Sandite Weekly Sports Roundup: Girls Powerlifting Wins Meet, Wrestling Qualifies 9 for State

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The Sand Springs boys wrestling team took fifth place at the OSSAA 6A-East Regional Championship Saturday in Jenks, their highest mark since 2020.

The team qualified nine wrestlers for this weekend’s State Championship, the most since 2018.

The Sandites had a tough regional with nationally ranked Stillwater and Bixby, as well as perennial powerhouse Broken Arrow leading the pack. Owasso edged out the Sandites for fourth place with 147.5 points to 141.5.

Kase Skaggs was the lone finalist with a 6-0 semifinal upset against second-seeded Ponca City junior Jimmy Swenson to avenge a district loss at 106. In the finals he fell to nationally ranked Aydan Thomas from Stillwater.

Mitchell Smith took third place at 150 pounds, winning a 2-1 overtime tiebreaker against Broken Arrow’s Garrett Stinchcomb in the placement round.

Mason Harris placed third at heavyweight with a 4-2 sudden victory takedown against Broken Arrow’s Michael Cook.

Jaxon Trotter placed fourth at 157, losing only to nationally ranked LaDarion Lockett from Stillwater before medical forfeiting the placement round.

David Ritchey, Jayden Pait, Jesse Moore, Ethan White, and Hudson Sheppard placed fifth.

The State tournament will be held Friday and Saturday at Jim Norick Arena at the State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City.

The Lady Sandites didn’t have any State qualifiers in their first year, placing 42nd out of 64 schools at the OSSAA East Regional.

The Keystone Kids had several top performers at the OKWA Youth State Championship, placing third in Open 8U and ninth in Open 15U.

Hudson Waag, Hagan Wolfenberger, and Ryley Kester won State titles; Sutton Hawley was runner-up; Mason Londo, Karson Waag, and Jace Simms placed third.

Girls Powerlifting

The Lady Sandite powerlifting team won its second meet of the season at Chandler, beating the home team 161 to 110 in team points.

Jaden Jordan won her third meet of the year at heavyweight, taking first in bench at 160 pounds, first in deadlift at 390, and second in squat at 360.

Madison Thompson was runner-up at 220, placing second in squat at 305, second in bench at 150, and fourth in deadlift at 315.

Addily Shotwell was runner-up at 181, placing second in squat at 235, second in bench at 125, and fourth in deadlift at 270.

Gracie Worthington placed third and Olivia Alexander, Bailey Doughty, Kelsi Hilton, and Melanie Skelly placed fourth.

The girls will compete at the Regional Championship in Miami on Tuesday the 28th.

Soccer

The CPHS soccer teams started the preseason with a scrimmage sweep at Grove.

The boys won 4-0 behind two goals from Brian Boyles and one goal apiece from Eli Bise and Dawson Puckett. The girls won 3-0 with a hat trick from Ava Watts.

Both teams will return to action with home scrimmages against Collinsville Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.

Baseball

The Sandite baseball team won its first two scrimmages of the year 6-0 against Mannford and 18-10 against Westmoore.

Gage Elliott and Wyatt Rutledge combined for a nine-strikeout one-hitter against the Pirates on Friday and Rhen Rutledge went 1-of-2 at the plate with a triple, 3 RBI, and a run.

Jackson Turney, Dom Ornelas, and Alex Dudley had two hits apiece against the Jaguars, with Ornelas scoring a 3RBI homer.

The Sandites will travel to Owasso, Glenpool, and Edmond Santa Fe next week and will host Bartlesville on Tuesday and Bixby on Friday.

Sandite Wrestling Wins Glenpool Warrior Classic with 4 Champions

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The Charles Page High School wrestling team earned its first tournament title of the Ty Bowling era Saturday, crowning four champions at the 5th Annual Glenpool Warrior Classic.

The Sandites went 4-3 in the finals with Kase Skaggs, Mitchell Smith, Jaxon Trotter, and Mason Harris earning gold. No. 7 Sand Springs earned 219 team points to beat out No. 9 Owasso with 179.

“I think we finished the regular season strong,” said Bowling.

“We really wanted to go to (the Yukon tournament two weeks ago) but we were kind of beat up and we’d been going for a few weeks in a row so I felt like we needed to take that off and we really needed to get this one in right before the postseason started.”

Coincidentally, Bowling was previously the head coach at Glenpool, though this was the first time one of his teams would win the tournament

Skaggs breezed through the 106 bracket with three pins and 10-1 major decision in the finals against Owasso’s Elijah Cherry.

