Josh Berry Departs for Union, Paige Wadley Named New Head Coach

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Charles Page High School girls basketball coach Josh Berry was recently announced as the new head coach at Union, and Paige Wadley was named his replacement.

Berry led the Sandites to two State Tournament appearances in five years, finishing his tenure as a Sandite with an 89-38 record.

“First, I have to give all thanks to my Lord and Savior. without him and his blessing, this wouldn't be possible,” Berry posted on Facebook.

“I have to thank my cphs family admin, faculty, support staff, athletic dpt, and fellow coaches for the amazing love and support these 5 years for myself and the program. Special thanks to the student body and community for the support and love every game. I have to give special thanks to the parents these 5 years wouldn't have been successful without your buy-in. thanks to my coaches and trainers for their time and dedication to the program. Thank you to my family for being there through my ups and downs of the seasons.”

“Last with small 😢 my players. These 5 years have been special to me. It didn't take me long to know why God did his thing and placed me with y'all and y'all with me. I'm forever grateful for each of you. You all have made me a better coach, person, and father. I will always be thankful for my time at SS. With much love.”

Ten days later, Sand Springs athletic department coordinator Paige Wadley was announced as his successor.

Wadley went 32-39 in three seasons as head coach at Rejoice Christian from 2020-2023 before joining the Sandite staff. She was previously an assistant at Rejoice and Owasso High School, where she won a State Championship with the Rams in 2018.

“Feeling incredibly blessed and humbled by the overwhelming support from everyone as I take on this new position,” posted Wadley.

“Huge thanks to the administration at Sand Springs for entrusting me with this opportunity to lead such an amazing program. A special shoutout to Coach Josh Berry for the incredible foundation he's built here at SS – I'm honored to take over and continue building on the success he has achieved. It's amazing to see God at work, guiding my journey and shaping my story. I had the pleasure of meeting my new team yesterday, and I love them already. Coaching has always been what I’ve felt called to do and I'm beyond excited about the journey ahead!”

Wadley is a 2001 graduate of Savanna High School where she won a State Championship in 2000 and was runner-up as a senior before playing collegiately at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Sand Springs has become a perennial contender in girls’ basketball, posting nine consecutive winning records with four Regional championships, four Area championships, two Frontier Valley Conference championships, and ten regular season tournament titles in that time.

Bob Banfield to be Inducted into OBCA Hall of Fame

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Bob Banfield (Far Right) pictured with the 2010-2011 girls basketball team that made it to the state tournament.

Former Charles Page High School girls basketball coach Bob Banfield will be inducted into the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on June 1st.

Banfield coached at Sand Springs for five seasons from 2007 to 2012 and amassed a 53-55 record with three winning seasons and one trip to the State tournament, in 2011.

The OBCA recently announced Banfield as one of five inductees who will be celebrated with a banquet and ceremony at the Hilton Garden Inn Edmond/OKC North Conference Center.

Doors will open at 11:00 a.m. for a meet and greet social hour for family and friends to conclude at 12:00 p.m. Tickets are available online for $37 per person and will be available at the door at an increased price of $50 per person. The online ticket link will close one week prior to the event on May 25th. The OBCA Hall of Fame Banquet is held during OBCA All Star Game Weekend sponsored by BSN Sports.

2024 OBCA Hall of Fame Class

Bob Banfield has coached high school and college basketball for 44 years. His coaching career started at Creighton University as a graduate assistant. His career then took him to Idaho Southern as an assistant coach and Arizona Western Junior College as a head coach, winning three conference championships before becoming the head coach at Oklahoma Baptist University for seven seasons. While at OBU he was named the Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1984 when his men's team won the Southern Athletic Conference championship that season. Coach Banfield was inducted into the OBU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996. After OBU, Banfield coached at Shawnee High School for 17 years, followed by stops at Stroud, Sand Springs and Mannford high schools. He has amassed 649 wins overall in his coaching career with three trips to the state tournament. He was the OCA All-State coach in 2006. Bob Banfield played for Eddie Sutton at Tulsa Central High School and was a graduate assistant for him at Creighton. Coach Banfield’s son, Mike, is the current boys basketball coach at Mannford.

Ross Davis coached high school basketball at Waurika, Velma-Alma and Calera. His teams reached the state tournament five times, culminating in a state championship at Velma-Alma in 1984 after being the runner-up in 1983. His Calera teams reached the state tournament in 1994 and 1995 and he took Waurika to the state tournament in 1981. He won 421 games in his career. He was named the OCA Region 5 Coach of the Year twice. He coached both the All-State game in 1989 and Faith 7 game in 1995 and was inducted into the OCA Hall of Fame in 2017. Coach Davis is also a member of the Bryan County Athletics Hall of Fame. Ross Davis coached both Kevin Rehl (Velma-Alma) and Jay Mauck (Calera) during their high school careers. His son, Jimmy Davis, (Velma-Alma) led the Comets to the state championship in 1984.

