Sandite Football looking for new leaders to step up in 2022 season

/
Drake Fain - Sandite Football

Senior linebacker Drake Fain is expected to have a big impact in the 2022 Sandite football season.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

For the first time since 2016, the Sand Springs quarterback won’t be named Pennington when the Sandites take to the field this fall. 

After five years of being guided by brothers Caden and Ty Pennington, the Sandites will have a new set of hands under center, and it won’t be those of last year’s backup, Brody Rutledge, either.

“We’re pretty close” to naming the starter, said third-year head coach Bobby Klinck. 

“Brody has done such a good job at wide receiver. We talked to him, talked to his dad, and that’s kind of the position that he feels comfortable at and the position that we feel he has the best shot at going to the next level. We’ve kind of let him concentrate on that.”

The talented receiver ended last season with 697 yards and six touchdowns, but he’ll be relying on a fresh set of hands to get him the ball this fall.

Right now, the battle is between a senior and a freshman.

6’2” 215-pound transfer Marek Matheson comes to Sand Springs with an impressive resume as a two-year starter at Kiefer, where he guided the Trojans to a 12-10 record, including their first winning season since 2015.

“He’s done a good job of getting to know the guys and understanding the culture and working out,” said Klinck. “He’s doing a good job in terms of meeting our expectations.”

Matheson put up prolific numbers as a sophomore, throwing for 2,713 yards and 30 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, while running for 208 yards and five scores.

As a junior he put up 1,213 passing yards and 13 touchdowns with only two interceptions, while running for 305 yards and 11 scores. 

His father, Mark Matheson, played four years at quarterback for the University of Tulsa from 1989 to 1992. 

Then there’s the freshman. It’s rare to see a freshman starter at the 6A level, but Easton Webb has a resume of success. The 6’4” multi-sport star led the eighth grade Sandites to an undefeated season last year and conquered the INFC’s top division in seventh grade.

“He’s got all the tools that you want a quarterback to have. Size, athletic ability. He’s got a great arm and a really good demeanor. The physical part - he’s more than capable. It’s just the processing, the decision making, and all that stuff.”

“You can see he’s getting better with each week, with each opportunity. He’s going to be a really good football player here at Sand Springs. We’re just going to challenge him and keep encouraging him, but there’s no doubt that he’s going to be an unbelievable football player.”

“We’ve split reps coming up here just to see if anyone’s going to take the lead,” said Klinck. “The guys have done a really good job of just competing and getting after it. We’re going to take the competition into fall camp and hopefully make a decision pretty quick.”

The two have gotten plenty of reps the last two weeks after competing at a passing camp at Sapulpa, and 7-on-7 tournaments at Bixby and Owasso. 

After winning last year’s silver bracket at the two-day Owasso tournament, the Sandites actually made it to the gold bracket this time around. 

“Kind of the evolution of how we’re doing,” said Klinck. “Seems to be that we’re improving.”

The passing game isn’t all that’s been improving. The team has also been investing in its linemen - sending two dozen players to a Bixby camp for the first time.

“Coach (Jason) Medrano and Coach (Kevin) Avey got a bunch of guys together and it’s an opportunity for those guys to get more work in. It’s kind of the evolution of our program.”

“I think we’re definitely headed in that direction” of being more physical up front, said Klinck. “Coach Medrano has done a good job of really building that culture of being a big, strong, nasty human being. It’s kind of fun to see that take shape.”

Klinck also expects sophomore Kenneth Page to have a big impact after rushing for 183 yards and a touchdown as a backup last season.

“He can be one of those breakout tailbacks. We feel that’s just going to add on to our linemen and make them feel more confident.”

Webb isn’t the only highly anticipated freshman joining the Sandite ranks. Hudson Sheppard is expected to get some minutes in relief of Page, and Ryley Kester has already earned a starting spot.

“Ryley Kester is going to end up starting at offensive line for us,” said Klinck. “With his physicality and demeanor and everything - just cemented himself in that offensive line. Then we go to team camp and as a freshman he’s just a man amongst boys. He’s definitely a tone setter and we’re very excited to get his career going here.”

Another name Klinck expects fans to hear more of this fall is Blaine Phillips. 

“He’s really stepped up. He’s always been a hard worker. Some opportunities came up and he stepped in and has done a really good job. He’s kind of worked himself in to where we’ve got no choice but to give him some playing time. He’s one of those program kids who you root for. He just works hard, he’s a good athlete and he’s finally kind of found his niche to get some playing time.”

