Lady Sandites Beat Stillwater, Advance to Area Playoffs

For the ninth time in the past decade, the Lady Sandite basketball team is advancing to the Area playoffs Thursday night at Sapulpa at 7:30 p.m.

6A-East No. 6 Sand Springs (17-8) is scheduled to play its fourth game of the year against No. 7 Owasso (13-11) after the two teams finished as runners-up in their regions.

The winner of that game will play the loser of No. 1 Booker T. Washington (19-5) vs. No. 5 Broken Arrow (17-8) Saturday at 1:30 p.m. for a ticket to the State Tournament.

Sand Springs won 58-43 against No. 11 Stillwater (8-16) in the first round of the Norman regional on Thursday with three Lady Sandites in double digits. Hailey Jackson scored 19, Sakauri Wilson scored 15, and Kiaryn Taylor added 12.

On Saturday, however, No. 3 Norman (19-4) extended its win streak to nine with a 63-36 victory.

The host Tigers went on a 14-0 run to end the first quarter up 16-3 and though the rest of the game was closer, the Sandites could never muster a comeback attempt

“There were a lot of things that we missed tonight - a lot of opportunities that we let go,” said head coach Josh Berry.

“If you want to win, you’ve got to make those plays in these games.”

Sand Springs struggled with accuracy, shooting only 26% in the field, and also faced a distinct size advantage as the average Norman starter had three inches on the average Sandite starter.

“We showed it earlier in the year, beating some good teams,” said Berry. “When we play together we can beat anybody in the state.”

“But when we don’t, and we play like today where we’re not in one accord, then we can be beat by anybody.”

The team initially funneled its offense through Jackson as the six-foot senior took seven shots before any other Sandite attempted one. The Tigers often two-manned her in the paint, however, and Jackson didn’t get hot till the second half when she scored 12 of her game-best 17.

Wilson got rolling in the second quarter, where she scored all eight of her points, but was shut down in the second half.

By halftime the Tigers led 30-13 and pushed their advantage to 45-21 entering the fourth.

Nessa Begay and Kayla Jones scored 16 to lead Norman, followed by Keeley Parks with 12.

“We missed a lot of transition baskets and transition opportunities that we had early on and it just dug us in a hole,” said Berry.

“Defensively we missed some things and we just dug that hole too early and it’s hard to get out of that with this group. And we shot the ball bad. We couldn’t buy a bucket.”

On Thursday the Owasso Rams will be looking to snap an 11-game losing streak against the Sandites that dates back to 2018. The Sandites won the first three meetings this year 51-49, 48-47, and 45-36.

“That’s a good team, well coached,” said Berry. “We’ve got to go out there and play because this is a brand new game and a brand new season. Win or go home time.”

“We’ve just got to relax, have fun, enjoy each other, trust each other, believe in each other.”

Boys

The 6A-East No. 11 boys (10-13) suffered a 61-48 defeat against No. 6 Moore (17-6) in the Regional knockout round Friday at Bixby.

The Lions went on a 14-0 run to end the first quarter up 21-7 and the Sandites never recovered despite winning the fourth quarter 20-10.

Alijah Roper scored a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers but was the only Sandite in double digits.

Moore was led by Tristan Hankins with 19, Darian Grant with 15, and Malachi Lee with 11.

The Sandites have missed out on making it to Area the last two seasons but have made it past the first round of Regionals 7 out of the last 10 seasons and are poised for success next year as they return 3 of 5 starters and 65% of their scoring power.

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

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 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.

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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.

Sandite Basketball Homecoming Spoiled by Broken Arrow

Sand Springs saw its Homecoming festivities dampened in a pair of varsity losses to Broken Arrow Friday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

The unranked boys brought a fight to undefeated No. 1 Broken Arrow, holding the Tigers to their lowest-scoring performance of the season in a 52-33 loss.

The No.9 Lady Sandites (11-5, 4-3) fell in a close 46-43 affair after erasing an early 15-point second quarter deficit.

No. 11 Broken Arrow (11-6, 5-3) led 30-17 at halftime but the Sandites dominated the third quarter and Kiaryn Taylor gave the home team the lead to open the fourth.

“We hadn’t played in a while,” said head coach Josh Berry, whose team was dealt a nine-day gap between games after Tuesday’s trip to Booker T. Washington was canceled for inclement weather.

“We haven’t played since last Tuesday. You can only go against each other so much and you can only do so much to keep that concentration. I think that time off hurt us.”

“Once we kind of got settled in and played some team basketball, I think that’s when we kind of got things going. Early on we missed shots, but they weren't great shots we were taking.”

The biggest struggle on the night was containing 5-ft-10 guard McKenzie Mathurin, a heavily recruited Division I prospect who exploded for 18 points in the first half.

In the second half the Sandites held Mathurin to only one field goal but sent her to the charity stripe for seven points in the fourth quarter.

A three-pointer from Calla Fueshko cut it as close as 45-42 with 6.2 seconds left but the Sandites were unable to find enough magic to pull ahead.