Harly Day coached Chickasha to two State Championships in 1953 and 1955, and his team was the State Runner-Up in 1954. He was inducted into the OCA Hall of Fame in 1997 and has been named to several other Hall of Fames for Chickasha Public Schools, Chickasha Athletics, and the Grady County Administrators. He was the Chickasha High School principal from 1953 to 1977. Day was a member of the University of Oklahoma Men’s Basketball team that finished NCAA Runner-Up to Holy Cross in 1947. An All State basketball player himself in 1940 and 1941 at Ada High School, in 1975 he was named to the Jim Thorpe “All Decade” team for the 1940’s. The street near the Chickasha School campus bears his name as well as the Chickasha high school basketball court. Harly Day coached fellow OBCA and OCA Hall of Famer Jerry Jobe during his high school career.

Larry Gipson coached both Northeastern Oklahoma State University (NSU) and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (NEO) to national championships in 2003 and 1989, respectively. His college coaching career record is 561-358. He was voted the National Coach of the Year three times and conference Coach of the Year five times. He was a coach at the USA Basketball Trials in the summer of 2003. Gipson was also the head coach at the University of Toledo. Gipson was appointed by his peers as the President of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in April 2012. Gipson’s coaching career began as a graduate assistant at the University of Tulsa under famed coach Nolan Richardson. Coach Gipson coached current NSU men's basketball coach Ja Havens as well as current Rogers State coach Justin Barkley at NSU.

Gary Hendrix coached 37 years in Oklahoma, making stops at Mounds, Fort Gibson, Canadian, Pryor and Hilldale. He won 716 games during his coaching career. His 1985 Mounds team won the Class 2A state championship. Both his 2016 and 2017 Fort Gibson teams were the Class 4A state runners-up. Coach Hendrix’s teams reached the state tournament 12 times, were regional champions 28 times and district champions 30 times. Coach Hendrix was also elected to the OCA Hall of Fame in 2023. He was the Faith 7 coach in 1994 and the OCA All-State game coach in 1996. Coach Hendrix’s first assistant coach at Fort Gibson was Jerry Walker, who would coach Fort Gibson girls to several state championships and is also in the OCA Hall of Fame.

Sandites Win First Regional Championship Since 2011

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For the first time since 2011, the Charles Page High School baseball team is headed back to State after knocking off Union 2-0 Wednesday afternoon in the Regional finals.

Sand Springs (27-11) went 3-0 in the tournament, eliminating the host RedHawks (22-16) who had to battle back from the losers’ bracket to get to Wednesday’s game.

“It feels amazing,” said senior pitcher Kayden Campbell, who earned the win on the mound. “I’m still shocked.”

Campbell pitched a complete game, surrendering only five hits with two strikeouts and no walks.

“Kayden has been so good for us for so many years that there’s nobody else that we wanted to have the ball here besides him,” said fifth-year head coach Matt Brown. “He threw exactly like I thought he would. He’s been great all year.”

Campbell (6-2) had already defeated the RedHawks once, a 7-4 non-district meeting in March. A familiar opponent and the Sandites’ suffocating defense helped him keep his nerves down in the big game.

“I just knew I had my brothers behind my back,” said Campbell. “I knew they were making defensive plays and I just had to throw it in the strike zone. That’s all I was really worried about - just throwing it in the strike zone and let the big things come.”

Sand Springs turned three double plays over the course of the game and committed zero errors, only allowing the RedHawks into scoring position once.

“We’ve got really good athletes out there and they play great in the biggest moments,” said Brown.

Easton Webb was hit by pitch to lead off the third inning, advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt from Gatlin Gunn and third on a passed ball before scoring on a fly out by Jace Arnold.

Union had a chance to tie it with a runner at third in the bottom of the fourth, but Alex Dudley turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning, his second double play of the game, and followed it up with a leadoff line-drive triple to right field.

The Sandites were unable to capitalize on their fifth-inning opportunities though, as Dudley was thrown out at home on a fielder’s choice. Webb and Gunn drew walks to load the bases, but Arnold grounded into a double play.

Boston Kissee tagged up on a fly out by Miller Tavaglione to pad the lead in the top of the sixth. Union put one runner on base in the bottom of the inning but Arnold turned the Sandites’ third double play of the game, tagging the runner on his way to second before making the throw to first.

