Sandites Place 2nd at Diamond State Duals, 8th at Jenks Tournament

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the Sand Springs wrestling program as the Sandites took second place at the Diamond State Duals in Springdale on December 30th and eighth place at the Larry Wilkey Invitational in Jenks on January 7th.

At the Jenks tournament the Sandites had six placers and one finalist, led by Mitchell Smith as runner-up.

“It was, in my opinion, a little bit of an up and down weekend,” said first-year coach Ty Bowling.

“I think we had a really good quarterfinal round and struggled in the semis, but I think we came back and finished pretty strong.”

Smith faced a rematch with Salina state champion Gavin Montgomery, who dealt the Sandite his only loss in December’s Enid tournament. In that event Smith led 6-0 before giving up a reversal and pin with four seconds left.

In the rematch it was Smith who had to battle out of an early hole after giving up a takedown and two nearfall points before calling an injury timeout for a knee pain.

“I think it was more of a scare than anything, just kind of an awkward position,” said Bowling. “But he came back. He was put in a bad spot down 4-0 but he battled all the way back.”

The senior tied it up at 5-5 on a third-period reversal, but Montgomery reclaimed the lead with a reversal of his own and won a 7-6 decision.

“It’s just one of those matches where we learn in January how to finish in February, so he’ll come back strong.”

Zander Grigsby placed third, Mason Harris was fourth, Kase Skaggs and Jayden Pait placed fifth, and Ethan White was sixth at the tournament.

No. 7 Sand Springs (10-1) won its first nine duals of the season before falling 39-37 to Ozark in the Diamond dual finals, then defeated Jenks on Tuesday before the tournament.

In pool play Sand Springs won 77-6 against Fayetteville, 64-9 against Bentonville, and 74-0 against Arlington for its biggest win and first shutout since 2017.

In the gold bracket the Sandites won 78-6 against Shiloh Christian, 70-6 against North Desoto, and 69-3 against Bentonville before falling to Ozark in the finals.

Skaggs, Matthew Moore, Pait, Grigsby, Jesse Moore, David Ritchey, and Cash Lucas all went undefeated in the Springdale duals. The Sandites went 85-13 in individual matches.

“I think that was really good for our confidence,” said Bowling. “Not only did we get a bunch of matches, but we were able to win as a team and come together in a dual format.”

Ritchey, Matthew Moore, Grigsby, Smith, Trotter, White, McCoy and Harris all pinned their foes in the 58-15 win at Jenks on Tuesday.

“Obviously you want to have a lot of success in December and January, but you’re always building toward February and getting your hand raised down at that last match in the state tournament, so that’s what we’re building towards.”

Sand Springs will return to action with a tough road dual at No. 3 Bixby (5-2) on Thursday before competing at the Jerry Billings Invitational in Sapulpa over the weekend.

Laila Mirza Becomes First-Ever Girls Tournament Champion from Sand Springs

View fullsize

Laila Mirza is officially the first ever regular-season tournament champion for the Sand Springs girls wrestling program.

The junior 120 pounder won the Joe Cole Classic in Cleveland, helping her team to a program-best 2nd place finish. All five Lady Sandites placed top-four in their divisions.

“I found her in the weight room because I help coach (Kevin) Avey with the girls weightlifting,” said head coach Ty Bowling, who started the girls’ program this year.

“She tries to get as much extra work (during free period) or during weightlifting period when they’re not lifting weights, and she’ll stay after practice.”

“She’s one that gets here early and stays late,” said Bowling.

Mirza pinned her first two opponents without giving up a single point, then received two forfeits in the round-robin bracket.

“She’s run cross country and she’s ran some track, and she told me at the beginning of the year that she had never ever won a medal.”

“That preseason tournament she went to she got first, then she took sixth (at Jay) and got a medal there, and then she got first here, so she’s kind of three for three on the medals in wrestling.”

Kelsi Hilton placed third at 140 pounds with three pins, only losing in a close 8-5 decision to the tournament champion.

Addily Shotwell placed third at 170 with one pin. Kreedence Behnke placed third and Madison Chambers was fourth at 100 pounds.

“Our girls are working hard,” said Bowling. “Wrestling’s not an easy sport and they’re in here every day doing it exactly like the boys are doing.”

“We’re not trying to put too much pressure on them, but we’re telling them how they’re going to be forever remembered as the girls that started (the program) and have a chance to be the first ever Sand Springs girls State qualifiers.”

The junior varsity boys placed fourth at the tournament despite mostly facing varsity competitors.

