Sand Springs Sports Roundup: Mack Taylor and Parker Haling take fourth at Skiatook tournament

A version of this story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Cross Country

The Sandites got their first taste of the postseason Tuesday at the Frontier Valley Conference Meet in Bartlesville. The girls didn’t have a full lineup, but the varsity boys played eighth and the junior high boys placed seventh.

Jazmin Lopez led the varsity girls with a 5K time of 24:32 for 37th place. Alejandro Lopez led the varsity boys in 19:15 for 30th place, closely followed by Noah Hanlon in 19:22 for 33rd. 

Chloe Grona led the junior high girls with an 11:57 two-mile run for fourth place. Taigh Wright led the junior high boys with a time of 11:39 for 13th. 

The varsity teams will return to action Saturday, October 23rd at Mohawk Park in the 6A-East Regional.

Fishing

Sandite duo Mack Taylor and Parker Haling placed fourth at the Oklahoma BASS Nation trail event on Lake Skiatook Saturday, catching three fish totaling 6.29 pounds. On Sunday they caught one fish weighing 1.19 pounds for 37th place. 

Standings have not been updated with this weekend’s results yet, but the duo should rank among the top 10 in the state. The OBN season will take a winter break and return to action April 2nd at Lake Tenkiller.

Softball

The Charles Page High School softball team recently ended the season with an 18-15 record as Regional runners-up. 

Despite not advancing to the State tournament, the Sandites showed flashes of brilliance this year, including wins over Edmond Memorial and El Reno, who did go to State. They pitched three shutouts and won seven games by run rule.

Lauren Hammock led the team in batting average (.446), on-base percentage (.532), and hits (41). Kelsi Hilton batted .413 and led the team in slugging (.543) with a team-best four triples and 30 RBI. Raegan Rector led the team in doubles (11) and Jolee McNally led in runs (36).

Rector led the team in put-outs with 183, and Avery Tanner led in assists with 66. Rector turned 14 double plays and Tanner had 12. Rector was also among the most efficient fielders, holding a .995 fielding percentage on 204 opportunities.

Hilton was the team’s ace pitcher this season, collecting a 10-6 record with a 4.5 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, and a team-high 46 strikeouts. Nataley Crawford went 5-6 in the circle with a 4.2 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, and 42 strikeouts.

The Sandites will graduate five seniors this year: Tanner, McNally, Hammock, Rector, and Taylor Skipper.

Volleyball

Sandite Volleyball wrapped up its season with a 14-20 record, going 2-6 in Frontier Valley Conference action, and winning its home tournament.

The girls played a tougher schedule than they have in the past few years, competing at several A-league tournaments, and 12 of their 20 losses came at the hands of eventual State Qualifiers. 

Payton Robbins led the offense with 259 kills, followed by Kasidy Holland with 204, Layla Lenex with 192, and Jacelyn Smith with 147. Robbins also led the team in aces with 49, followed by Charley Fahland with 36 and Smith with 34. 

Lenex led the team in blocks with 64, Robbins had 31, and Smith had 29. Fahland had a team-high 353 digs, Robbins had 265, and Teyha Johnson had 217. Johnson handled most of the setting, recording 689 assists.

Sand Springs will graduate Smith, Holland, Fahland, and Johnson this year.

Sandite Athletics Weekly Roundup: Softball upsets Bixby

A version of this story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Cross Country

The Sand Springs elementary cross country team competed at Bishop Kelley Tuesday, September 21st and took third place in a combined boys and girls run. Chloe Grona led the team with a second-place finish, running a 5:48 mile. Josie Grona placed seventh in 6:11 and Jacob Lovins placed eighth in 6:12.

Fast Pitch Softball

Sandite Softball (15-13) wrapped up district action with a 3-2 upset of Bixby Thursday, holding the Spartans scoreless after the first inning. 

JoLee McNally scored on a double from Lauren Hammock in the first inning, then hit a triple in the third inning and tied it up on a double from Avery Tanner. Kelsi Hilton scored the go-ahead run on a single from Morgan Rector in the sixth. 

Bixby put two runners on in the seventh, but Tanner scooped a groundball and made the throw to first to end the game. Hilton got the win in the pitcher’s circle with seven hits, two strikeouts, and three walks. 

Sand Springs then competed at the Tahlequah-NSU festival and went 1-3. 

Raegan Rector pitched a 10-5 win against Jay on Saturday, giving up only four hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Hilton led the offense, batting 2-of-3 for two runs, two RBI, and a double. 

The Sandites lost games of 11-4 to Tuttle, 6-0 to Moore, and 10-2 to Edmond Deer Creek. 

