Sandite Alumni Report: Fall sports wrapping up, lots of Sandites see action

Gloria Mutiri was the No. 2 scorer on her team in a 3-0 loss to Iowa State.

Volleyball

Kansas State University (8-15, 3-8) fell 3-0 to Iowa State (16-8, 7-5) last week in sets of 25-21, 25-20, and 25-18. Sophomore Gloria Mutiri played all three sets and recorded 5 kills, 1 solo block, and 2 digs as the second-highest scoring player on her team. The Wildcats will travel to No. 1 Texas (17-2, 11-0) Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

Men’s Golf

University of Denver sophomore Carson Griggs finished the fall season with an even performance for 31st place at the Hoakalei Country Club Invitational in Hawaii, helping his team to a ninth-place finish. The Pioneers will return to action in the spring at the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate tournament in Mobile Alabama on February 10th.

Men’s Soccer

Former Sandite and Men’s Head Coach at Oral Roberts University, Ryan Bush has led the No. 20 ranked Golden Eagles to a 13-3 record thus far in the season. ORU will play at Denver in the first round of the Summit League Championship Thursday at 5:00 p.m.

Oklahoma Wesleyan University (16-3) won a KCAC Conference Quarterfinal match 9-1 against Southwestern (10-9). Next up is fourth-seeded York College (13-6) Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. in Wichita. Sandite Ignacio Garcia is a freshman on the team.

Women’s Soccer

The Oral Roberts University soccer team coached by former Sandite Roger Bush ended the season with a 6-9-4 record following a 1-0 loss to South Dakota State in the Summit League Championship semifinals. Sandite Brooklyn Eardley started sixteen games this season, primarily as a defender.

Southwestern Christian University finished the year 6-9-1 following a 4-0 loss to Texas Wesleyan (13-5). Junior Megan Deshazo finished the season with 9 goals and 3 assists.

Northern Oklahoma College at Tonkawa ended its season with an 8-8-2 record last weekend after a 1-0 loss to Seminole State College (19-0-3) in the first round of the NJCAA Region 2 Tournament. Sophomore Emma Peak scored two goals and one assist on the season, with a brace against the University of Arkansas at Rich Mountain (2-12-3).

Oklahoma City University (9-9) was eliminated in the first round of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament with a 1-0 loss to Mid-American Christian University (12-4-1) to end the season. Sophomore goalie Abigail Banks saw action in two matches this season.

Missouri University of Science and Technology senior Kayla Foster ended the season with a bang, scoring both goals in a 2-1 upset at Southern Indiana (10-6-1). The Miners went 6-8-3 this year, and Foster scored 6 goals and 1 assist with 17 starts.

Men’s Cross Country / Track and Field

Colby Community College placed tenth at the NJCAA National Championships Saturday, and crowned a national champion. Ian Baustert is a sophomore on the team, but hasn’t seen action this year. He is also on the Track and Field team, which has not released its spring schedule yet.

The Oral Roberts University Track and Field team will kick off the season Friday, December 6th at the Bob Timmons Challenge in Lawrence, Kansas. Freshman Mitchell Mefford will throw discus and shot put for the Golden Eagles.

The Savannah College of Art and Design won its fifth-straight Sun Conference Championship Saturday. Freshman Jacob Smith placed 47th in the 8-kilometer run in 29:22.58. SCAD will return to action at the NAIA National Championships Friday, November 22nd in Vancouver.

The U.S. Air Force Academy placed fifth at the Mountain West Conference Championships. Freshman Aden Baughman did not see action. The Falcons will compete at the NCAA Mountain Regional Friday in Salt Lake City.

Women’s Cross Country / Track and Field

Grand Canyon University placed third at the Western Athletic Conference Championships, but junior Cheyenne Walden did not see action. The Antelopes will compete at the NCAA West Regional Friday in Colfax, Washington.

Southern Nazarene University placed 31st at the NCAA Division 2 Central Regional Championship, ending their season. Sara Abbet ran her last race at the Great American Conference Championship, in which SNU finished eighth. The Sandite was 118th in the run with a 5K time of 24:47.1.