Kase Skaggs won the 113-pound bracket and four other Sandites also medaled.

Skaggs outscored his opponents 51 to 13 with a pin and two major decisions before earning a 4-2 decision over State qualifier Daxtyn Davis.

Peyton Callis was runner-up at 165 with three pins; Cash Lucas was runner-up at 285 with three pins; Jesse Moore placed third at 144 with four pins; and Logan Childers placed fourth at 113 with three pins.

The junior high boys team placed 12th with two total medalists and the junior high girls placed 14th with one medalist.

Gage Gunn placed fourth at 132 with three pins; Dallas Flores placed fourth at 155 with five pins; and Rylee Allen placed fourth at girls 117 with two pins.

The Keystone Kids wrestling club had no problem winning the Sand Springs Slam tournament over the weekend with 28 champions, nearly tripling the score of runner-up Barnsdall.

Jase Morgan, Maddix Spencer, Hagan Wolfenberger, Kason Wolfe, Acetyn Hart, Sutton Hawley, Zander Pope, Rylan Hamby, Ty Galloway, Samuel Moore, Joshua Compton, Griffin Sensintaffar, Ayreson Reiss, David Ritchey, Matthew Moore, Kasen McAffrey, Samuel Reichel, Jaxon Trotter, Brenntly Taylor, Jayce Parks, Caemon Young, Ryker Dawes, Collin Randall, Hunter Sims, Colt Combs, Kydon Harness, Gage Buchanan, and Saylor Eaglin all won their divisions.

The varsity boys and girls will return to action Tuesday, December 20th with home duals against Sapulpa at 6:00 p.m.

Sandite Weekly Sports Roundup: Wrestling Dominates Season-Opening Duals

The Ty Bowling era opened with a bang this week as the No. 13 Sand Springs wrestling team won its first two duals convincingly Thursday at the Ed Dubie Field House before placing sixth out of 35 teams at the Mid America Nations in Enid over the weekend.

In the first dual of the season the Sandites rolled to a 49-18 win over 5A No. 8 Duncan (1-1), going 10-4 in individual matches with six wins by fall.

The teams traded blows to an 18-18 tie after seven matches before Mitchell Smith won a 10-1 major decision to kick off a seven-match win streak.

That streak carried over into the next dual as the Sandites opened with three-straight wins in a 60-12 romp against the defending Arkansas Dual State Champions from Rogers Heritage (4-2)

Colt Hood won a 9-2 decision against defending State Champion Ethan McCrary at 120 pounds to take a 12-0 lead before the visitors got on the board.

The Sandites only lost three matches, all by close decisions, two of which were to returning State placers.

Jaden Allen and Mason Harris both pinned returning State placers and the Sandites totalled eight wins by fall.

At the Enid tournament the Sandites finished with four wrestlers in the top four of their brackets.

David Ritchey placed third at 113 with two pins, Smith placed third at 150 with three pins, Mason Harris finished third at 285 with five pins, and Ethan White finished fourth at 165 with four pins.

Jaxon Trotter placed 7th, Jayden Pait 10th, Ali McCoy 11th, Dawson Briscoe 18th, Allen 18th, Hood 18th, Jackson Burdge 19th, Preston Reyna 22nd, Jace Simms 23rd, Brody Ensten 25th.

The Keystone Kids wrestling club placed third at the Rumble in the Jungle tournament in Coweta over the weekend.

Hudson Waag, Hagan Wolfenberger, Sutton Hawley, Ryder Richardson, Ayreson Reiss, Ryker Dawes, Collin Randall, Brackton Upton, and Kydon Harness all won their brackets.

Dance

The Charles Page High School dance team took second place in 6A Small School Hip Hop at the OSDTDA State Championship on Saturday and the JV/JH team won its division.

Baseball

Sand Springs varsity baseball coach Matt Brown was recognized as the OBCA Region 7 Coach of the Year following the Sandites’ 31-8 season in 2022.

“Coach of the Year awards don’t happen without the best assistant coaches, great players, amazing families, and supportive administration,” tweeted Brown.

Football

Brody Rutledge was named the 6A-II District 2 Wide Receiver of the Year after catching 51 passes for 748 yards and eight touchdowns this season, averaging 14.7 yards per pass. He also had 18 carries for 131 yards and a score.

Jacob Blevins was also named an All-District receiver with 47 catches for 659 yards and four total touchdowns.