After two pop-outs in the seventh, Dylan Baldridge gave the RedHawks hope with a single, but was left stranded to end their season when Arnold snagged a line drive at second.

Sand Springs hosted Regionals the past two years and was a game away from the State tournament each time, but came up two runs short each time.

Last year the Sandites snagged their first district title in school history and this year they snagged their first Regional title in over a decade.

“It’s all about the kids,” said Brown. “The kids win and lose the games. The kids have turned this program into what it is now and I’m just so proud of them. The guys before them paved the road, and these guys got it done.”

The Minutemen have never won a gold ball, settling for runner-up in their only finals appearance in 1978. The boys in black and gold will be looking to make history next weekend.

Sandites Dominate Bishop Kelley and Bartlesville in Regional Playoffs

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The Charles Page High School baseball team rode its aces to a pair of blowout wins in the first two games of the Regional playoffs Tuesday, while an upset loss for host Union has given the Sandites a strong chance to make their first State Tournament appearance since 2011.

The RedHawks (21-15) were stunned 2-1 by Bartlesville (13-21) in the first game of the tournament, though they battled back in the elimination match with a 4-2 win over Bishop Kelley (13-21) to keep their season alive.

Sand Springs (26-11) took care of business with a 13-1 win over the Comets behind the arm of Arizona State-committed senior Eli Buxton (5-3), who pitched a six-inning one-hitter with three walks and nine strikeouts.

Sutton Cook led a dominant offensive performance, going 2-of-4 with three runs and one RBI while Kayden Campbell, Alex Dudley, and Buxton also had two-hit performances.

The Sandites did most of their scoring in chunks, trailing 1-0 till a four-run fourth inning, a five-run fifth, and a four-run seventh.

Gatlin Gunn pitched one inning of relief with one strikeout and no runners allowed on base.

In game two the Sandites prevailed 8-1 against Bartlesville behind a two-hit, five-inning performance from sophomore Oklahoma State commit Easton Webb (6-1), who struck out eight with four walks. Webb also hit a solo homer in the fourth for his only at-bat of the day.

Gunn went 3-for-3 at the plate with one run and one RBI. Campbell was 2-of-4 with a run and two RBIs while Miller Tavaglione went 2-of-4 for two runs and an RBI.

Sand Springs scored a trio of runs in the third and added a run in both the fourth and sixth innings before pushing its lead to 8-0 in the seventh.

Wyatt Rutledge pitched the sixth inning and fanned all three batters, while Jace Arnold closed things out with three hits and one strikeout.

An RBI single from Jaxon Zaun prevented the shutout but Jackson Stewart turned a 1-4-2 double play to end the game.

Union will play an elimination rematch with Bartlesville at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, with the winner taking on the Sandites at 4:00 p.m. All games are played at the Union Baseball Complex at 7616 South Garnett, Broken Arrow.

Drew Turner and Gunner Beasley Earn Anglers of the Year on OBN Trail

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The Charles Page High School fishing teams wrapped up the Oklahoma Bass Nation trail with a strong finish at the Ft. Gibson tournament on April 7th.

Gabe Castellano and Ean Williams took fifth place out of 66 teams with a haul of 15.52 pounds, finishing the season 18th in the overall standings. They also had the sixth largest fish of the tournament at 5.11 pounds.

Drew Turner and Gunner Beasley placed 12th with 12.04 pounds to secure the crown of Anglers of the Year, finishing first out of the 85 teams this season.

Nate Griffin and Caden Strawn placed 14th at Ft. Gibson with 9.94 pounds and finished eighth in the AOY standings.

Eli Rogers placed 21st with 8.84 pounds, finishing fifth overall on the season.

Jessen Cox and Rylan Matherly caught 6.94 pounds for 29th place and finished the season 29th overall.

Decana Strawn and Abby Tabor caught 3.85 pounds for 38th place at Ft. Gibson and were 37th on the season.

Zane Downey and Tyler Barnes didn’t fish the Ft. Gibson tournament but placed 49th on the season. Jonathan Isley and Jaxon Trotter placed 50th in the AOY standings while Hayden Lowrance and Hunter Spencer placed 59th.

Next up for the Sandites is the two-day State Championship tournament at Grand Lake on April 20-21.

Journey Armstead and Hailey Jackson Win NJCAA National Title with Hutchinson WBB

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The Blue Dragon women win the 2024 national championship with an 88-80 overtime victory over Northwest Florida State on Monday night in Casper, WY

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

CASPER, Wyoming – Hutchinson Community College women's basketball was indeed golden on Monday night and two former Sandites led the way.

