Sandite Recruiting: Jace Arnold Commits to Allen County & More

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Sophomore QB Easton Webb received his first Division I offer from UNLV.

Charles Page High School senior Jace Arnold recently announced his commitment to play baseball at Allen County Community College in Iola, Kansas.

“I’m excited to announce I’m committing to play baseball at Allen County,” tweeted Arnold. “I’d like to thank my family, coaches, and teammates for all their support!”

The right-handed pitcher went 3-1 last season on the mound as the Sandites won their first district championship in school history and finished the season 29-9 overall.

The Red Devils compete in the NJCAA and went 25-29 last season under now-seventh-year head coach Clint Stoy.

Senior Taiona “Yonnie” Morris announced she has received two offers to play basketball - at Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton and at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas.

Eastern competes in the NJCAA and went 17-13 last season, going 1-1 in the playoffs under fourth-year head coach Al Davis.

Coffeyville went 21-13 in the NJCAA last season, also going 1-1 in the playoffs. The Red Ravens are in their fifth season under Tony Turner

Sophomore quarterback Easton Webb, currently an Oklahoma State University baseball commit, recently received his first offer to play Division I football.

Webb announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he has been offered by the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. UNLV competes in the Mountain West Conference of the FBS and is in its first season under head coach Barry Odom.

Notably, UNLV Director of Player Personnel Brad Odom was formerly the head football coach at Charles Page from 2004-2006, leading the Sandites out of a 28-game losing streak. He went 12-18 during his time at CPHS.

UNLV went 5-7 last year and is 1-1 thus far under Barry Odom with its only loss coming to No. 2 ranked Michigan.

Sophomore lineman Ryley Kester was also offered by UNLV, as well as by the University of Houston.

Houston is currently 1-1 in its first season as a member of the Big 12. Last year the Cougars went 8-5 overall while competing in the American Conference. Houston is coached by Dana Holgorsen in his fifth season

Kester also holds previous offers from Tulsa, Georgia Tech, and Texas Tech.

Sandite Volleyball Falls 3-0 at 5A No. 5 Regent Prep

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Averi Tippit scored 8 kills in the match against Regent Prep. (Photo: Charity Emigh).

Sand Springs has been putting itself through the wringer lately with three matches against top-five 5A teams in the past week.

The 6A No. 16 Sandites (11-8) took a trip to Tulsa on Thursday for a non-conference battle with 5A No. 5 Regent Prep (10-4) and fell 3-0 after the Rams surged back from an early game-one deficit.

The visiting Sandites rode a three-game win streak into the match and opened strong, taking an 8-3 lead on aces from Averi Tippit and Adelynn Ray.

Regent cut it to a one-point game four times but didn’t take its first lead till Ellen Jenkins scored a trio of kills for the 21-20 advantage.

A pair of huge digs from Evyn Morrow kept the next rally alive long enough for Jayden Smith to tie it up. Brooklyn Shope served an ace and Tippit scored a kill to make it 23-21, but Jenkins scored two more kills to tie it once more.

Tippit gave the visitors one last lead with her fifth kill of the set, but Evelyn Goodwin and Liv Redman scored back-to-back kills and the Rams secured the 26-24 victory after Alia DeBerry’s attack hit the net just an inch or two short.

In game two the Sandites only led once after the Rams’ opening serve came up short, but the home team won the next four rallies and never looked back.

Sand Springs never got within two points of the Rams, but the set stayed close till 18-15 before the home team got hot and won 25-16.

The final game was the same as the second - super tight till 18-16, then Regent won seven of the final eight rallies to prevail 25-17.

Jenkins led her team to its fifth consecutive win with 22 kills while Meg Goodwin recorded 23 assists.

The Sandites were led by Tippit with 8 kills, Shope with 7, and Smith with 5, while Hannah McKelvey and Ray each had 11 assists. Morrow led the defense with 32 digs.

Sand Springs will return to conference action next Thursday with a home match against No. 7 Owasso (6-3, 2-0) where the Sandites will look for their first Frontier Valley win of the season.

Regent 3 CPHS 0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-17)
Kills: Regent 42, CPHS 25.
Blocks: Regent 0, CPHS 3.
Aces: Regent 7, CPHS 7.
Errors: Regent 22, CPHS 27.
Service Errors: Regent 9, CPHS 9.

Sand Springs Stats
Kills: Tippit 8, Shope 7, Smith 5, DeBerry 3, Ray 2.
Assists: H. McKelvey 11, Ray 11.
Solo Blocks: Pearce 1.
Assisted Blocks: Tippit 2, Ray 2.
Digs: Morrow 32, H. McKelvey 8, Shope 8, DeBerry 7, F. McKelvey 5, Tippit 5, Ray 5, Smith 1.
Aces: Tippit 2, Shope 2, Ray 1, Morrow 1, H. McKelvey 1.

Sandite Wrestling Falls 59-12 to Bixby at Dual State

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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.

