourselves in a good situation,” says Brown. “Whether we host or we go travel, we’re going to have to play good teams, and we’ve just got to be ready. I think it’s going to be about timing - peaking at the right time. We’re starting to get everybody back, starting to get everybody healthy, and starting to have that team chemistry that takes some time to develop.”

“I’ve seen both districts. Whether you host or you travel, you’re going to face some really good teams so I just want us to be ready for that.”

Cross Country

Sandite Cross Country traveled to the Sapulpa Chieftain meet on Saturday, September 4th.

Chloe Grona led the elementary girls to a second place finish in the one-mile, finishing in 5:54 for first place, a full 21 seconds ahead of the runner-up, and Josie Grona placed third in 6:23.

The elementary boys placed eighth, led by Canyon Carnahan in 25th place with a time of 7:26.

Junior high boys placed fifth in the one-mile, led by Taigh Wright in 11th with a time of 5:51.21. Junior high girls didn’t have a full team, but Maddyx Hampton placed 18th in 6:38.

The varsity girls didn’t have a full team, but Jazmin Lopez placed fifth in the two-mile run with a time of 13:57.

The varsity boys finished sixth, led by Alejandro Lopez in 11:52 for 25th place, and Dalton Wilcox in 11:55 for 26th.

On Saturday, September 11th, the high school and junior high teams traveled to Broken Arrow. The junior high boys placed sixth in the 1.5 mile run, but were the only team with a full lineup. 

Lopez led the varsity girls in 26th place with a 5K time of 22:22. Noah Hanlon led the boys in 18:56 for 42nd place. Hampton led the junior high girls with a 12:01 1.5-mile run for 33rd, and Wright led the junior high boys in 9:52 for 13th.

Football

The Class 6A-II No. 5 ranked Sandite football team (2-0) will look to remain undefeated when they travel to Arkansas 3A No. 1 Shiloh Christian (2-0). Both teams will be well-rested after bye weeks.

Last year Sand Springs hosted the first-ever meeting of the two teams and topped the Saints 27-26. It would be Shiloh’s only loss of the season as they went on to earn their eighth State Championship.

Volleyball

Class 6A No. 15 ranked Sand Springs (7-11) is riding a tough nine-match losing streak after traveling to the prestigious Heather Harkness Invitational in Edmond, one of the toughest tournaments in the state.

Sandite Volleyball fell 2-0 to No. 6 Deer Creek, 2-0 to No. 4 Edmond Memorial, 2-0 to OKC Storm, 3-2 to No. 10 Edmond North, and 3-0 to No. 16 Moore. 

Sand Springs will compete at the Owasso tournament this weekend with pool matches against Owasso, Edmond Memorial, and Ponca City.

Sandite Roundup: Shelli Brown celebrates 600th win in 25th season

25th-year Sandite Softball Head Coach Shelli Brown is presented with a commemorative ball for her 600th win by the Class of 2022 seniors.

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Shelli Brown has been the head softball coach at Charles Page High School since before her current class of seniors was even born. In fact, she’s been the head coach since before some of her assistant coaches were born.

Now in her 25th season as a Sandite, Coach Brown is a pillar in the community. 

“Shelli’s an icon in women’s softball at the high school level,” says Sand Springs Athletic Director Rod Sitton. “She started her career here, hopefully she ends her career here. She’s not only a great coach, but a great leader and a great example for the young ladies that go through here. It’s been a real privilege to have her here and work with her, and also be her boss. She’s just a great person all around.”

On Tuesday, August 24th, the team celebrated Brown’s 600th career win in fast pitch. The milestone came in a 14-6 rout of Adair on Thursday, August 19th at the Rogers State festival in Claremore. They also beat Lincoln Christian 11-2 in the first game of the festival.

Owning a 603-326 record with 10 regional championships, two academic state championships, two district championships, and one conference championship, Brown has been one of the most successful coaches in school history in any sport. Under her guidance, 32 sandites have received All-State accolades and at least 60 have signed to play at the next level.

“It’s not about excellence just in softball itself, but it’s also about academic excellence,” added District Superintendent Sherry Durkee. “Personally, I’m super proud of the two academic state championships.” 

Prior to the Tuesday-night doubleheader against Enid, Brown’s senior class presented her with a commemorative game ball signed by the entire team, along with flowers and balloons. Then they gave her a 601st and 602nd win by drubbing the Pacers 20-3 and 3-1.

Raegan Rector went 3-for-3 at the plate with five RBI and two doubles in the first game, Mikenna Stephens was 3-of-4 with four RBI, and Kelsi Hilton was 3-of-4 with four runs. 

With temperatures nearing 100℉, the bats slowed down in game two, and the Sandites actually needed a fifth-inning comeback. Trailing 1-0, Taylor Skipper tied it up with a single to score Ashlyn Clark, then Skipper and Jolee McNally scored on an error for the lead.

Nataley Crawford pitched eight strikeouts and only three hits in the first game, and Hilton got the win in game two. 

The Sandites followed it up with a 12-4 district beatdown of Bartlesville on Thursday that saw Hilton go 3-of-4 at the plate with a triple, two runs, and four RBI, while also striking out four batters in four innings from the circle. Lauren Hammock was also 3-of-4 with three runs and two RBI.

Sandite Softball is now 5-3 on the season and will continue district action on the road with a Thursday game at Bixby (9-2, 5-0).

CPHS Volleyball

The Class 6A No. 13 ranked Sandite Volleyball team (7-4) suffered a 3-1 conference loss to No. 3 Broken Arrow (10-3) Tuesday, August 24th at the Ed Dubie Field House.