Baseball

Seminole State College broke ground on a new athletic facility recently. The $7.25 million Brian Crawford Memorial Sports Complex will eventually be home to the Trojan Baseball team, featuring freshman Cal Watkins. Seminole Baseball will kick off Monday, February 3rd at Bacone College.

Freshman Kyler Copeland will make his college debut at the College of the Ozarks this spring. The Bobcats have yet to release their 2020 schedule.

Eastern Oklahoma State College will begin their 2020 season Tuesday, February 11th at Carl Albert State College. John Miller will be in his freshman season with the Mountaineers.

The Northern Oklahoma College Enid Jets will start the 2020 season Saturday, February 1st with a double-header against Northeast Community College. The Jets feature freshman Cale Savage.

The University of Central Oklahoma picked up two Sandite transfers for the coming season. Junior pitcher Jake Terry from the University of Oklahoma, and Jacob Bailey from Seminole State College. The Bronchos have yet to release their 2020 schedule.

Softball

Kennedy “Goose” Salyers is in her senior year at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. The Savage Storm will kick off the season February 1st at Texas Women’s University.

Jacie Taber will kick off her freshman campaign at Missouri State University on Friday, February 7th against Mississippi State in the NFCA Lead-Off Classic at Clearwater, Florida.

Destanie Garrett will be a freshman at Southwestern Christian University this spring. The Eagles have yet to release their 2020 schedule.

University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma has yet to release its 2020 schedule. Madelyn Blair will be a freshman this year.

Jessica Schuler is in her senior year at Northeastern State University, and Cameron Clemons is a freshman. The RiverHawks will begin their season Friday, February 7th at the Harding Invitational against Harding and Midwestern State.

Oklahoma State University went 7-0 in the fall season and junior Sydney Pennington was on fire offensively. The Cowgirls have yet to release their 2020 schedule.

Rogers State University will travel to Gulf Shores Alabama to start their season Friday, January 31st. Sandite All-State selection Kimi Presnell will be a freshman this year.

Freshman Elizabeth Luttrell will play for Cowley County Community College this spring. The Tigers have yet to release their 2020 schedule.

Former All-State Sandite Joely Rogers is entering her second season as the Coffeyville Community College pitching coach. The Red Ravens will take on North Arkansas College in a double-header Saturday, February 8th.

Men’s Tennis

Oklahoma Baptist University will feature freshman Logan Bateman this coming season. Bateman saw action in one pre-season tournament. The 2020 schedule has yet to be released.

Sandites will travel to Owasso for Regionals and battle Broken Arrow in Round One

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association released the 6A Regional baseball brackets Monday afternoon. The Charles Page High School team (21-14) will travel to Owasso Wednesday at 2:30 PM for their first round game against Broken Arrow (21-14). 

The Sandites and Tigers have neck-and-neck records, each winning 21 games and losing 14, and each having one win over the other. In the Sand Springs/Broken Arrow Wooden Bat Tournament the Tigers got the 6-4 win, but the Sandites retaliated with a 10-3 victory of their own less than a week later. 

The tournament is double-elimination, and from there the Sandites will take on either Sapulpa (6-21) or Owasso (25-6). Sapulpa shouldn't pose much difficulty, as the Sandites have already defeated their Highway 97 rivals three times this season by a combined score of 26-7.

Owasso will be the biggest obstacle in the way of the Sandites' ticket to State. The Rams are the top team in the district and have already defeated Sand Springs twice, just last week. The games were far from blowouts, however, and the Sandites nearly overtook Owasso in the first game. losing by a close 11-10.

PITCHING

Conner Dennis (1-0) has an earned run average of 0.00, having faced 23 batters over 7 innings. He's given up 1 hit, 3 walks, 0 runs, and 0 earned runs while pitching 64% strikes for 4 strikeouts and a .643 WHIP.

Rhett Rutledge (2-1) has an earned run average of 2.07, having faced 125 batters over 27 innings. He's given up 25 hits, 21 walks, 13 runs, and 8 earned runs while pitching 56% strikes for 23 strikeouts and a .561 WHIP. He also has 2 saves and 0 blown saves.

