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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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.

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.

Taya Freese leads seniors to powder puff championship

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Taya Freese doesn’t play any sports, but perhaps if the OSSAA had girls football she might be a household name in Oklahoma. 

The senior put on a show Thursday night at Memorial Stadium, leading the senior powder puff team to wins over the juniors and underclassmen. 

“It was a crazy experience,” said Freese. “I didn’t expect any of it, but it was very fun. It was kind of competitive but fun at the same time; it was a perfect mix.”

The Charles Page High School powder puff games aren’t held every year. COVID-19, lack of volunteers, and low interest have caused it to be canceled in years past, but the Senior Celebration committee pulled off a successful event this time around, raising $2722 for the annual celebration of the school’s seniors. 

Every year, the night of graduation, the town puts on an all-night lock-in celebration with free food, games, entertainment, and giveaways at the Case Community Center. 

The powder puff teams are all coached by high school boys, and the boys also put together all-male cheer teams for the halftime entertainment. 

The juniors won the first game of the evening, 6-0 against a combined underclassmen team of sophomores and freshmen.

After a scoreless regulation, Hailey Jackson made a key interception for the Hoosier Mommyz in overtime, then caught the game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass from Lilly Oakley to knock off the Benchwarmers. 

The juniors met their match in the Bad News Babes, however, and the seniors won 6-0 behind a 22-yard touchdown run from Journey Armstead late in the first half. 

Oakley and Jackson both intercepted Freese to keep the game close, but Karsen Lynch picked off Oakley on the final drive to seal the win. 

In the senior vs. sophomore game, Freese connected on a 40-yard pass to Avery Tanner to set up a 19-yard touchdown run from Lynch. 

Freese also appeared to toss a 43-yard TD to Tanner as the first half expired, but it was called back as the Benchwarmers apparently called for a timeout just before the snap. 

Getting to play together with a team was a special experience for Freese. “I’ve never played a sport before, so playing this was a first for me.”

“I just tried to teach her what I was taught,” said coach Ty Pennington. “She’s got a cannon.”

Pennington just wrapped up a three-year career as the Sandites’ starting quarterback and enjoyed getting to coach. “It was kind of cool, a different experience”

He was most impressed with Journey Armstead. “She played great on both sides of the ball.”

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.

Lady Sandite Dream Season Comes Up Short; Future Looks Bright

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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.