Sandite Cross Country Opens Season at Sapulpa, Kelsi Hilton and Cole Higgins Place 2nd

After dropping out of the Owasso Ram Relays on August 25th, the Sand Springs cross country program finally kicked off the season Saturday morning in Sapulpa.

The Lady Sandites didn’t have enough runners to earn a team place, but Kelsi Hilton placed second out of 73 runners with a time of 12:48.27 in the two-mile.

The varsity boys also didn’t have a full lineup, but Rafi Huff turned in an impressive time of 11:42.37 for 14th place out of 86 runners in the two-mile race.

The junior varsity boys placed fourth out of five teams, led by Kordel Hartmann with a two-mile time of 12:26.41 for 11th place out of 86 runners.

The junior high boys made a strong showing in the one-mile, finishing in fourth place out of 16 teams with an average time of 6:18.11. Cole Higgins took second place out of 198 runners with a time of 5:22.03 to lead the Sandites.

Anderson Schools, also located in Sand Springs, took 10th place in the junior high boys race, led by Jonathan Reeve with a 6:09.74 time for 33rd place.

Anderson’s junior high girls team took seventh place out of 13 teams, led by Tindle Smith in 6:21.74 for 12th place out of 167 runners.

The Sand Springs junior high girls didn’t have enough runners to earn a team place in the one-mile run, but Mya Wagers turned in an impressive time of 6:47.14 for 26th place.

The Sand Springs elementary boys placed sixth out of 12 teams in the one-mile run with an average time of 7:18.77, led by Kellen Adkins with a time of 6:34.86 for ninth place out of 160 runners.

Anderson Elementary took eighth place in the boys run with an average time of 7:30.31. Ezra Gibson led the Trojans with a time of 6:39.17 for 13th place.

Anderson took fifth place out of 11 teams in the one-mile elementary girls run with an average time of 8:03.16, led by Carlin Gibson in 14th place with a time of 7:31.78.

The Sand Springs elementary girls took 10th place with an average time of 8:47.79. Kinley Snow led the little lady Sandites with a time of 7:51.18 for 29th place out of 151 runners.

Sandite Cross Country will return to action at the Booker T. Washington Invitational on Thursday at O’Brien Park. Varsity girls will start the meet at 3:30 p.m., followed by varsity boys, junior varsity, and middle school.

The Anderson junior high will return to action Friday at Claremore at 10:30 a.m.

Sand Springs Varsity Boys
14th - Rafi Huff - 11:42.37
16th - Dallas Potter - 11:43.92
19th - Anshun Syong - 11:49.85

Sand Springs Junior Varsity Boys
11th - Kordel Hartmann - 12:26.41
26th - Jessen Cox - 13:17.53
28th - Dax Wilcox - 13:25.65
31st - Jaxon Perry - 13:35.55
36th - Gavin Corbin - 13:53.40
38th - Gabriel Baker - 13:59.03
47th - Malachi Waldrup - 14:29.02
62nd - Rhys Foster - 16:23.80

Sand Springs Varsity Girls
2nd - Kelsi Hilton - 12:48.27
40th - Blakelee Meeker - 16:17.10

Sand Springs Junior High Boys
2nd - Cole Higgins - 5:22.03
16th - Corbin Wesson - 5:40.99
25th - Kade Sargent - 6:02.67
43rd - Presley Quinnelly - 6:17.90
149th - Dean Ernest - 8:06.95

Sand Springs Junior High Girls
26th - Mya Wagers - 6:47.14
66th - Rowen Hull - 7:36.82
129th - Vivian Farr - 9:03.69

Sand Springs Elementary Boys
9th - Kellen Adkins - 6:34.86
31st - Karson Waag - 7:10.23
42nd - Stu Grona - 7:23.28
46th - Wyatt Snow - 7:36.21
58th - Hudson Waag - 7:49.28
73rd - Rylan Snow - 7:59.42
75th - Wyatt Goode - 8:02.95
89th - Mark Garner - 8:13.39
105th - Dante Alvarez - 8:34.93
132nd - Gage Fadenrecht - 9:36.87
141st - Noah Tackett - 10:24.82
146th - Liam Kinman - 10:51.80
152nd - Fisher Abbott - 11:06.80

Sand Springs Elementary Girls
76th - Starr Corbin - 8:42.47
80th - Makenna Cox - 8:49.79
91st - Anna Voight - 9:11.45
97th - Melanie Kinser - 9:24.05
102nd - Scout Hartmann - 9:37.97
105th - Kyall Mcaffrey - 9:48.23
108th - Katherine Stuckey - 10:04.15
124th - Brekyn Isham - 10:34.27
142nd - Ashlyn Snow - 11:36.21
151st - Claire Pilk - 12:24.38

Anderson Junior High Boys
33rd - Jonathan Reeve - 6:09.74
48th - Joshua Deeringwater - 6:21.03
110th - Jack Mundy - 7:20.88
111th - Gage Berkowitz - 7:21.06
113th - Jackson Mercy - 7:23.08
114th - Alex Roy - 7:23.08
179th - Camden Bartell - 9:21.39

Anderson Junior High Girls
12th - Tindle Smith - 6:21.74
13th - Brooklynn Bozone - 6:22.45
14th - Avery Mercy - 6:25.26
85th - Emily Logan - 8:01.43
92nd - Lyla Hansen - 8:07.14
140th - Bella Steelman - 9:31.89
143rd - Maddie Burke - 9:49.86
159th - Tatum Frits - 11:15.36