Brock Youngblood (4-1) has an earned run average of 2.57, having faced 136 batters over 33 innings. He's given up 33 hits, 14 walks, 18 runs, and 12 earned runs while pitching 64% strikes for 13 strikeouts and a 1.317 WHIP.

Hunter Greathouse (2-0) has an earned run average of 3.73, having faced 66 batters over 15 innings. He's given up 8 hits, 12 walks, 10 runs, and 8 earned runs while pitching 61% strikes for 32 strikeouts and a 1.200 WHIP. He also has 1 save and 0 blown saves.

University of Oklahoma-commit Jake Terry has an earned run average of 3.77, having faced 211 batters over 42.66 innings. He's given up 45 hits, 42 walks, 29 runs, and 23 earned runs while pitching 58% strikes for 51 strikeouts and a 1.946 WHIP. 

Jake Ward (4-3) has an earned run average of 3.91, having faced 227 batters over 48 innings. He's given up 49 hits, 34 walks, 33 runs, and 27 earned runs while pitching 57% strikes for 49 strikeouts and a 1.635 WHIP.

Josh Cordell (2-3) has an earned run average of 3.95, having faced 164 batters over 34 innings. He's given up 40 hits, 41 walks, 31 runs, and 19 earned runs while pitching 42% strikes for 26 strikeouts and a 1.753 WHIP.

Joey Montgomery (1-2) has an earned run average of 6.64, having faced 96 batters over 19 innings. He's given up 23 hits, 12 walks, 22 runs, and 18 earned runs while pitching 55% strikes for 10 strikeouts and a 1.632 WHIP.

 

BATTING

Cody Motes holds a .500 batting average, .500 slugging average, and .500 OBP with 3 runs, 1 RBI, 1 single, and 3 stolen bases.

Hunter Greathouse has a .390 batting average, a .470 slugging average, and a .483 OBP. He's scored 23 runs and 15 RBI with 29 singles, 8 doubles, 2 triples, and 8 sacrifices. He's also stolen 11 bases this season.

Jake Ward has batted .381 this season with a .488 slugging average and .563 OBP. He's scored 20 runs and 16 RBI with 25 singles, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 4 sacrifices, and 4 stolen bases.

Josh Taber has batted .366 this season with a .387 slugging average and a .491 OBP. He's scored 30 runs and 19 RBI with 32 singles, 2 doubles, 6 sacrifices, and 23 stolen bases.

Joey Montgomery is batting .351 with a .443 slugging average and a .457 OBP. He's scored 3 runs and 21 RBI with 27 singles, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 1 sacrifice, and 2 stolen bases.

Tyler McCallie is sitting at .339 batting, and .542 slugging, with a .473 OBP. He's scored 20 runs and 11 RBI with 13 singles, 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 2 sacrifices, and 9 stolen bases.

Rhett Rutledge has batted .339 this season with a .523 slugging average and .471 OBP. He's scored 34 runs and 20 RBI with 24 singles, 8 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs, 7 sacrifices, and 20 stolen bases.

Riley Rutledge has batted .333 this season with a .333 slugging average and .600 OBP. He's scored 2 runs and 1 RBI with 1 single.

Treyce Tolbert holds a .314 batting average, .392 slugging average, and .462 OBP He's scored 25 runs and 21 RBI with 26 singles, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 5 sacrifices, and 10 stolen bases.

Ty Fain holds a .282 batting average, a .308 slugging average, and a .451 OBP. He's scored 10 runs and 8 RBI with 9 singles, 2 doubles, 2 stole bases, and 4 sacrifices.

Jake Terry has batted .276 this season with a .483 slugging average and .408 OBP. He's scored 9 runs and 10 RBI on 8 singles, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 2 sacrifices, and 5 stolen bases.

Southwestern Christian University-signee Trevor Tolbert has batted .244 this season for a .308 slugging average and .366 OBP. He's scored 10 runs and 17 RBI on 15 singles, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 sacrifices, and 1 stolen base.