Klinck is entering his third year at the helm after guiding Sand Springs to a 7-5 mark in 2020 and an 8-4 record last season. They made the 6A-II quarterfinals in his first season and the semifinals in 2021.

The 2022 season will open on August 26th at Sapulpa in the 96th installment of Highway 97 Rivalry. Last year the Sandites evened the record at 45-45-5 and will now look to take the lead for the first time since 1944.

Jolee McNally finds closure at All-State Softball game

/

Courtesy.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

For most of the girls at the OFPCA All State softball games, the exhibition match between the state’s best seniors was just the final game in their high school uniforms, but for Jolee McNally it was the final game of her career.

As the announcer read off name after name, almost all of them were signed to play at the next level, but due to issues with her back, the Sandite outfielder will spend the next few years at Tulsa Community College where there are no athletic programs.

“It’s heartbreaking, and it’s not by choice,” said McNally. “At least I got the closure I needed.”

She went out with a bang, going two-for-two at the plate with a pair of singles, two RBI, and scored the final run in a 10-7 loss for the Large School East while playing three innings in left and right field.

McNally wasn’t the only Sandite at Oklahoma Christian University’s Tom Heath Field Saturday. Reagan Rector also donned the black and gold one last time. She didn’t get a hit, but saw three innings of action at first base and one inning in right field.

Rector will continue her career alongside Avery Tanner, who was in the stands as an alternate, at Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville.

Keaton Campbell added a few extra innings to his high school career at the OBCA All-State baseball game in Enid on Sunday, June 5th. 

The Cowley College-bound senior played third for the East team and recorded an assist and one put-out with no errors.

At the plate he was 1-of-4 with a triple off the outfield wall in the bottom of the third, and scored one run in the East’s 5-4 victory.

Ty Pennington was also selected for the All State team, but was unable to attend the game. He was also selected to the All-State football team alongside teammate Gabe Brown, but that game won’t be played till Friday, July 29th.

In soccer action, first-year Sandite head coach Cisco Chavez got to coach Karsen Lynch and the All-State East team in a 2-0 loss against the West Thursday night at Bishop Kelley High School. 

Lady Sandite basketball coach Josh Berry got to coach Journey Armstead one last time as the OGBCA East fell 72-55 to the West on Saturday, June 4th in Mustang.

Armstead didn’t score any points but collected a handful of steals and assists. She will also play in the Oklahoma Coaches Association All State Games later this summer, and will continue her career at Hutchinson Community College.

Fishing

Nathaniel Griffin and Jaxon Trotter took fifth place at the Oklahoma Bass Nation High School State Championship on Keystone Lake, Saturday, June 4th. The duo caught three fish weighing 8.13 pounds. They also placed 28th in the regular season.

Gabriel Castellano and Dallas Elifrits placed 26th at State with a 2.39 pound catch and were 57th in the regular season.

Mack Taylor and Parker Haling placed 28th at State with a 2.12 pound fish and finished third in the regular season standings.

Eli Rogers and Caden Shea didn’t fish the State Championship but placed fifth in the regular season. Cruz Norris and Gunnar Casey also didn’t fish at State but were 83rd in the regular season.

Caden Strawn and Drew Turner placed third in the youth division with a 2.79 pound catch, while Hayden Lowrence and Hunter Spencer placed fourth with a 1.94 pound fish.

Gabe Glenn returns to the diamond in honor of mother

/

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Gabe Glenn can’t remember the last time he played a game without his mother in the stands. 

“I couldn’t tell you one baseball game she missed in 14 years probably,” he said. “Not one.”

But she couldn’t make it to Sunday evening’s Tulsa Area All Star game at ONEOK Field in Tulsa. She won’t get to see her son play in college, or ever again. At least, not in person.

Amanda Glenn was one of four victims of the gunman who attacked the St. Francis Natalie building in Tulsa on June 1. She was laid to rest on Thursday.

Since her death, baseball has been the furthest thing from Gabe’s mind. “I haven’t thought much about (baseball),” said Glenn. “But it was good to get here.”

“It’s good to be back playing ball,” said Glenn. “That’s what I love doing. Honestly, I miss Ma. I doubted playing this game, but that’s what she would want me to do.”

Glenn got the start and spent five innings at third base, recording one put-out. He was 1-of-3 at the plate with a walk, a single, and a reach-on-error that drove in a run.

The win capped a lustrous high school career for the Sandite, who finished his senior season with a .433 batting average, 45 RBI, and 37 runs scored.

He plans to continue his career at the next level.

“I was doing it for me, but I’m also doing it for her. She loves me playing. Today was my first baseball game ever without my mom. She’d want me to go to college; she wanted me to play college baseball.”