They will wrap up the regular season Thursday on the road at Oologah-Talala. Regional Assignments will be released Friday. 

Fishing 

The Charles Page High School fishing club competed at the Oklahoma Bass Nation trail events on Broken Bow Lake September 18th and 19th. 

Mack Taylor and Parker Haling placed ninth on Saturday, catching five fish weighing 8.77 pounds. Then on Sunday they caught five fish weighing 8.06 pounds for tenth place. They are currently sixth overall in this season’s standings. 

Nate Griffin and Jaxon Trotter caught two fish weighing 3.31 pounds on Saturday for 33rd place. 

The next OBN trail event will be October 16th on Skiatook Lake. 

Volleyball

Class 6A No. 16 Sand Springs (13-17 overall, 2-4 conference) went 3-3 last week, winning a 3-0 conference sweep of Muskogee on Tuesday before competing at the Bishop McGuinness tournament over the weekend.

In Tuesday’s match against Muskogee Payton Robbins scored 10 kills and five aces, Teyha Johnson recorded 19 assists, Jacelyn Smith scored eight kills, Charley Fahland made nine digs and scored four aces, and Layla Lenex had four blocks. All five of Robbins’s aces came in a 9-0 run during set two. The Sandites easily dismantled the Roughers 25-13, 25-9, and 25-11. 

In Oklahoma City the Sandites won 2-0 against Choctaw and Yukon, but fell 2-0 to Bishop McGuinness, Deer Creek, and Carl Albert.

Sandite Volleyball will return to action Thursday, September 30th with a conference match against Booker T. Washington at home. 

CPHS Sports Roundup: Season Tickets on Sale for Fall Season

The fall sports season is quickly approaching for Charles Page High School and the Athletics Department is selling All Sports Season Passes Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Ed Dubie Field House. Adult passes are $60, Senior Citizens (65+) are $40, Students (high school and below) are $25, and SSPS employees are $20. 

Reserved seats from last season can be renewed during those time slots as well, and remaining reserved seats will be opened to the public beginning Monday, August 16th. Reserved seats are $50 for the season. 

Both reserved seats and season passes will be available at Meet the Sandites, and season passes will be available at the first few home softball and volleyball games as well. 

Meet the Sandites will be held Thursday, August 19th at 7:00 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. Fans will be introduced to the high school and youth football, cheer, dance, cross country, volleyball, and softball teams to kick off the fall season.

Cheer

The Sandite Cheer program recently hosted the 2021 Youth Clinic and several up-and-coming stars were recognized. Lillie Holmes was named “Rockin Rookie,” Ray Bivin received the Showstopper award, Brighton Cole received the CPHS Coaches award, and Marley Dixon was named the Star Jumper. The 2nd Grade team received the Team Spirit Award, and the 3rd Grade team received the Team Stunt Award. 

Sandite Varsity Cheer is in its second year under Head Coach Krystal Chase. The team will be hosting their fifth annual Cheers & Gears Auto Show Saturday, August 21st at Charles Page High School. For more information, email CPHSvarsitycheer@gmail.com or visit cheersandgearsautoshow.org 

Dance

Addison “Addy” Lambert will be taking over as Varsity Head Coach of the Sandite Dance program this year, replacing Michelle Spears. Lambert is a CPHS alum and second-year Pre-K teacher at the Sand Springs Early Childhood Education Center. 

Fast-Pitch Softball

The Sandite fast-pitch softball team will host Sperry Thursday, August 12th at 5:30 p.m. at the Sandite Sports Complex at 408 West 55th Street. They will also compete at the Broken Arrow tournament this weekend with games against Tahlequah (Friday 10:00 a.m.), Broken Arrow (Friday 11:45 a.m.), Tahlequah Sequoyah (Friday 5:15 p.m.) and Union (Saturday 10:00 a.m.).

Fishing

The Sandite fishing team of Cruz Norris and Gunnar Casey competed at the 2021 Bassmaster High School National Championship in Dayton, Tennessee. The duo placed 99th out of 288 teams with five fish weighing 13 lbs 8 oz. 

Football

Sandite Football is entering its second season under Head Coach Bobby Klinck and the team hopes to repeat their prior year’s postseason appearance. The annual Black & Gold Scrimmage will be held Saturday, August 14th at 9:00 a.m. and the first game of the season will be August 27th at home against Sapulpa. 

Volleyball

Sandite Varsity Volleyball will travel to Collinsville Thursday at 4:00 p.m. before hosting their third annual Sandite Invitational Friday and Saturday. On Friday they will play Lawton at 9:00 a.m., Choctaw at 11:00 a.m., Enid at 2:00 p.m., and Bixby at 5:00 p.m. On Saturday they will play Southwest Covenant at 9:00 a.m., Lincoln Christian at 11:00 a.m., and Southeast at 2:00 p.m.