The Sandites lost sets of 25-15, 25-22, and 25-9, but stole the third set 25-20 for their first game win against the Tigers since 2018.

Payton Robbins scored nine kills with three blocks, 16 digs, and three aces in the loss. Layla Lenex had three kills and five blocks. Tehya Johnson had two kills, two aces, and 23 assists. Jacelyn Smith scored seven kills and two blocks. Charley Fahland had two aces and 17 digs, and Kasidy Holland had seven kills and three digs.

Sandite Volleyball will travel to Regent Prep Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

CPHS Cross Country

The Lady Sandite varsity cross country team placed 11th in a 5K run at Edmond Deer Creek, August 21st, led by Jazmin Lopez in fifth place out of 105 runners with a time of 23:13.98. 

The boys team didn’t have enough runners to place as a team, but Noah Hanlon finished in 26th with a time of 19:13.58.

The elementary girls placed third at Kiefer Saturday, August 28th. Chloe Grona won the one-mile run in 5:52.45, Josie Grona placed third in 6:19.71, and Sophie Grona placed 15th in 7:06.99.

CPHS Softball Season Preview: Sandites Look for New Leaders

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Losing only three seniors would typically be a good thing for a softball team, since most of the unit is still intact. Unfortunately for Charles Page High School, their three recent graduates were All-State talent that included their best hitter and their best pitcher.

The team is used to reloading, however, and Head Coach Shelli Brown figures they will still be in good shape as they enter her 25th season at the helm. The team has made it to the State Tournament ten times in Brown’s career, including five straight from 2015 to 2019, but last year they came up one win short in a 25-7 campaign.

“It always helps when you have a group that's been there, and this senior group has been there,” says Brown. “So by not getting to go last year they've experienced both sides: the excitement of winning and getting to go, and the disappointment of losing and staying home. I'm hoping that will be a factor and that experience will come into play.”

This year’s State Tournament will be extra exciting as it returns to USA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City after being at Firelake Arena in Shawnee the past few years. The largest softball stadium in the country, the Hall of Fame complex also hosts the Women’s College World Series every year.

“It’s always a special place to play,” says Brown. “This senior group, they've been playing at Firelake. I think hopefully that will be a motivating factor for the kids.”

First they have to get there, and that means going through a new district that includes two returning State Tournament teams. Bartlesville, Bixby, Enid, and Putnam City North will be among their district rivals, as will be a combined team from Booker T. Washington and Tulsa Memorial. Jenks, Stillwater, and Sand Springs figure to be the most likely District Championship contenders. Stillwater upset the Sandites twice at their home Regional last year to hold them back from State.

The girls played their first round of scrimmages this past week against Berryhill, Skiatook and Sperry, and will host Skiatook, Oologah, and Mannford for three straight days of 10:00 a.m. scrimmages Wednesday through Friday. 

“I've seen improvement every day between practices and scrimmages,” says Brown. “The kids are getting to know each other. That's one of the things we always talk about is the team chemistry changes every year with graduation and new kids coming in. I think the kids have been working really hard and trying to get their team chemistry and getting each other's timing down and the kind of coverage and range that each kid has when we have different scenarios.”

“We've got four girls that I've been pitching and so each time a pitcher comes in, the dynamics of the position players and outfielders change, but we've been making progress. I thought that this week, each day we got a little bit better.”

The team will be adapting for the loss of Madison Lee, Aliyah Taff, and Drew Hawkins, who were all three All-State selections.

“You just have to kind of find the kids that can step into some of those spots and take on those new roles. That's something we talk about too, is that every year your role is going to change. And so now my junior group is going to be seniors, you know, there's five of them, and they've had some past senior leadership to watch and observe and learn from that have been really good. They work hard and they're good kids, and they've been really trying to step up and take on their leadership role, so I've been really pleased watching them.”

Figuring out their new ace pitcher will be one challenge in the coming week after losing Taff. Junior Nataley Crawford will bring a lot of experience, earning a 7-1 record with a 3.2 ERA last season. They also have sophomore Kelsi Hilton, left-handed senior Raegan Rector, and freshman Addy Hughes to draw from. 

Reloading on offense is another challenge after losing Lee, who hit .532 last season, and Hawkins who was .409. Last year’s team was one of the best slugging units in school history.

“I think instead of being able to get a home run, I think we're going to be looking more at base hits,” says Brown. “We have a lot of lefties in the lineup right now. We've got a couple of freshmen, Ashlyn Clark and Kenzie King that have been getting some time. They’re lefties and they’re real fast. And so I think with time, Ashlyn Clark and them can probably look like a Madison Lee. They've got the speed and I think with experience and age, they're gonna do really well.”

As for the senior leadership, the team will lean on Avery Tanner, JoLee McNally, Raegan Rector, Lauren Hammock, and Taylor Skipper.

“Lauren Hammock has really stepped up in scrimmages and done really well in putting the ball in play and scoring runs,” says Brown. “So I hope that will continue. I've seen some real improvement and progress there. And then Taylor Skipper. She's a kid every team needs. if I need her to go play first, she’ll go play first. if I need her to get behind home plate, She's just gonna do it. She’s probably a morale booster for our kids. She's always positive and I think trying to stay positive and work with the team. All those seniors have been doing something in one way or another either by leadership on the field or actions or what they're saying vocally out there.”

Sandite Softball will kick off the season Monday, August 9th with a 5:30 p.m. home game against Tahlequah, followed by an away game against Owasso Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.