Drake Fain was named an All-District linebacker with 101 tackles. RJ Smittick was named an All-District defensive back with 64 tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Dominic Ornelas and Charles Gaylord made the All-District defensive line. Ornelas had 14 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. Gaylord had 33 tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Jabe Schlehuber (WR/DB) and Cody Cramer (DB) received Honorable Mentions. Schlehuber had 27 catches for 369 yards and three touchdowns, as well as two interceptions. Cramer also had two interceptions to go with 57 tackles.

Corbin Wooley Wins Bixby Open, Seven Sandites Medal

Wrestling

Corbin Wooley won first place and six other Sandites medalled at the Bixby Open on Saturday.

Wooley pinned his way through the junior high bracket without giving up a single point, and even took an 11-0 lead in the 132-pound finals before pinning Hayden White in 2:10.

Rylee Allen lost her first match to the eventual champion in junior high 117 but pinned her next three opponents to finish third. Colt Chambers took third in 126 with two pins, only losing to the bracket winner.

In high school action, Dawsen Briscoe placed fourth at 106 with one pin.

David Ritchey placed fourth at 120, losing his opening match to defending State Champion Christopher Kiser before pinning his next four opponents. He had to medical forfeit in the consolation finals, however.

Peyton Callis placed third at 165, outscoring his opponents 24-8 with one pin. His only loss came to the tournament champion and he won a 16-5 major decision in the consolation finals.

Kelsi Hilton placed third in the high school girls 140-pound bracket. She took a 4-2 lead against Broken Arrow’s Alexandrea Coombs but got stuck in the third period. She pinned her next two opponents and earned a rematch with Coombs in the finals, this time prevailing 10-4.

Youth Football

The Sand Springs sixth grade team wrapped up a successful 8-3 season Saturday, falling 35-20 at Verdigris (10-0). The Sandites won a 19-7 upset at Stillwater Gold (6-4) in the first round of the Indian Nations Conference AA playoffs on Tuesday before falling to the undefeated Cardinals.

The seventh-grade Sandites went 4-6 in the tough A division of the INFC this season, falling to top-seeded Jenks White (9-1) in the first round.

The fifth-grade Black team (5-6) won its first playoff game against Owasso Black on Thursday but fell to Lincoln Christian on Saturday. The Sandites are still alive in the consolation bracket and will play Bixby White Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at Jenks.

Soccer

Sand Springs 2022 graduate Karsen Lynch has been named a recipient of the West Side Alliance’s $1500 SoccerCity Senior Scholarship. Lynch was an All-State selection for the Sandites last season and is currently a freshman on the Rogers State University team, studying nursing.

Sand Springs Sports Roundup: Girls Basketball wins first playoff

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Inclement weather couldn’t stymie the Sandites for long, and the Charles Page High School girls basketball team rolled to a 70-50 win against Muskogee in the first round of the regional playoffs Saturday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

In a game that was originally scheduled for Thursday, the 6A-East No. 2 Sandites (20-3) won their eighth consecutive game to extend their season by an extra week against No. 15 Muskogee (2-14).

“They’re a good team,” said head coach Josh Berry. “They make shots and they don’t quit. You look at their record and you don’t see what they really are. They’re well-coached and they’re going to play hard.”

The Roughers held pace with the Sandites throughout the first half, entering the second quarter 12-12 and leading by as much as 23-19.

Journey Armstead and Kiaryn Taylor hit back-to-back three pointers to end the first half with a 35-29 advantage, however, and the Sandites never trailed again.

“We had everybody in foul trouble in the first half, but once we got in and got settled down, I think everything took care of itself,” said Berry. 

The two teams combined for 37 fouls overall and 22 in the first half, with 45 free throw opportunities. Muskogee made the most of their trips to the charity stripe, shooting 14-of-18, while the Sandites went 18-of-27.

Zhayn Mayes scored 17 to lead the Roughers, followed by Akira Eubanks with 16, but the Sandites had three double-digit scorers.

Armstead led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Hailey Jackson with 15 and Taiona Morris with 10. Morris also collected a team-high five steals, and Layne Kirkendoll added 9 points with 9 rebounds. 

“Layne did good tonight,” said Berry. “Kiaryn played well, Yanni (Taiona Morris) played well. It’s about that - different people stepping up and finding a way to win and I think we did that tonight. I think that’s a team effort.”

Next up for the Sandites will be a rematch with No. 7 Putnam City North (12-10), who won its game 53-47 in double overtime against No. 10 Ponca City (9-12). 

The Lady Sandites previously beat the Panthers 50-33 at the Jenks/Union tournament in January.