Glenn has an offer from Northern Oklahoma College at Tonkawa, and a few other colleges are also talking to him. 

Whatever the future has in store for him, he’ll never find better teammates than his boys in black and gold. 

“The support I’ve gotten from Sand Springs has been unbelievable. I can’t explain it. Ty (Pennington), Cruz (Norris), and Gunnar (Casey); those are my three best friends. It’s us four, always.” 

Pennington was selected to the All-State game in Enid last Sunday but skipped it to spend time with Glenn.

Glenn also had two teammates on the All Star squad with him, and the stands were filled with Sand Springs supporters. The roar from the crowd was noticeably louder when Sandites took the plate than when anyone else was at bat.

Carson Seabolt spent three innings in center field and pitched the fifth inning. On the mound he recorded the win with one strikeout, two walks, and no hits or runs scored.

Seabolt also scored the North’s first run after drawing a walk in the bottom of the third. Glenn reached on an error and Seabolt came home to make it 2-1.

Courtesy of Avery Tanner.

Nathan Gibson drove in the game-tying RBI on a sacrifice hit to third in the fifth inning and recorded five put-outs in four innings at first base.

The North got the 4-2 win, but the bottom of the seventh was played anyways to give the teams equal playing time in the exhibition match.

For Gibson and Seabolt, it was the end of the road. The two plan on attending tech school next year to study HVAC systems.

All three Sandites wore special stickers on their helmets with the letter “A” for Amanda at the center of two angel wings. There’s little doubt she still managed to watch her son’s final game as a Sandite.

Skylar Jackson hired as new Sandite Volleyball coach

/

Courtesy.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School volleyball team will have a new coach this fall, but the name may sound familiar. 

Taking over for three-year head coach Derek Jackson will be his wife, Skylar Jackson, formerly a varsity assistant and JV head coach at Broken Arrow. 

“Last summer I had told my head coach at Broken Arrow, ‘hey I think this is going to be my last year. I’m ready to move on and be a head coach,’” said Jackson.

She thought she would have to wait another year or two after finding out she was pregnant in June, but when Derek vacated the Sand Springs job to take over at Claremore, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. 

“I coached quite a few of the Sand Springs kids during the club season and I hated to leave them at the end,” said Jackson. 

Both Derek and Skylar coach for Club Virago. Derek resigned from Sand Springs in December, but by the time club season ended in March, the job was still open. 

“I know a lot of the families, I know the administration. I know there’s going to be lots of support on both sides of that,” said Jackson.

It’s not exactly common for a coach to take over their spouse’s former program - a fact that Jackson is well aware of. 

“It kind of started as a joke. All of our friends, as soon as he left, asked if I was going to go over there and take over.”

“It is unusual. How often does that happen? Would that make the transition harder? Would it make it easier? We talked through it and I chewed on it for a while. I finally just decided the girls deserve somebody who’s going to come in and work hard for them.”

Leaving Broken Arrow wasn’t an easy decision, however. In addition to spending five years on the coaching staff there, Jackson is also a 2011 Tiger alum. 

“It was really hard. Anytime you go somewhere and you’re there for any length of time; you see these kiddos when they’re little and they grow up in your gym. You spend so much time with those people that they become like your extended family.”

“It was definitely hard leaving what I feel like is home, the halls I used to walk as an athlete, and where I got to go back and make an impact as a coach. It was really difficult.”

Jackson is well qualified. As a prep player she was a two-time defensive captain for the Tigers and played in two State tournaments. She competed at the collegiate level at Southern Nazarene University and coached for one season at Will Rogers High School before returning to her alma mater.

One challenge she’ll face at Sand Springs is making the program her own.

“I want the girls to know that it’s not just a continuation of what he left behind. We’re going to do our own thing and we’re going to go make waves.”

Jackson has already taken over coaching duties for the Sandites, overseeing tryouts in May and organizing a summer youth camp that will be held June 20-22. She left Broken Arrow for maternity leave after Spring Break, and visited the Sandites for seventh-hour athletics for the last six weeks of school to get a head start on practices. 

“We’ve been in the gym, breaking things down and working on our fundamentals,” said Jackson. “I tell the girls all the time; if you can do the little things well, it makes the big things easier.”

The Sand Springs program isn’t quite as established as Broken Arrow, which has won a State title and been in the finals as recently as 2019. It is growing, however, and the district added a seventh grade team during Derek’s tenure. 

More and more Sandites are participating in summer club leagues, and several have signed to play at the collegiate level in recent years. 

