Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Softball Goes 3-0 to End Regular Season

Sandite softball (23-14) went 3-0 in the final week of the regular season, winning 6-0 against Sperry, 8-3 against Sapulpa, and 7-2 against Collinsville.

They also received their Regional assignment and will return to action Tuesday, October 4th, at Broken Arrow with a first round game at 2:00 p.m. against Muskogee (14-22). On the other side of the bracket is Broken Arrow (25-9) vs. Putnam City North (8-23).

Sand Springs has yet to play Muskogee this season but lost a close 7-5 meeting with Broken Arrow at the Tigers’ home tournament, and beat Putnam North 1-0 twice in district action.

The Sandites have won 17 Regional titles and are aiming to return to the State Tournament for the first time 2019.

On Monday Addison Hughes tossed seven strikeouts with only four hits in the shutout at Sperry (23-10). Kenzie King went 3-of-4 at the plate with one run and one RBI.

The Sandites haven’t lost a Highway 97 Rivalry game in over a decade and this time it was Kelsi Hilton who led the charge against the Chieftains (14-17) with a seventh-inning grand slam while tossing eight strikeouts. Jaden Jordan also hit a home run.

In the final game of the regular season Hughes tossed eight strikeouts and three hits against Collinsville (9-22). The Cardinals took an early 2-0 lead but Jordan tied it with a two-run double in the third and Mikena Stephens hit the go-ahead RBI single in a five-run fourth inning.

Volleyball

The 16th ranked Sandite volleyball team (16-16, 3-5) went 5-2 last week, splitting a pair of conference matches before going 4-1 at the Southmoore Invitational.

The team won a 3-0 sweep of Muskogee on Tuesday but fell 3-1 to Booker T. Washington on Thursday. They put up a great fight against the Hornets, however, losing close sets of 25-17, 28-26, and 25-22 after winning the first 28-26.

In Moore the girls lost 2-1 to conference foe Bartlesville, but won 2-1 against No. 12 Moore, 2-1 against Bishop Kelley JV, 3-0 against Shawnee, and 3-1 against Southmoore.

The Sandites have one last regular season match Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. against No. 1 Jenks (26-4, 7-0).

Cross Country

Josie Grona took first place in the elementary meet at Kiefer Saturday morning, running the one-mile in 6:14.92. Sophie Grona finished fifth in 7:05.26 and the team took eighth.

The elementary boys also placed eighth, led by Kellen Adkins with a 6:30.74 mile for tenth place.

Shooting

Caden Shea won the Muscogee Nation Trap Shoot Wednesday with a score of 24.

Fishing

Gabriel Castellano and Ean Williams took 22nd place at the Oklahoma Bass Nation season opener Saturday on Ft. Gibson Lake. The duo caught five fish weighing 7.32 pounds. Nate Griffin and Eli Rogers placed 31st, Caden Strawn and Drew Turner placed 46th, Decana Plummer and Gunner Beasley placed 47th, and Jonathan Isley and Jaxon Trotter placed 49th.

CPHS Roundup: Sandite Coach Josh Berry Joining Kansas Wesleyan Hall of Fame

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Kansas Wesleyan University announced Wednesday that it would be inducting the 2006-2007 men’s basketball team into the Coyote Athletic Hall of Fame in October. 

Lady Sandite head coach Josh Berry was an All-Conference honorable mention on that team, which went 28-4 overall to set a school record and won the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. 

Berry transferred to KCAC as a senior out of Sterling College and averaged 3.7 points, 3 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game.

Now entering his fourth year, Berry holds a 50-21 record as the Sand Springs girls’ coach.

The Coyote Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held October 22 during Homecoming week.

Journey Armstead Shines in All-State Hoops

One of the best to ever don the black and gold got to represent Sand Springs one last time Wednesday night at the OCA All-State basketball game.

Journey Armstead scored 18 points Wednesday night at the Sapulpa Chieftain Center but it wasn’t enough to secure the win as the West defeated the East 62-61.

Armstead led all scorers and added five rebounds and three assists. She will continue her career at Hutchinson Community College.

Junior High Fishing Duo Competes at Nationals

Sand Springs junior high students Drew Turner and Caden Strawn earned their way to the Bassmaster Junior Series National Championship at the Carroll County 1000-Acre Recreational Lake in Tennessee.