“Hopefully we guard and don’t let them shoot some open shots, and make some shots,” said Berry. 

“Tonight we made some shots and we haven’t done that in a long time either. We made quite a few threes. We need to continue to do that, continue to share the basketball, and play for each other.”

The regional championship will be played Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at Sand Springs, and both teams will advance to the area playoffs.

Boys Basketball

The No. 14 Sand Springs boys (5-17) had their Regional playoff game postponed to Monday at 8:00 p.m. The Sandites will play No. 3 Putnam City West (17-5) in an elimination game.

Wrestling

Mitchell Smith (30-7) placed third in the 145-pound bracket at the OSSAA 6A State Championship on Saturday. It was the junior’s third trip to state but his first medal, and he was the only Sandite to earn a medal.

Smith won his first match 2-1 but gave up a 7-4 decision to West Champion Layton Schneider in the semifinals. In consolation he won 6-3 against Bixby’s Caden Kelley and 3-2 against Yukon’s Boston Powell.

David Ritchey and Zander Grigsby both won their wrestle-in matches, Carter Goodman won his quarterfinal, and Blake Jones won a consolation match to help the team to a 13th place finish overall.

Six of the Sandites’ state qualifiers will return next year, with Jones being the lone senior. Jones wrapped up his career with an 82-42 record as a four-time State qualifier. 

Track and Field

Several Sandite alums competed in the Summit League Indoor Championship for Oral Roberts University on Saturday. 

Aden Baughman placed 8th in the 800 meter run. Joel Mackey placed 14th in the 60 meter and 15th in the 200. Mitchell Mefford placed 14th in the weight throw. 

Soccer 

The Lady Sandite soccer team is off to a strong start in preseason action, winning 4-0 against Sapulpa before sweeping the Skiatook scrimmage tournament and outscoring their foes 11-0. They suffered their first loss 1-0 at Owasso. 

The season will officially begin March 1st at home with non-district matches against Tulsa NOAH. The girls will play at 6:00 p.m. followed by the boys at 8:00 p.m.

Baseball

Sandite baseball took its first preseason loss, 13-5, at Owasso. The Sandites previously routed Glenpool 16-5, Tahlequah 8-0, and Lawton MacArthur 11-0, and tied Westmoore 2-2. Their season will begin March 1st at Guthrie.

Sandite Wrestling places sixth at Regionals with seven State qualifiers

Mitchell Smith finished second as the Sandites’ top placer.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School wrestling team finished in sixth place at the OSSAA 6A-East Regional in Stillwater on Saturday, qualifying seven Sandites for the State tournament next weekend in Oklahoma City.

“I felt like everybody wrestled hard,” said coach Jarrod Patterson. “We had a couple that came up a little bit short but I was very pleased with the effort that we put in. Everybody wrestled hard.”

The team saw a notable improvement over last year’s eighth place finish with four qualifiers, and the Sandites will be sending their largest lineup to State since Patterson took over the program in 2018.

“I think we’ve got a little bit more of a team type of atmosphere,” said Patterson. “Everybody’s watching every single match, cheering for guys.”

“They’re excited for each other, they’re excited for themselves. There’s a little bit more passion this year. I’m really excited about this group and the future.”

Junior Mitchell Smith (27-6) was the team’s highest finisher, placing second at 145 pounds with two pins and a 3-1 upset of the one-seed.

Carter Goodman (24-11) placed third at 160 after taking a break from wrestling last season. In the placement round he won a 6-4 decision against the Bixby wrestler who had beaten him 5-1 the day before. 

“Carter’s come up short a few times throughout the year, but man this tournament was a good one for him,” said Patterson. “He’s been working hard and just battling and staying in good position and had some really good matches.”

Blake Jones (11-6) placed third at 170 with three pins, and his only loss came to the tournament champion.

“Blake’s had a couple lingering injuries from football that we’ve been nursing throughout the season,” said Patterson. “But at this point it is what it is. He’s a senior and we’re going to push through it. That’s all we can do.” 

Sophomore stars Zander Grigsby (18-3) and Mason Harris (17-7) placed fourth at 120 and 220, respectively, and freshmen David Ritchey (20-12) and Jaxon “Scout” Trotter (20-11) placed fifth at 106 and 138, respectively.

Seniors Ethan Norton (23-15) and Brooks Dudley (21-11) placed sixth in their brackets, one win short of qualifying for State.

The State wrestling tournament will begin Friday, February 25th at 10:00 a.m. at State Fairgrounds Arena in Oklahoma City.