Smith won at 150 with five pins and a tech fall, outscoring his foes 45-8. He pinned Glenpool’s Michael Lohr in the finals and also reached a big milestone in the quarterfinals when he pinned Glenpool freshman Kevin Gruse for his 100th career victory.

“I watched all these other guys grow up and do it so it feels nice,” said Smith.

The senior has been battling a knee injury since the Jenks tournament but doesn’t see that slowing him down in the postseason.

“I’m feeling good, healthier, a lot better now. I’m excited about that too.”

Trotter didn’t give up a single point till the 157-pound finals, where he earned a 5-3 decision over Sapulpa’s Blake Hurt.

Harris was equally dominant at heavyweight, only giving up one point in the whole tournament before winning a 6-0 decision against Enid’s Seth Melvin.

David Ritchey, Jayden Pait, and Ethan White finished as runners-up. Colt Hood, Ali McCoy, and Connor Diaz placed fourth. Landon Castro and Jaden Allen placed fifth. Luke McGehee placed sixth.

The Sandites were also missing several starters in Hudson Sheppard, Zander Grigsby, Jesse Moore, and Matthew Moore, making the team title even more remarkable.

“The ones we brought, they were the ones who stepped up and wrestled hard,” said Bowling.

“Coach (Earl) Shockley does a good job of setting up JV duals and JV tournaments, so those guys are constantly wrestling. It’s a next-man-up mentality.”

Smith says the team spirits are high and feels confident going into Dual State and Regionals.

“We’re a lot happier than we have been in the past, more of a team than anything else.”

“He’s a great team leader,” Bowling said of Smith. “How he goes, that’s how the rest of the team’s gonna go. He sets the tone for us. He’s the leader in the room and out of the room so he’s a good one to have.”

Junior High

The Sand Springs boys placed seventh at the Junior High Allstate Tournament in Oklahoma City.

Ryley Kester and Kaden Pope placed third, Isaac Sensintaffar placed fourth, and Jaxon Grigsby and Kasen McAffrey placed sixth.

For the girls: Rylee Allen placed fourth and Stefanie Ortiz placed sixth.

Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Sand Springs Hosts First-Ever Girls Wrestling Tournament

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The Charles Page High School boys wrestling team (13-4) suffered a pair of tough losses last week, falling 35-21 to No. 4 Broken Arrow (9-2) on Tuesday and 62-10 to No. 2 Stillwater (11-1) on Thursday.

The Sandites will travel to No. 11 Owasso (4-7) on Tuesday before wrapping up the regular season at the Glenpool Warrior Classic over the weekend.

Sand Springs hosted its first ever girls wrestling tournament Friday at Clyde Boyd Middle School, drawing 22 varsity programs and 18 junior high squads.

Springdale Har-Ber won the inaugural high school tournament while Perry won the junior high event. Sand Springs placed sixth in varsity and fifth in junior high.

Bailey Copeland won the Sandites’ lone gold medal, pinning both of her opponents in the junior high 82-pound bracket.

In junior high: Rylee Allen placed second, Sawyer Briscoe and Ananiah King were fourth, Camden Carrison and Cailey Miller were fifth, and Lyla Waldren and Stefane Ortiz placed sixth.

Gracie Young and Kelsi Hilton led the varsity girls with runner-up performances. Laila Mirza placed fourth, Addily Shotwell was fifth, Madison Chambers placed sixth, and Kreedence Behnke was eighth.

The junior high boys took second place in a tight three-way race at the Ted Anderson Tournament in Edmond on Saturday. The Sandites finished only 13 points behind Bixby while edging out Broken Arrow by 1.5 points.

Kaden Pope and Hudson Sheppard won their brackets; Ryley Kester, Brady Moore, and Jaxon Grigsby were runners up; Kasen McAffery placed third; and Issac Sensintaffer finished fourth.

The Keystone Kids placed seventh out of 100 teams at the OKUSA Youth Wrestling State Championship with four champions and four runners-up.

Brackton Upton, Hagan Wolfenberger, and Jaxon Trotter all won their divisions while Hudson Waag, Karson Waag, and Bryson Pope were runners up. Kydon Harness was a double-finalist, winning in Beginner and placing second in Open.

Ryker Dawes, Collin Randall, Maddix Spencer, and Ayreson Reiss placed third. Brenntly Taylor, Eric Foust, Mason Londo, and Maddox Pope placed fourth.