Gabe Glenn returns to the diamond in honor of mother

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Gabe Glenn can’t remember the last time he played a game without his mother in the stands. 

“I couldn’t tell you one baseball game she missed in 14 years probably,” he said. “Not one.”

But she couldn’t make it to Sunday evening’s Tulsa Area All Star game at ONEOK Field in Tulsa. She won’t get to see her son play in college, or ever again. At least, not in person.

Amanda Glenn was one of four victims of the gunman who attacked the St. Francis Natalie building in Tulsa on June 1. She was laid to rest on Thursday.

Since her death, baseball has been the furthest thing from Gabe’s mind. “I haven’t thought much about (baseball),” said Glenn. “But it was good to get here.”

“It’s good to be back playing ball,” said Glenn. “That’s what I love doing. Honestly, I miss Ma. I doubted playing this game, but that’s what she would want me to do.”

Glenn got the start and spent five innings at third base, recording one put-out. He was 1-of-3 at the plate with a walk, a single, and a reach-on-error that drove in a run.

The win capped a lustrous high school career for the Sandite, who finished his senior season with a .433 batting average, 45 RBI, and 37 runs scored.

He plans to continue his career at the next level.

“I was doing it for me, but I’m also doing it for her. She loves me playing. Today was my first baseball game ever without my mom. She’d want me to go to college; she wanted me to play college baseball.”

Glenn has an offer from Northern Oklahoma College at Tonkawa, and a few other colleges are also talking to him. 

Whatever the future has in store for him, he’ll never find better teammates than his boys in black and gold. 

“The support I’ve gotten from Sand Springs has been unbelievable. I can’t explain it. Ty (Pennington), Cruz (Norris), and Gunnar (Casey); those are my three best friends. It’s us four, always.” 

Pennington was selected to the All-State game in Enid last Sunday but skipped it to spend time with Glenn.

Glenn also had two teammates on the All Star squad with him, and the stands were filled with Sand Springs supporters. The roar from the crowd was noticeably louder when Sandites took the plate than when anyone else was at bat.

Carson Seabolt spent three innings in center field and pitched the fifth inning. On the mound he recorded the win with one strikeout, two walks, and no hits or runs scored.

Seabolt also scored the North’s first run after drawing a walk in the bottom of the third. Glenn reached on an error and Seabolt came home to make it 2-1.

Courtesy of Avery Tanner.

Nathan Gibson drove in the game-tying RBI on a sacrifice hit to third in the fifth inning and recorded five put-outs in four innings at first base.

The North got the 4-2 win, but the bottom of the seventh was played anyways to give the teams equal playing time in the exhibition match.

For Gibson and Seabolt, it was the end of the road. The two plan on attending tech school next year to study HVAC systems.

All three Sandites wore special stickers on their helmets with the letter “A” for Amanda at the center of two angel wings. There’s little doubt she still managed to watch her son’s final game as a Sandite.

Sandite Football rolls Bishop Kelley 34-13, Blake Jones has career night

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

Just a week after rushing for a career-high 177 yards against Sapulpa, Blake Jones was at it again Friday night at Angelo Prassa Field. The senior running back racked up 224 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries to lift Class 6A-II No. 5 ranked Sand Springs (2-0) to a 34-13 win against 5A No. 7 Bishop Kelley (0-2).

The Sandites took a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, scoring both of their touchdowns on back-to-back runs from Jones. After taking a handoff 36 yards to the house, he was set up for another 30-yard run after Ryder Barnes recovered the Sandites’ ensuing kickoff. 

Jones added his third score of the night on a 54-yard breakaway on the Sandites’ first play of the second half.

Senior quarterback Ty Pennington was held to an 11-19-123-0 passing performance with two touchdowns, connecting with Keaton Campbell on a five-yard toss to start the fourth quarter, then finding Kyle Morrall for 52 yards on the next possession.

Despite Jones’s big numbers, it was the defense that stole the show, holding the Comets to 209 yards overall. However, 96 of those yards came on a single run from quarterback Will Pickard in the third quarter. 

Outside of that run, the Comets averaged only 2.8 yards per play and accounted for only seven first downs, five of which came in the fourth quarter. In the first half the Comets managed only 34 yards.

The Sandite defense held Pickard to a 6-13-48-0 passing game and made eight tackles for loss while forcing seven punts, four three-and-outs, and a turnover on downs.

Gabe Brown led the team defensively with eight tackles, including three for loss with one sack. Charles Gaylord had seven tackles with three for loss, and Conner Light had six tackles with two for loss. 

Despite the end result, head coach Bobby Klinck still saw room for improvement.

“We’ve got to get much better,” said Klinck, postgame. “We’ve got to improve. Bishop Kelley’s a very good team and they caught us on a couple plays. We’ve got to get more physical and we can’t just give up long plays like that long touchdown.”

The Comet defense also showed strength with nine tackles for loss, and forced four punts. 