After placing third at the Oklahoma State Championship, the Sandites finished the season fifth in the nation. The duo turned in a haul of 16 pounds, 11 ounces.

Sandite Golfer Wins State Amateur Championship

Meghan Charles, a 2021 graduate of Charles Page High School and Oklahoma City University sophomore, won the Women’s Oklahoma Golf Association State Amateur Championship at Gaillardia Country Club in Oklahoma City.

Charles defeated Edmond’s Ashlynn Weir 4 and 3 in the President’s Flight semifinals, then beat Oklahoma City’s Drew Faires 3 and 2 in the finals.

Two CPHS Grads Sign College LOIs

Two more members of the Class of 2022 signed college letters of intent in recent weeks. 

High Jump State Champion Layne Kirkendoll signed with South Dakota State University, an NCAA Division I program that competes in the Summit League. The Jackrabbits placed third in their conference this past season.

Kirkendoll holds the all-time Sand Springs records in long jump and high jump, and also received college offers as a basketball star.

Gabe Glenn signed to play baseball at Allen Community College in Kansas. Glenn batted .433 for the Sandites this past season, scoring 37 runs and 45 RBI. Allen competes in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and the NJCAA.

Sandites Selected for PBR Showcase

Several Sand Springs baseball players were selected to represent Oklahoma at the Prep Baseball Report (PBR) Junior Future Games showcase in Lakepoint, Georgia.

Alex Dudley and Jackson Turney were selected from the Class of 2026, Eli Buxton represented the Class of 2024, and Kayden Campbell was chosen from the Class of 2025. 

Jolee McNally finds closure at All-State Softball game

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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.

Sandite Baseball clinches home Regional, Layne Kirkendoll wins Conference Championship

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

For the first time since 2011, the Charles Page High School baseball team (29-6, 11-3) has clinched a home regional tournament after winning its final two district games last week.

The Sandites won 4-0 against Putnam City North (8-27, 3-11) Monday at home before steamrolling the Panthers 25-7 Tuesday on the road.

Jabe Schlehuber (6-1) tossed a complete game one-hitter on Monday with 10 strikeouts and Keaton Campbell scored one run and two RBI.

Dom Ornelas blasted his team-leading eighth home run of the season on Tuesday and the Sandites talled 20 hits in their highest-scoring game since 2016. Eli Buxton (3-1) threw six strikeouts against two hits in three innings.

On Thursday the Sandites paid back an 8-0 loss from earlier in the season by defeating Highway 97 rival Sapulpa 18-5. 

Kayden Campbell (4-0) threw three strikeouts and allowed two hits against the Chieftains (26-9) for the win, and Keaton Campbell and Ty Pennington both hit home runs to lead a 16-hit Sandite effort.

The regular season ended in a 4-3 loss to Westmoore (25-10) on Saturday. Buxton took his first loss of the year, throwing three hits and three strikeouts in 1.1 innings. 

Five pitchers combined to allow only five hits in the loss, and the Sandites managed 10 hits of their own but stranded nine runners.

Fishing

Hunter Spencer and Hayden Lowrance won first place in the Oklahoma Bass Nation youth event on Keystone Lake, Sunday, April 24th. The duo caught five fish totaling 16.54 pounds, including the 4.37-pound big bass.

Caden Strawn and Drew Turner were runners-up with five fish weighing 16.47 pounds, including a 3.93 pounder. 

In the high school division the Sandites were led by Mack Taylor and Parker Haling with five fish weighing 13.15 pounds for ninth place.

Eli Rogers and Caden Shea placed 10th with five fish weighing 13.09 pounds. Nathan Griffin and Jaxon Trotter placed 11th with five fish weighing 12.87 pounds. 

Gabriel Castellano and Dallas Elifrits were 32nd with three fish weighing 7.07 pounds. Cruz Norris and Gunnar Casey were 56th with a 3.05-pound fish.

Disc Golf

40 players turned out for the Sand Springs Showcase PDGA C-Tier one-round tournament at Case DiscGolfPark on Sunday, April 24th. 

Tyler Oakes won the Open division with a 51, Hueston Kratz won Advanced with a 52, Sonny Dalesandro won Intermediate with a 49, Joshua Pauley won Recreational with a 55, and Joshua Loustaunau won Novice with a 56.