While most of Jackson’s coaching experience came at the largest school in Oklahoma, her year at Will Rogers has also given her some insight into programs with less of a support structure.

“At Rogers, while there wasn’t a whole lot of district support as far as resources and things like that go, unfortunately there wasn’t a whole lot of parent support either.”

“To go from that to Broken Arrow, where you can get almost anything, and parents are supportive - that’s one of the nice things about Sand Springs. Their parents are just as invested, they are super helpful. Everyone’s willing to do anything you need.”

Jackson plans to continue hosting the Sandite Invitational, which Sand Springs won in 2021 and 2019. One of her biggest goals this season is to win some upsets.

“I want the girls to really buy in that we can do this, and if we work hard and put in the time and the training, that hard work will out-work talent every day. I really want them to buy in that we can be as good as we want to be and that we’re going to be the only limiting factor to our season.”

As for playing against her spouse, that’ll have to wait for a future season. Sand Springs and Claremore aren’t on each others’ schedules for 2022.

Assistant coach Lisa Wright will be returning to the Sandites this season. Broken Arrow assistant Kirstein Mattox will follow Jackson to Sand Springs, and 2020 Sandite alum Raylynn Mong will also be joining the staff.

Sandite alum Kimi Presnell wins Division II National Championship at Rogers State

/
Kimi Presnell looks for a pitch during a 2018 game against Stillwater

Kimi Presnell looks for a pitch during a 2018 game against Stillwater.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

When Kimi Presnell played softball at Sand Springs, the Sandites were always in the hunt for a State title. They advanced to the State tournament all four years of her career, and even made it to the finals her freshman year, but never got to hoist the gold ball.

On Tuesday, May 31, she got to resolve some of that unfinished business.

The sophomore center fielder played a crucial role in propelling Rogers State University to its first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship and Presnell received an All-Tournament nod for her performance. 

“I was not expecting that,” said Presnell. “It was such a great feeling to be able to make the All Tournament team, as well as several of my teammates. It just proved that we worked hard to get where we were.”

The Hillcats had a great overall season but weren’t the favorites. They finished third in the MIAA standings and entered the World Series as the five seed.

“There were highs and lows, but we all just kept a good mindset throughout,” said Presnell.

The Hillcats knew they needed to win the MIAA tournament to secure a Regional host site.

“Our mindset going into the conference tournament was to play free and not play tight, and that’s exactly what we did,” said Presnell. “And we continued to do that throughout the postseason, which was awesome.”

The Hillcats paid back a pair of regular season losses to Washburn in the tournament finals series, winning 2-1 and 4-2 to earn their first MIAA title and the right to host the Central Regional.

In the second game of Regionals, the Hillcats were upset 3-0 by Minnesota State, but after a loser’s bracket rout of Winona State they got a wild rematch with the Mavericks.

The game went 15 innings before the Hillcats exploded to an 8-2 win. Presnell hit an RBI double in that game and Rogers State won the “If” game 4-0.

At Super Regionals the Hillcats won 3-1 and 12-1 against Central Oklahoma and punched their way into the World Series in Denver. 

Then it was Presnell’s time to shine.

Over the first three games of the tournament, Presnell was 8-of-11 at the plate and had a perfect fielding percentage throughout the entire tournament.

In the 7-2 win over Southern Indiana, Presnell was 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI. In a 10-2 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills, she was 3-of-4 with a run and four RBI, and in a 9-3 win over UT Tyler she was 2-of-4 with two runs and an RBI.

In the best-of-three finals rematch with Cal State, the Hillcats won 6-5 and 6-1 to earn their first ever national title. 

This year was extra special for Kimi because it was her first season seeing significant starting action. Her freshman year was canceled halfway through due to COVID, and last season she didn’t get a whole lot of opportunities at the plate. 

“Last year I was always super timid at the plate. I didn’t have much confidence,” said Presnell. 

She decided that this year she didn’t want her role to be limited to simply cheering for her teammates from the dugout. 

Presnell earned her way into the starting lineup in the nine hole, but she wasn’t always as dominant at the plate as she was during the postseason.

Over an 18-game stretch from February through April, she hit only .150 compared to her season average of .280.

“Whenever I was in the slump, I kind of changed up my swing,” said Presnell. “I was just focusing on my mechanics.”

When it came to the postseason, she decided to simply approach with confidence and swing hard. She ended up hitting .355 over the postseason and was .314 in the NCAA tournament. 