“They were bringing a bunch of guys off the line of scrimmage,” said Klinck. “They knew we were good at running the football, so they were bringing more than we had sometimes.”

Sandite football will get a bye week before traveling to Springdale, Arkansas Friday, September 17th. “We’re going to rest, heal up, and get ready to face a really tough Shiloh Christian team,” said Klinck.

Shiloh Christian will be looking for payback after the Sandites spoiled their otherwise perfect season last year. Sand Springs won the first-ever meeting between the two schools 27-26, but the Saints went on to finish 14-1 and won the Arkansas Class 3A State title. 

CPHS 34 BISHOP KELLEY 13

CPHS; 13; 0; 7; 14;-;34

Bishop Kelley; 0; 0; 7; 6;-;13

CPHS - Jones 36 run (Wolfe kick), 2:33

CPHS - Jones 30 run, 2:23

CPHS - Jones 54 run (Wolfe kick), 9:32

BK - Pickard 96 run (Davis kick), 9:16

CPHS - Campbell 5 pass from Pennington (Wolfe kick), 11:56

BK - Hensley 4 run, 7:44

CPHS - Morrall 52 pass from Pennington (Wolfe kick), 7:25

TEAM STATISTICS

First Downs - CPHS 13, BK 7. Rushes-Yards - CPHS 39-259, BK 28-157. Comp-Att-Int - CPHS 11-19-0, BK 7-14-0. Passing Yards - CPHS 123, BK 52. Fumbles-Lost - CPHS 0-0, BK 3-2. Penalty Yards - CPHS 4-20, BK 5-55. Records - CPHS 2-0, BK 0-2. Total Yards - CPHS 382, BK 209. Punts-Avg. - CPHS 4-30, BK 7-36.

CPHS Football: Booker T. Washington shuts out Sand Springs 49-0

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The Class 6A-II No. 7 ranked Booker T. Washington High School football team (4-2, 2-1) rolled to a dominant 49-0 shutout of No. 5 Sand Springs (4-2, 2-1) Friday night at S.E. Williams Stadium. If there’s a takeaway for the Sandites, it’s that Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Charles Page High School got off to a fast start this season and after losing a close one to the No. 1 team in 5A they upset the top-ranked team in Arkansas 4A and dominated their first two district matches. But despite the hype, the Sandites are still in their first year under a mostly-new coaching staff, while Washington is a blue blood program with a State Championship as recently as 2017.

Sandite success is coming. They’ve already doubled their win count from last season with a couple more favored matchups to come and a strong possibility of a post-season appearance. But Rome wasn’t built in a day.

A Sandite offense that averaged 130 rushing yards per game was held to only 40. Ty Pennington was 3-of-14 passing for 17 yards and two interceptions. They averaged 14 first downs over their first five games but only came up with three against the Hornets. A defense that only allowed 297 yards per game allowed 459.

Washington scored on six of eleven possessions, and were four-of-five in the first half. Sophomore running back Deon McKinney Jr. scored the opening touchdown on a 7-yard run and added a 29-yard score in the second period to put his team up 21-0. He finished the evening with 19 carries for 99 yards.

Demetrius Prudom caught only two passes on the evening, but he made the most of them. On his first target he broke a tackle and ran it in for a 50-yard score to make it 14-0 early in the second period. Sophomore quarterback Lathan Boone also connected with Jordan Drew for a 36-yard touchdown and a 35-0 lead shortly before the half.

The Hornet defense was beyond potent. University of Arkansas-commit Keuan Parker made an interception to set up McKinney’s second score. Amondre Tiger strip-sacked Pennington with three-minutes left in the half and Prudom returned it 25-yards for a score, then Ahmad Scott made a pick just two plays later to set up Drew’s touchdown reception. Issac Covington got a fumble recovery in the third quarter.

The Sandite defense also had moments of greatness, forcing one punt and three turnovers on downs, including a goal-line stand on the Hornets’ opening possession of the second half. Boone connected on a 16-yard touchdown strike to Jalen Teague on their next drive and finished the evening 19-of-26 for 287 yards.

Jackson Marsh was a perfect seven-for-seven kicking extra points in the game, but fell short on a 45-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter. Covington ran in an 8-yard score with 3:16 left to play. The last score gave the Hornets their biggest win ever over Sand Springs and their fifth-straight in the series.

Sandite Football will have another brutal match-up Thursday at 7:00 p.m. with a district home game against No. 1 Bixby (5-0, 2-0). Booker T. will travel to No. 16 Putnam City West (0-3, 0-1) Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

BTW 49-0 CPHS
First Downs: BTW 15, CPHS 3.
Fumbles/Lost: BTW 2/0, CPHS 4/2.
Penalties: BTW 10-95, CPHS 8-65.
C-A-Y-I: BTW 19-26-287-0, CPHS 3-14-17-2.
Rushing: BTW 37-172, BTW 21-40.
Offense: BTW 63-459, CPHS 35-57.