Samantha Russell won Advanced Women with a 69, Jimmy Haase won Amateur Masters 40+ with a 56, Jude Henry won Amateur Masters 50+ with a 61, and Shane Chester won Junior 15U with a 69.

Softball

The CPHS slow pitch softball team ended the season with a 7-14 record after falling 10-2 to Guthrie and 19-1 to Jenks at Regionals on Wednesday.

Golf

Zane Downey scored an 81 and Mason Ward shot 84 to lead the Sandites at the Skiatook tournament on Wednesday. Seth Benton scored 89, Drew Paden scored 91, and Cameron Villines scored 94.

The girls ended their season Tuesday at the Ponca City regional tournament. Gina Foster shot 110 and Madison Chambers scored 112.

Track and Field

The Sand Springs boys took 10th and the girls placed eighth at the Frontier Valley Conference track meet at Union High School on Friday with one champion.

Layne Kirkendoll won the long jump at 19 ft. 1.5 in. to break her own school record of 18 ft. 8 in. She also placed fourth in the high jump at 5 ft. 2 in.

Matthew Shelton placed fourth in shot put at 46 ft. 10 in. Jestin Rawlins placed sixth in discus at 139 ft. 6 in. The girls 4x800 relay team placed fourth in 11:04.84.

Tennis

The CPHS girls tennis team split with Sapulpa on Thursday. Sapulpa won the Singles match, but Caitlin Shipman and Daffaney Snyder won 6-2, 7-5 in Doubles.

Weekly sports roundup: Sandites win OBN fishing tournament at Lake Texoma

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Two teams of Sandites won first place in their divisions at the Oklahoma Bass Nation trail event on Lake Texoma, Sunday, April 3rd. 

Eli Rogers and Carrick Cooke won the high school division with five fish weighing 12.45 pounds for a $656 payout. 

Caden Strawn and Drew Turner won the youth division with four fish weighing 9.8 pounds. 

Softball

The No. 14 Sandite Slow Pitch team (5-7) went 0-3 this week, falling 13-10 to No. 4 Moore (11-5), 18-0 to No. 1 Southmoore (15-2), and 14-12 to Kellyville (5-12).

Soccer

District leader Jenks (6-1, 3-0) spoiled the Lady Sandites’ five-match win streak 4-0 on Tuesday but Sand Springs bounced back on Friday with a 9-0 road win against Choctaw (1-7, 0-3).

Freshman Lainey Stanfill scored five goals in the rout, and has 18 on the season. Ava Watts scored two, and Alyssa Cunningham and Karsen Lynch scored one each.

The Sandites (9-3, 2-1) are having their best season since 2016 and don’t show any signs of slowing down. They will host Putnam City (3-8, 0-3) on Tuesday before traveling to Stillwater (4-6, 1-1) on Friday.

The boys (0-8, 0-3) are still looking for their first win after falling 10-0 to Jenks and 3-1 to Choctaw. 

Track and Field

The Sandite track teams competed at the Jim Thorpe Invitational in Shawnee on Friday and crowned two champions. The boys took seventh place and the girls finished sixth.

Briona Searcy won the long jump with a mark of 14 ft. 11.5 in. and Jestin Rawlins won the discus throw with a distance of 147 ft. 

Gracie Gifford placed third in the 3200-meter run in 13:15.45 and sixth in the 1600 in 6:38.99.

Hannah George was fifth in the long jump at 13 ft. 3 in. Kelsi Hilton was fourth in the 3200 13:56.44. Brynley Smith finished fifth in the 400 in 1:12.05.

Dalton Wilcox placed second in the 800-meter run in 2:19.19. Noah Hanlon placed sixth in the 3200 in 11:45.99. 

Matthew Shelton placed third in shot put with a distance of 41 ft. 6 in. Alex Turner was fourth in discus with a distance of 105 ft. 1 in. 

The girls placed third in the 4x800 relay and fourth in the 4x100. The boys placed fifth in the 4x100 and fifth in the 4x800.

Layne Kirkendoll competed solo at the Jenks meet that morning and won the high jump at 5 ft. 6 in. She also placed second in long jump at 18 ft. 1 in.