Baseball

Sandite catcher Dominic Ornelas announced his commitment to Northern Oklahoma College at Enid Tuesday on Twitter. Also headed to NOC-Enid is pitcher and second baseman Jabe Schlehuber, who committed in November.

Football

Sand Springs seniors Kyle Morrall and Jacob Blevins announced their commitment to Northwestern Oklahoma State University. There they will be reunited with former Sandite assistant coach Jason Medrano, who recently took over as Offensive Coordinator for the Rangers.

Brody Rutledge, the Sandites’ leading receiver, committed to Northeastern State University on Tuesday. There he will join former Sand Springs teammates Gabe Brown, Landon Hendricks, and Blake Jones.

Luke Hooper Has Career Night in 60-33 Verdigris Rout

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Luke Hooper didn’t play basketball his junior year but he shook off any lingering rust Saturday afternoon in the Port City Classic consolation finals.

The 6-foot-4 power forward hit his stride for a career-best 12 points and 9 rebounds to lead Sand Springs (8-7) in a 60-33 romp against Verdigris (10-7) for fifth place in the Catoosa tournament.

“You don’t realize how much it can slip away from you, just getting back into basketball shape and timing,” said head coach Eric Savage.

“He’s a big body and does a good job rebounding. If we can get him scoring on offense like he was able to today then it’s really going to help us.”

The Sandites suffered a 69-61 loss to 4A No. 16 Catoosa (11-4) in the first round to cap a four-game losing streak, but snapped back with a 66-48 win over 5A No. 16 Claremore (8-7) in Friday’s consolation semifinals.

“We went through a tough stretch right there in a conference that’s arguably very tough,” said Savage.

Sand Springs lost conference games against Union and Owasso the prior week, and fell 72-50 to Jenks on Tuesday. Now back above .500, the Sandites will be looking to ride some momentum into their next week’s conference games.

“I think it does a lot for the players’ confidence and our team to be able to experience some success,” said Savage.

“I wish we would’ve got three (wins) this weekend, but to finish on two wins - hopefully we can build on that”

Several Sandites had notable performances on the weekend. Alijah Roper and Micahel Foster scored 13 apiece in the loss to Catoosa and Kade Holland had a career-best 12. Blake Johnson was a bucket shy of a double-double with 8 points and 11 boards.

“We’re getting better and guys are stepping up and realizing they can make plays during games,” said Savage. “We’re getting some maturity and growth out of those sophomores.”

The sophomores being Kooper Kelly, Zane Fueshko, Khalil Allen, and Johnson.

Foster led the team with 14 against Claremore and Roper added 10. Against Verdigris, Roper and Kelly had 10 apiece, Allen added 9, and Foster had 8 points and 10 rebounds.

In Tuesday’s game against Jenks it was Kelly with 11 and Allen with 10 to lead the team.

“Alijah’s been playing a lot better and he’s been really consistent for us this year - probably our most consistent,” said Savage. “We need Alijah playing like he played this tournament.”

“I think by the end of January, going into February, I’m hoping we’ll be hitting our stride and playing our best basketball.”

The Sandites will return to action Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. with a road game at No. 9 Booker T. Washington (9-4, 4-2) followed by a home battle against No. 1 Broken Arrow (14-0, 6-0) on Friday.

Girls

For only the second time this season, Hailey Jackson didn’t lead her team in scoring against No. 9 Jenks (9-4, 4-2) on Tuesday.

It wasn’t because she had an off-night - it was because her entire team was on fire.

Five Lady Sandites scored in double digits, each with impressive stat lines, in a 67-43 win that was arguably the best performance of the season for No. 10 Sand Springs (11-4, 4-2).

Freshman Calla Fueshko led her team with a career-high 16 points, going 4-of-6 from three-point range before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.

Sand Springs actually trailed 20-14 after the first quarter but Fueshko and Taiona Morris opened the second with a trio of treys to go up 23-20 and never relinquished the lead.

By halftime the home team led 37-29 and they used a 14-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to put the game to bed.

Jackson scored 15 points with 6 boards; Sakauri Wilson had 13 points, 3 steals, and 5 assists; Kiaryn Taylor had 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals; and Morris had 10 points with 6 boards, 3 steals, and 5 assists.

Jill Twiehaus led all scorers with 21 points for Jenks, but was held to only 4 in the second half.

Sand Springs will take to the road Tuesday against No. 4 Booker T. Washington (13-2, 5-1) before hosting No. 13 Broken Arrow (10-5, 4-2) on Friday.