Anderson Elementary Boys
13th - Ezra Gibson - 6:39.17
39th - Elliott Gibson - 7:21.78
52nd - Wyatt Lightle - 7:44.40
60th - Michael Gragg - 7:51.26
66th - Cooper Lisicki - 7:54.93
85th - Zander Hefele - 8:09.93
92nd - Cain McCalip - 8:17.54
94th - Waylon Lightle - 8:21.88
103rd - Kiptyn Reeve - 8:30.74
104th - Grayson Shoopman - 8:31.22
109th - Lincoln Bozone - 8:38.42
115th - Joseph Parsell - 8:52.40
138th - Jaxon Couffer - 10:18.95
143rd - Elijah Ray - 10:39.24
145th - Colton Bartell - 10:50.66
154th - Vandon Flynn - 11:21.57
156th - Praxton Flynn - 11:31.36
159th - Royce Hefele - 12:05.58

Anderson Elementary Girls
14th - Carlin Gibson - 7:31.78
26th - Catherin Mundy - 7:44.89
33rd - Sterling Reeve - 7:58.39
45th - Saylor Harmon - 8:11.17
78th - Josaline Reeve - 8:49.57
84th - Beighly Ray - 8:56.46
99th - Lilly Martin - 9:29.39
115th - Sophia Reyna - 10:13.22
141st - Presley Graham - 11:31.62
148th - Hallie Graham - 12:15.00

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 Wrestling Falls 59-12 to Bixby at Dual State

The Charles Page High School wrestling team ended the dual season with a 59-12 loss to nationally ranked Bixby (18-3) in the first round of the Dual State tournament Friday in Enid.

The Spartans took a 35-0 lead before heavyweight Mason Harris won a 2-0 decision against Garrett Ritter. Kase Skaggs won a 5-1 decision against Chase Dyer and David Ritchey pinned Tucker Clark to make it 35-12, but the Spartans won the final four matches by fall.

The Sandites ended the year with a 13-5 record, their best mark since 2019.

Sand Springs will return to action at the OSSAA 6A-East Regional Friday at Jenks. The Sandites placed sixth in Regionals last season and will be looking to crown their first Regional Champion since 2019.

Youth

The Keystone Kids wrestling club competed at the OKWA Northwest Regionals in Newkirk on Saturday and won the Open 15U category. The Keystone Kids had ten total champions, including several members of the Charles Page High School team.

Ayreson Reiss, Preston Reyna, Jace Simms, Hagan Wolfenberger, Isaac Sensintaffar, Hudson Waag, Na’Kya Canady, Karson Waag, Sutton Hawley, Ryley Kester all won their divisions.

Kason Wolfe, Ryker Dawes, Trey Tunnell, and Kydon Harness finished as runners-up; Mason Londo, Audree Robinson, and Rowdy Ash placed third; Holden Yingst, Maddix Spencer, Carsten Reiss, and Hunter Fields placed fourth; Ethan Schueler placed fifth; and Joshua Compton placed sixth.

All top-eight finishers qualified for the 45th annual OKWA State Championship that will be held February 17-18 at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion.

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

View fullsize

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.

View fullsize

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 Sports Weekly Roundup: Kelsi Hilton wins Diamond State Tournament

The Sand Springs girls varsity wrestling team took 25th place at the Inola tournament over the weekend with two medalists. Kelsi Hilton took second place at 130 pounds with three pins while Kreedence Behnke placed sixth at 100.

The junior varsity boys placed 10th at Inola with two medalists. Ayreson Reiss scored two pins and a technical fall in a runner-up performance at 106. Preston Callis was runner-up at 165 with four pins.

Hilton took first place at the Diamond State Lady Invitational over winter break, pinning three opponents for her first regular season title.

Laila Mirza and Madison Chambers placed third, Gracie Young was fourth, and Addilly Shotwell and Kreedence Behnke were sixth in Springdale.

The Keystone Kids crowned seven champions and 10 runners-up at the Bedlam Battle in Stillwater.

Brackton Upton, Maddix Spencer, Bryson Pope, Kasen McAffrey, and Trey Tunnell all won their divisions while Kydon Harness won in two divisions.

Jett Galloway, Na’Kya Canady, Caemon Young, Ryker Dawes, Jayce Parks, Eric Foust, Hudson Waag, Carsten Reiss, Wes Wilson, and Samuel Moore all took second place.

Boys Basketball

The Sand Springs varsity boys (6-3) have already matched last season’s win total with a third-place performance at the East Central Classic in Ada over the weekend.

On Thursday the Sandites won 51-42 against Ardmore (4-7) behind a 13-point performance from Michael Foster and 11 points from Blake Johnson.

They slipped against host Ada (8-3) on Friday, however, in a close 46-43 battle after leading 26-18 at halftime and 34-29 to start the fourth. Kooper Kelly scored 11 to lead the Sandites.

In the placement round Kelly was once against the team leader with 11 points in a 53-45 win over 3A No. 8 Hugo (10-4). Kelly was named to the All-Tournament team.

Girls Basketball

Hailey Jackson became the second player under Josh Berry to join the 1,000 point club at Sand Springs as the Lady Sandites (8-4) placed sixth at the Putnam City Invitational.

The senior star scored 28 in a 50-46 loss to No. 17 Norman North (6-5) on Thursday and added 17 in a 49-34 win over Muskogee (2-6).

In Saturday’s placement match with 4A No. 7 Harding Prep (12-2) Jackson scored 25 and put herself over the 1,000 mark with a third-quarter free throw. The Sandites lost that game 57-47.

Sakauri Wilson scored 13 and Kiaryn Taylor added 12 in the win over Muskogee, and Wilson added 17 against Harding.

Sandite basketball will return to action with conference road games at Union on Tuesday and will host Owasso on Thursday.

Football

Several Sandite football players are receiving college offers. Jacob Blevins, Kyle Morrall, and Ryley Kester have all been recruited by Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

Former Sandite offensive line coach Jason Medrano has been hired as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at NWOSU.

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.