Sports Roundup: Layne Kirkendoll and Greg Reed win Regional Championships

Courtesy of Tommy Dial.

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School baseball team ended the season 19-21 in their first full year under Head Coach Matt Brown, falling 6-4 in the Regional Championship against Bixby (28-12). They went 3-2 in their final week of the season and battled back through the losers’ bracket at Stillwater’s Couch Park to force a tie-breaker game against the Spartans.

Bixby rallied from a 5-0 deficit to win game one of the tournament on Thursday. Blake Nichols hit a three-run blast to tie it in the seventh, and the Spartans won on a walk off in the eighth. 

Carson Seabolt tossed five strikeouts as the Sandites rolled Booker T. Washington 11-3 in the next game, then Brycen Peterman pitched a 5-3 upset win against host Stillwater. Cason Savage went 3-for-3 at the plate with 2 RBI and a run as the Sandites earned a rematch with Bixby.

Wes Strand gave Bixby a 1-0 lead with a solo homer Friday evening, but the Spartans left nine runners stranded and Sand Springs scored four runs on five hits in the fifth. Keaton Campbell hit a two-run double for the final score and Jace Arnold got the win on the mound.

The Sandites out-hit the Spartans 9-7 in Saturday’s Championship game, but the Spartans blasted three homers in the 6-4 win. 

On Monday, May 3, the Sandites ended the regular season with a 6-4 win over Meeker after scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth. 

Fishing

Three Sandite high school fishing teams qualified for the Oklahoma Bass Nation State Championship. Mack Taylor and Reese David, Cruz Norris and Gunnar Casey, and Kyle and Kale Hilligoss will all fish Lake Eufala on June 13th. Nate Griffin and Jaxon Trotter qualified for the junior high tournament on June 12th. 

Golf

The boys team ended their season with a 12th place finish at Regionals, while the girls qualified two to the State Championship. Meghan Charles shot 162 to tie for 16th while Alyx Edwards shot 240 for 73rd. 

Boys Regionals: Drew Paden 162, Mason Ward 164, Cole Hight 178, Cameron Villines 189, Seth Benton 191. Girls Regionals: Charles 74, Edwards 97, Gina Foster 108, Madison Chambers 117.

Soccer

The boys’ soccer team (8-8) ended their season in a 3-2 first-round playoff loss at Stillwater, Tuesday, May 4. Jack Bratcher and Cameron Summerton scored the Sandites’ two goals. Fernando Saldana ended the season as the team’s leading scorer with 15 goals, followed by Bratcher with 13 and Summerton with 6. 

Track and Field

Sand Springs crowned two Champions and qualified three athletes for State, Saturday at the 6A Regional Track Meet in Sapulpa. Greg Reed and Layne Kirkendoll both won Regional titles in the Long Jump, and Joseph Mattison also qualified in that event.

Kirkendoll remains undefeated in the long jump this year, leaping 17 ft. 11 in. to win her eighth gold medal in that event and her 13th overall. She also came in runner-up in the high jump with a mark of 5 ft. 2 in. 

Reed crushed his previous personal best with a leap of 21 ft. 4.5 in., which ranks eighth in school history. Mattison recorded a jump of 20 ft. 9 in. for third place, and he placed fourth in the 200-meter dash in 22.4 seconds. 

The boys’ 4x800 relay team placed fourth with a time of 8:56.5 and Jazmin Lopez placed fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:28.07. 

Layne Kirkendoll Sets Sand Springs High Jump Record

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Sandite Track and Field traveled to the Owasso Ram Relays Friday. The girls placed eighth and the boys placed ninth.

Layne Kirkendoll won her second high jump of the year, setting a new school record of 5 feet 7 inches. She also won her fourth long jump of the year with a personal-best mark of 18’06.5”, which is the second-best distance in school history. 

Noah Hanlon was among the top boys in the 3200m run with a time of 11:17.94 for sixth place. Alejandro Lopez had the fifth-best time in the 800m at 2:08.49. Morgan Lockhart was fifth in the 300m hurdles in 44.33. Greg Reed took sixth in the long jump at 19’10”.

Sakauri Wilson won her heat in the 100m and had the fourth-best time overall at 13.02 seconds. Jazmin Lopez placed fourth in the 800, finishing in 2:27.88. 

Soccer

Sandite Soccer had a tough past week, as both the boys and girls teams dropped district matches against Broken Arrow on Tuesday before having their Friday games at Union canceled due to weather.