Sakauri Wilson Leads Sandites to 48-47 Win Over Owasso

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Sakauri Wilson missed a floater with 14.3 seconds left in the game, but secured the rebound. After a brief timeout she was fouled by Kynlie Wilson and hit the go-ahead free throw to make it 48-47.

She missed the second three throw, but once again secured the rebound - her tenth on the night.

The junior earned her first career double-double with 13 points and helped propel No. 11 Sand Springs (10-4, 3-2) to a gritty conference win over No. 14 Owasso (6-5, 1-4).

All night long the 5’5” point guard came through in clutch moments due to her speed, ferocity, and fearlessness in matchups with players who easily outsized her.

“Our big needed help rebounding so it was my time to come in and help rebound, little or not,” said Wilson.

She also recorded three steals and five assists in a rematch of the Sandites’ 51-49 victory over Owasso in the Bishop Kelley Invitational finals.

“My mind was we can’t lose because if we lose, we’re not hosting (a Regional playoff),” said Wilson. “I really want to host and I want to make it to State with them. So that’s my goal. If I have to put my team on my back, then I’ll do it.”

“Once she understands how good she really is and how she can control the game, I think the sky's the limit for her,” said head coach Josh Berry.

Owasso stormed out to a 17-10 lead after the first quarter at the Ed Dubie Field House, but a trey from Kiaryn Taylor tied it up early in the second. The Sandites closed the half on a 9-1 run to make it 28-27.

Chrinasia Elbert put the Rams back on top to open the half and the Sandites didn’t regain the lead till Hailey Jackson hit a deep two to open the fourth on an inbound throw from Wilson.

The fourth quarter saw three tie scores and five lead changes but ultimately the Sandites held on for their 10th consecutive victory against the Rams. The Sandites are 4-0 in one-score games this season.

“I’ve been noticing we’ve got some resilience to us,” said Berry. “Early on, we didn’t fight like that when we got down. But now we’ve got a little resilience. I think they’re believing that we’ve got a chance to be a really good team.”

Jackson led all scorers with 21 points and is averaging 20.6 per outing this season. Makenna Yokley had 16 to lead Owasso.

The Sandites will return to action Tuesday with a home game against No. 9 Jenks (7-2, 4-1).

Owasso 54, Sand Springs 45 (boys)

Owasso (4-6, 2-3) needed a win. The Rams entered the Ed Dubie Field House unranked after losing four of their last five, and they found it in a 54-45 battle with No. 18 Sand Springs (6-5, 1-4).

“(Eric) Savage does a great job with his guys,” said Owasso coach Brian Montonati.

“We knew it was going to be a tough battle, so we’re extremely happy to get away with a win. We needed one of these.”

Brandon Mann scored the first two buckets of the game en route to a 12-point performance and the Rams never trailed in the first half, though a pair of late treys from Kooper Kelly cut it as close as 22-20.

The Sandites opened the third on a 10-point run, however, and a free throw from Blake Johnson gave the home team the lead at 30-29 with 2:38 in the quarter.

“I think we lost a little bit of focus,” said Montonati. “Sometimes that will happen with a young team.”

“I thought as the game went on we got the shots that we needed to get, we were getting to the free throw line, and we locked up on defense. We made a couple of different coverages on the pick-and-roll and it seemed to help us.”

Owasso rode a 13-point streak from the third into the fourth quarter, though Sand Springs once again got as close as 42-41 on a trey from Alijah Roper.

Freshman star and coach’s son Jalen Montonati kept his team out front, however, with a game-best 23-point performance, including 7 in the fourth quarter.

“It’s a blessing to be able to coach my son, but taking that away, he’s an extremely talented young man,” said Brian Montonati.

“When his shot gets going, it kind of changes the different coverages of our team. It was good to see him bounce back after being sick not playing for about a month, to finally start hitting some shots and playing the way we always thought he could play.”

The Rams will host 5A No. 16 Sapulpa (5-9, 1-4) Tuesday before traveling to the Bill Hanson Tournament in Pittsburg, Kansas over the weekend.

“I love the fight of this team,” said Brian Montonati. “I love the swagger of them.”

“We’ve been in some really big games against some really quality opponents and there hasn't been any fear in their eyes. So as long as we stay together, share the ball, play defense, and stay coachable, I think we could end this thing on a good note.”

Sand Springs 48, Owasso 47 (girls)
Sand Springs;10;18;10;10;--48.
Owasso;17;10;11;9–47.