“She’s a free swinger,” coach Andrea Vaughan said in one postgame interview. “She’s got home run power, she’s got gap to gap power. The thing about Kimi is, she’s hard to beat. She’s a competitor. That’s why she’s in our lineup.”

So far, the college experience has been a lot different from her high school days. 

“In high school you don’t watch film or anything. In college you prepare, you watch film, you see what the pitcher’s pitching. It’s just a whole different game.”

Presnell has also transitioned from second base to center field - a change she’s very happy with. 

“I actually love the outfield. I feel it’s more my calling. I have way more time to react to the ball. If I took a ground ball right now, I don’t think I’d know what to do.” 

In fact, the last time she took a ground ball it gave her a black eye, so she’s very much enjoying handling fly outs instead. 

The biggest change has been thinking of Rogers State as home after being a Sandite for most of her life. 

“It’s exactly where I’m supposed to be. I’ve made the greatest friends. I have great coaches,” said Presnell. 

Coach Vaughan, now in her seventh year, told all of her recruits from the very beginning that Rogers State would soon be competing for national championships, and Presnell bought into the hype as a senior in 2019. 

“Every game I went to, they won. She was very intimate in her coaching and it just drew me in right away. I had nothing but confidence in what she said.”

Presnell credits a lot of her success to her time at Sand Springs, which is a perennial softball powerhouse. 

“Sand Springs definitely prepared me. We were always a good team, we just had unfinished business. I feel like that definitely prepared me for college ball.”

“Coach (Shelli) Brown reached out to me during the World Series. She’s always supported me. She’s the reason why I went to Rogers State, because we played there in the festival every year. Coach Vaughan asked her about me and I ended up scheduling a visit and what do you know? I ended up winning a National Championship.”

Presnell isn’t the only Sandite competing for national titles. 2017 alum Sydney Pennington is currently competing with the Oklahoma State Cowgirls at the Division I World Series in Oklahoma City.

“She actually reached out to me after winning the national tournament,” said Presnell. “I said, ‘well it’s your turn now. Go Pokes!’”

Sandite Track & Field celebrates successful season with donut relay

/

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The first Track and Field season of the Gloria Avey era may have been highlighted by Layne Kirkendoll’s High Jump State Title, but its glorious finale was a donut relay.

The Charles Page High School Sandites didn’t stop practicing just because the season ended last week, but they did make practice more fun with some end-of-the-year games that included “Red Light, Green Light” and a three-legged race.

“I want the kids to have fun, but I also want the kids to know that we’re serious about it,” said Avey. “So being serious and having fun are my two goals, and I feel like we accomplished that this year.”

Avey took over the Sand Springs program after three years as an assistant, working two years under Tim Dial and one year under Virginia Williams.

“I’ve had a lot of coaches that I’ve learned from over the years. I’ve been coaching for Sand Springs for four years and I feel like I’ve learned a lot, kind of taking things from different people.”

Avey’s first season was a definite success as the girls placed 15th at State for their highest finish since 2017, and the boys placed 22nd for their highest finish since 2019.

“I learned a lot,” said Avey. “I’m definitely going to do some things differently next year, but I think it was a really successful season. I think the majority of the kids had a really good time and they all improved on their times.”

The 28-year-old first-time head coach has spent most of her life in Sand Springs, but actually graduated from the now-defunct Moriah Christian Academy, which didn’t have an athletics program. 

“I’ve always been a runner. I’ve always enjoyed running and I’ve just run on my own ever since I was in middle school. Fitness and exercise has always been a passion of mine so I kind of got recruited to (coach) track.”

In addition to running, Avey has also been involved in CrossFit over the years. She graduated Oklahoma State University in 2017 and is also a math teacher at the high school.

Her husband, Kevin, is the strength and conditioning coach for the Sandites, as well as the head coach of the brand new girls powerlifting program and an assistant football coach.

Of course, the Sandites can credit a lot of their season’s success to athletes like Kirkendoll - the senior leaper with Division I prospects.

“Layne has made podium every year of high school except the year she lost to COVID,” said Avey. 

“She’s just got that God-given talent. There’s just a few little tweaks that we make and little cues that we give her, but she just pretty much knows what to do.”

Kirkendoll already had full-ride scholarship offers from Oral Roberts University and South Dakota State coming into her senior year and she has also collected some offers to play collegiate basketball, though she has yet to make a commitment. 

In addition to Kirkendoll the Sandites will also lose shot put qualifier Matthew Shelton, discus qualifier Jestin Rawlins, and relay runner Jazmin Lopez, but will return Kelsi Hilton, Josie Myers, and Gracie Gifford from the 4x800 team next season.