The boys (5-4 overall, 1-1 district) fell 3-0 Tuesday at Memorial Stadium, while the girls (6-3, 0-2) fell 5-1 to Broken Arrow. Teagan Smith scored her third goal of the season three minutes into the match, but the Tigers rattled off five unanswered to end the game.

Sand Springs will host Putnam City West for their final home games of the regular season Friday night at Memorial Stadium. 

Baseball

Sandite Baseball (10-13, 4-6) went 0-3 last week, dropping two close district games against Stillwater, and an 8-1 trip to Union. 

Stillwater won 7-5 on Monday and 11-10 on Tuesday. Dom Ornelas hit a home run in both games, and Keaton Campbell and Ty Pennington also went yard on Tuesday. Pennington was 3-for-3 at the plate Tuesday. 

Friday’s game at Bixby was canceled due to weather, and they returned to action Saturday at Union. The Sandites put up seven hits, including three doubles, but stranded six in the loss. 

The Sandite sluggers will return to action Thursday at 6:00 p.m. with a non-district home game against Tulsa NOAH. 

Slow Pitch Softball

Sandite Softball snapped a five-game skid Thursday with a 5-0 win over Owasso. They went 0-4 Monday and Tuesday at the Jenks Festival, then fell 11-10 to Jenks on Thursday. 

A 12-run inning and a home run from Jaden Jordan wasn’t quite enough Monday against Red Oak. Down 17-0 after two innings, the girls rallied to cut it to 17-14 before running out of steam. In game two they led 9-7 before Haskell rallied with four runs in the fifth. 

The Sandites lost another close one Tuesday against Choctaw, 9-8, then Mustang won 14-3 in the final game of the festival. 

Jordan homered, Raegan Rector tripled, and the Sandites led Jenks 10-9 in the bottom of the seventh, but the Trojans won on a walkoff single. 

The win over Owasso didn’t come with much fireworks, but they got their second shutout of the year behind Kaden Barnes’s pitching. Kelsi Hilton supplied two hits, two RBI, and one run to pace the offense.

The girls will host Jenks Thursday at 5:00 p.m.

Fishing

Cruz Norris and Gunnar Casey had yet another hot finish on the Oklahoma Bass Nation high school trail, placing fifth on Keystone Lake Saturday. The duo just won their previous event on Grand Lake. 

Norris and Casey caught three fish, weighing 9.07 pounds, with their biggest coming in at 3.91. Kyle and Kale Hilligoss placed 26th with two fish weighing 4.22 pounds, and Mack Taylor and Reese David placed 28th with two fish weighing 3.96 pounds.

Cruz Norris and Gunnar Casey win Grand Lake fishing tournament

Courtesy of OBN.

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Sand Springs is continuing to prove itself as one of the top high school fishing programs in the state, as yet another Sandite duo has taken top honors at an Oklahoma Bass Nation trail event. Cruz Norris and Gunnar Casey brought home the fourth trail win in program history Sunday, March 28th on Grand Lake.

Bass Nation was supposed to host two trail events, Saturday and Sunday at Fort Gibson, but high water levels resulted in the relocation to Grand Lake, and it was limited to a one-day event. 

Norris and Casey came up one fish short of the limit, but still had a healthy margin of victory. Their 4.04-pound big bass was the third-largest in the tournament, and it propelled them to a 12.87-pound total. Despite only catching four bass, they had nearly a pound on the runners-up, who caught five.

Only three teams of Sandites have won trail events, led by Seth Kearns and Cole Scott with two wins. The program was founded in 2015 and the school won the State Championship in 2017.

Mack Taylor and Reese David caught four fish totaling 9.1 pounds for 13th place out of 56 boats. They previously placed second at the season opener on Lake Eufala in October and rank fourth in the team standings so far. 

Norris and Casey are already up to 26th in the team standings after missing the season-opener. Kyle and Kale Hilligoss also missed the first event, and they are 42nd in the team race after catching two fish at Grand. They weighed in at 6.9 pounds for 25th place. Final team standings will use each team’s top-four performances this season, so missing one event won’t penalize the anglers much in the long run.

Sandite Fishing won’t have to travel far for their next event, as OBN will be coming to Lake Keystone for two trail events Saturday and Sunday, April 10-11. 

The program will also be hosting a fundraiser tournament, open to the public, April 17th on Keystone. The tournament will launch out of Prairie View Ramp at 7:00 a.m. with a 2:30 p.m. weigh-in. Entry is $60 with a 70% payout. There will be a five fish limit, with a 14 inch minimum. 

For more information on the fundraiser tournament, or about the CPHS fishing program overall, contact CPHSfishingteam@gmail.com or call/text 918-625-6853.