Sophomore Journey Armstead and freshman Hailey Jackson became the first national champion hoopers from Sand Springs since Nick Tate won the NAIA crown with Mid-America Christian University in 2016.

Trailing by six points with 2:32 to play in the fourth quarter, the top-seeded Blue Dragons were able to force overtime and then dominate the extra session, outscoring defending national champion Northwest Florida State 19-11 in overtime, to win the program's first national championship with an 88-80 victory in the 2024 NJCAA Division I Women's Tournament championship game at the Ford Wyoming Center.

The Blue Dragons complete their 50th season with an undefeated 37-0 record – a school record for wins, longest winning streak (37) and best start to a season (37-0).

This was Hutchinson's fourth attempt to win a women's basketball national championship, coming up short in 2012, 2014 and 2015.

Both Jackson and Armstead were named to the all-tournament team on Monday. Jackson had a postseason-high and team-high 25 points to lead the Blue Dragons. She hit three critical free throws with 0.7 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. Jackson finished seventh on the freshman season scoring list with 478 points, including 65 points in the tournament.

Armstead had 11 points and three assists before fouling out with 5:09 to play in the fourth quarter.

The Blue Dragons led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, but Northwest Florida State rallied to take a 57-55 lead after three quarters and led 68-62 with 2:27 to play in regulation.

The Dragons rallied back, closing with a 7-1 run, getting three free throws from Jackson with 0.7 seconds to play to tie the game at 69-all.

In overtime, Akaysha Muggeridge, Jackson and KiKi Smith scored on consecutive possessions for a 77-71 lead and upped the lead to eight at 81-73 on a Muggeridge hoop with 1:18 to go. The Blue Dragons were 6 of 6 shooting from the floor and 7 of 10 from the foul line in overtime. Northwest Florida State was 5 of 12.

The Blue Dragons had to overcome the 30-point performance of Northwest Florida State's Destiney McPhaul, who was 10 of 20 shooting and 10 of 12 from the free-throw line.

After shooting 52.2 percent in the first half, the Blue Dragons shot 49.2 percent for the game (30 of 61). The Blue Dragons were 3 of 16 from 3-point range and 25 of 33 from the free-throw line. The Dragons out-rebounded the Raiders 36-29, but committed an NJCAA-Tournament high 19 turnovers.

Both teams came out on fire – Northwest Florida State shot 63.6 percent and the Blue Dragons shot 53.8 percent – in an opening quarter that had three lead changes and four ties.

The Dragons took an 11-9 lead after an Armstead transition basket with 3:34 to go. Northwest rallied to tie the game at 15-all, but Jackson hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key for an 18-15 Hutchinson lead after one quarter.

The Dragons opened a six-point lead when Armstead had a strong drive to the hoop for a 23-17 lead with 8:22 to play in the second quarter. The Dragons then went on a 10-2 run to build its first double-digit lead of 33-22 on a Jackson 15-footer with 4:57 to play. The Dragons led 39-28 at halftime.

The Blue Dragons led 48-35 after a Jackson inside basket with 7:21 remaining in the third quarter. Turnovers started to become an issue. Seven Dragon miscued led to 14 Northwest points off turnovers as the Raiders outscored the Blue Dragons 22-10 over the final 7 minutes to take a 57-55 lead heading to the fourth quarter, closing the period on an 8-0 run.

Facing major foul trouble in the fourth quarter, the Blue Dragons trailed 68-62 with 2:37 to play in regulation. Jackson hit two free throws with 1:37 left and Smith had a steal and layup with 1:37 left to cut the deficit to 68-66.

The Raiders had a chance to put the game away with 2.6 seconds left, but Celia Riviere missed the second of two free throws and the Dragons corralled the rebound and called timeout to advance the ball. On the inbound, Jackson was fouled attempting a 3-pointer and she made all three free throws to give the Blue Dragons new life, tied at 69-all at the end of regulation.

Trading buckets on the first two possessions of overtime, Muggeridge, Jackson and Smith scored on consecutive possessions to build a 77-71 lead with 2:44 to go. After Northwest hit a 3-pointer to cut the Dragon lead to 82-78 with 42 seconds left, Kahlen Norris had a strong take to the hoop to score for an 84-78 lead with 33 seconds left.

This was Hutchinson's second win this season over a Top-5 ranked opponent, also defeating No. 3 Butler in January.

Armstead finished the season averaging 10.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.2 steals per game while Jackson averaged 12.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1.2 steals.

As a sophomore, Armstead will be looking for a new home at a four-year university next season while Jackson has one season of junior college eligibility remaining.