Mack Thompson holds a .237 batting average, .395 slugging average, and .396 OBP. He's scored 16 runs and 4 RBI with 5 singles, 3 doubles, 1 home run, and 5 stolen bases.

Brock Youngblood has a .200 batting average, a .200 slugging average, and a .200 OBP. He has scored 1 runs and 2 RBI on 1 single.

Malachi Walton has batted .167 with a .167 slugging average and a .375 OBP. He's scored 17 runs and 2 RBI with 1 single and 5 stolen bases.

Kameron Adcock has racked up a .167 batting average, a .167 slugging average, and a .286 on-base percentage. He's scored 3 runs, hit 1 single, and stolen 1 base this season.

CPHS grad Nick Tate wins NAIA National Championship in 100-99 OT upset

Photo by: Brian Beard, Creative Images Photography

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School Class of 2011 graduate Nick Tate is a basketball National Champion after scoring 14 points for No.4 Mid-American Christian University in a 100-99 overtime nail-biter upset against No.1 Georgetown, Kentucky.

Things never came together for Tate's class in high school. The Sandites went 14-46 over the three years that Tate was at Charles Page, but that didn't stop the talented player from averaging 22.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game his senior year. He was the leading 6A scorer on the East side of the state and made the Frontier Valley All-Conference First Team, Tulsa All-Metro Second Team, and was an honorable mention on the Oklahoma All-State Team. 

In April of 2011, Tate signed to play with Oklahoma Christian University and was one of the top outside shooters in the entire Heartland Conference. He played in 28 games as a true freshman, started two, and averaged 8.6 points per game. He had the second-best shooting percentage on the team at 48.6% and scored a season-high 22 points with 13 rebounds in a win over Crowley's Ridge. He recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in a NAIA playoff loss to eventual National Champion Concordia, California. 

His sophomore year he scored 13 points in a single period in a season-opening win over Central Bible College and went on to play in all 31 games and averaged 10.2 points and 4.3 rebounds with a 41.9% three-point shooting percentage. He hit a game-winning 18-foot turnaround buzzer-beater jump shot in overtime for a win over Arkansas-Ft. Smith and scored a career-high 23 points in a loss at St. Mary's, Texas, then led his team with 17 points in a win over Spring Arbor, Michigan in the NCCAA Championship quarterfinals in his team's first year in the league. That year he played in his first National Championship Title game, but lost to Shorter, Georgia in overtime. 

In his junior year he started 24 games and increased his scoring average to 14.4 points per game and was the second-leading scorer on the team. From there he transferred to Southwestern Oklahoma State University and redshirted due to NCAA Division II transfer rules. Instead of playing his senior year at SWOSU, he transferred again to Mid-American Christian University for his final year of eligibility.

This season he started 32 games and played in 35 for the Evangels and averaged 26 points and 6.7 rebounds per game to help his team post a 28-9 record. In January he was named the Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Week and in February he scored a career-high 33 against Southwestern Christian University.

The Evangels worked their way through the NAIA Division I Championship bracket this past week. Tate scored 10 points against Park and Biola, 3 in the quarterfinals against Cumberlands, 11 in the semis against Campbellsville, and 14 in the Championship game against Georgetown. 

Georgetown led for the entire game, once by as much as 14, till MACU ran 19-5 to tie the game up at 60 with 13:11 left. From there Georgetown was fighting to keep minor leads as the two teams exchanged baskets for the next 11 minutes. 

With 0:21 left, Chris Runnels hit a field goal to force overtime at 82-82. Georgetown hit four from the charity stripe to start the extra period, but MACU responded quickly, taking an 87-86 lead. The two teams exchanged the lead three more times before the Evangels finally won it. Trent Gilbert hit a three from the corner with less than five seconds to play for the Georgetown advantage, but Malcom Mann drove the distance and got off the buzzer-beater with a tenth-second left and the Evangels took home the first NAIA National Title in school history. Not only that, but it was the team's first ever National Title appearance in school history. 

Tate was a valuable piece of the puzzle in his team's Championship game, grabbing 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block, in addition to his 14 points. He was also named NAIA Player of the Year. Not a half-bad senior year, if you ask me.