Sand Springs: Jackson 21, Wilson 13, Morris 5, Taylor 5, Fueshko 2, Martin 2.
Owasso: Yokley 16, Austin 11, Elbert 10, McGarrah 8, Wilson 2.

Owasso 54, Sand Springs 45 (boys)
Owasso;15;12;10;17;--54.
Sand Springs;8;12;12;13;--45.

Owasso: Montonati 23, Mann 12, Williams 7, Lewis 5, McLemore 3, Harbaugh 2, Scott 2.
Sand Springs: Kelly 13, Roper 9, Allen 8, Foster 5, Johnson 5, Holland 3, Hooper 2.

Hailey Jackson Scores 26 as Sandites Defeat Union

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For the second straight year, the visiting Lady Sandite basketball team defeated the Union RedHawks behind Hailey Jackson’s scoring prowess.

Last season the senior only needed 10 points to guide her team in a 38-34 affair. On Tuesday she put up 26 to lead all scorers in a 50-42 nailbiter at the UMAC.

“I was a little off tonight, but I was able to keep it somewhat moving,” said Jackson, who exploded for 14 in the fourth quarter to stave off a Union rally.

No. 11 Sand Springs (9-4) improved to 2-2 in Frontier Valley Conference action against the unranked RedHawks (2-7), who dropped to 1-3.

Jackson surpassed 1,000 career points last weekend and her leadership has helped push the team forward while it struggles with injuries and sickness.

“She’s doing what she’s supposed to be doing,” said head coach Josh Berry. “She’s a special talent and she’s a special person.”

“We’re finally getting some pieces back that’ve been out. That’s another thing is just getting everybody healthy and getting everybody back and this thing in late February.”

Sand Springs opened on an 11-0 run and never trailed in the game, leading by as much as 13 in the third quarter, but could never fully pull away from a balanced RedHawk attack.

Yonae’ Edwards bookended a 12-3 Redhawk run to cut it as close as 16-13 midway through the second quarter before the Sandites ended the half with 9 unanswered points.

Union won the third quarter to make it 33-25 but Jackson’s fourth-quarter theatrics were too much to overcome.

Edwards scored 12 to lead the RedHawks and Vanessa Colemand and Jamiya Woodard added 10 apiece.

Sand Springs will host No. 14 Owasso (6-4, 1-3) Friday in a rematch of the Bishop Kelley Invitational finals, which Sand Springs won 51-49.

Boys - Union 60, CPHS 49

The No. 19 Union boys (5-5, 3-1) won their fifth straight meeting with No. 18 Sand Springs (6-4, 1-3) Tuesday behind a 19-point effort from Cedric Dixon.

Dixon’s three-point shooting combined with his team’s inside height advantage proved too much for the visiting Sandites, who fell 60-49 after leading through most of the first half.

“He’s our guy that we look for to make shots for us,” said head coach Rudy Garcia. “He does a pretty good job. He hit some big ones there late when we needed some shots.”

The Sandites went on an 11-3 run to close the first quarter up 14-11, but Miles Flemmons scored three buckets in a 7-point second-quarter streak to take a 23-20 lead and the RedHawks never relinquished it.

Union never led by more than eight in the third quarter and didn’t take its first double-digit lead till a bucket from Korbin Gunn with under four minutes in the game.

“Sand Springs has been playing well and we struggled a little bit early,” said Garcia. “I was happy with our defense for the most part. I thought our guys defended pretty well.”

Flemmons scored 12 and Gunn added 11 to put three RedHawks in double digits but the Sandites’ Kooper Kelly led all scorers with a career-best 20.

“I was proud of my guys,” said Garcia. “I thought they played hard tonight.”

The teams will get a rematch on February 14th at Sand Springs. Union will return to action Friday on the road at 5A No. 16 Sapulpa (5-8, 1-3)

(Girls)
CPHS;13;12;8;17;--;50.
Union;6;7;12;17;--;42.

CPHS: Jackson 26, Wilson 7, Martin 5, Morris 4, Taylor 4, Butler 2, Fueshko 2.
Union: Hishaw 12, Coleman 10, Woodard 10, Bettis 4, McSwain 4, Stith 2.

(Boys)
CPHS;14;8;13;14;--;49.
Union:11;16;14;19;--;60.

CPHS: Kelly 20, Roper 10, Johnson 6, Foster 5, Holland 4, Allen 4.
Union: Dixon 19, Flemmons 12, Gunn 11, Madrid 8, Gilayard 3, Chappelle 3, Miller 2, Bowen 2.