Mathurin finished with 28 points to lead all scorers while the Sandites were led by Hailey Jackson with 15 points and six rebounds.

“As long as we learn to play the style that we want to play and play together and trust each other, then we’re gonna be fine,” said Berry.

“The playoffs are going to seed themselves and we still have a good chance of getting a good seed if we take care of business down the stretch.”

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday at Bartlesville at 6:30 p.m.. The Booker T. Washington game has been rescheduled for Thursday at 5:00 p.m. and the Sandites will also travel to Muskogee on Friday.

(Boys) BAHS 52 CPHS 33

The Sand Springs boys (8-8, 1-6) did their best to keep the game close against No. 1 Broken Arrow (16-0, 8-0) but couldn’t keep up with the undefeated Tigers.

The Sandites never led, but only trailed by 14 to enter the fourth quarter before Broken Arrow went on a 7 point run.

Alijah Roper led all scorers with 16 and Luke Hooper added 10, but no other Sandites scored more than 2.

Oklahoma State-signee Connor Dow had a quiet night with only four points, but Justice Sutton filled in handily with 14 points to lead a balanced Tiger offense with eight players in the scorebook.

Mitchell Smith Secures District Title for Sandites in 39-34 Win over Ponca City

After missing out the past two years, Sand Springs is headed back to Dual State thanks to straight toughness and senior leadership.

With one match left in the Sandites’ district dual against No. 11 Ponca City, Sand Springs trailed 34-33. It all came down to Mitchell Smith at 150 pounds.

With a knee injury that many would consider season-ending, the senior put his team on his shoulders and came out with a pin of Braden Perciful in 30 seconds to secure the 39-34 victory.

“We needed him big time,” said head coach Ty Bowling.

“I said, ‘Hey. The score is close enough. We don’t need anything big, we just need to go out and get a win.’ He goes out and finds a pin. That’s huge for us. Senior leadership.”

“We haven’t gone to dual state since my freshman year, so this is big,” said Smith. “We had some bad losses the past two years, to teams we all felt like we should have beat, so it’s nice to win like this.”

Sand Springs went on to win 46-27 against Edmond Deer Creek and 48-25 against No. 13 Union to clinch its 18th District Championship Tuesday evening at the UMAC.

“Straight toughness,” said Bowling. “We had a handful of injuries. It’s January, that’s what wrestling is. We’ve got guys with bad ankles, bad knees, so they dug deep, a lot of toughness. They battled. They showed that they wanted it.”

“We’ve been looking toward these duals all season. We knew Ponca City was the defending champ, we know what they had coming back. We knew it was going to take all 14 doing their job, whether it was finding bonus, not giving up bonus, or just going out and just gritting out a win.”

Four Sandites went undefeated at the quad, including Jaxon “Scout” Trotter, who had to start each dual at 157 pounds.

“We usually start at 106 and we started all three duals at 157,” said Bowling. “He had three tough matches and came away with three wins, so he started us off right every time.”

Freshman Hudson Sheppard and junior Mason Harris also went undefeated, winning all three of their matches by fall.

“I’m just excited,” said Harris. “It’s my first time and I just want to know what it’s like. I was one year off from knowing what it’s like so I’m just excited to bring Sand Springs back into it.”

“We have a few injuries right now that are still healing up. By the time those heal back up we’re going to be even more dominant than we are now.”

Smith won both of his matches as well. With a 46-21 lead against Deer Creek, the Sandites forfeited Smith’s weight, but the senior insisted on wrestling against Union, where he collected a 31-second pin.

“I really wanted to,” said Smith. “I wanted to wrestle the second match as well, but my coach told me not to because he didn’t want to risk it, which is fair but I’m not a big fan of sitting on the bench and watching my teammates wrestle, so I tried to get some matches in as well.”

The Sandites still have a few tough duals left before Dual State, and will host No. 4 Broken Arrow (8-1) Tuesday for Homecoming and No. 2 Stillwater (10-1) on Thursday.

The varsity boys took the weekend off but the varsity girls and junior varsity boys competed at the Morey Villareal Memorial tournament at Will Rogers High School.

The JV boys won the tournament against a field of mostly varsity competitors, topping Bartlesville 207 to 194.5.

Dawson Briscoe won the 106-pound bracket with five pins, Brody Ensten won at 157 with two pins, and Peyton Callis won at 165 with four pins.

Colt Hood, Landen Horton, and Christopher Cooper were runners-up and Jackson Burdge, Preston Reyna, Brock O’Dell, Dallas Flores, and Cash Lucas took third place.

Madison Chambers took first place, Gracie Young was second, and Kreedence Behnke was third to lead the girls varsity to a fifth-place finish.

Youth

Gage Fadenrecht, Ryker Dawes, Collin Randall, Brackton Upton, Hunter Sims, Kase Skaggs, and Jace Simms all won their brackets at the Broken Arrow Wrestlemania tournament, representing the Keystone Kids.

Luke Hooper Has Career Night in 60-33 Verdigris Rout

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.