April 2021

A small group of golfers faced large wind gusts last week as four teams took part in the 2021 El Reno High School Boys Invitational at Crimson Creek Golf Course.

El Reno was one of the four schools but did not field a full team this season. Altus won the team title with a 357 tally, followed by Guymon (377) and Weatherford (456).

The Indians did have three golfers in the individual medalist field, led by Dallon Biswell’s nines of 54-46 for a 100 total. He placed eighth overall, 10 shots out of the top five, but had a lower score than all of the Weatherford squad.

Tyler Norton scored from third on a botched pickoff move in the bottom of the seventh inning as Union City High School’s baseball team snapped a three-game losing streak with an 11-10 win over Hydro-Eakly.

The Tigers, ranked 14th in Class A, improved to 13-4 on the season.

Norton singled and went to second on a relay throw from the outfield. Tyler Ross reached first on a bunt which sent Norton to third.

“They tried a pickoff and the kid overthrew third and Tyler pretty much walked home,” said Union City head coach Ludy Griggs.

With gusting winds over 30 miles per hour from the south, the game plan for last week’s District 5A-1 showdown between El Reno High School’s girls soccer team and Noble was simple – take advantage of Mother Nature’s gift.

El Reno did just that, punching in two second-half goals to defeat the Bears 2-0. The Indians, ranked third in District 5A-2, improved to 6-3 on the season and 2-0 in the league.

Noble, ranked second in the district, suffered its first loss of the year and slipped to 1-1 in league action.

El Reno High School’s boys soccer team pulled out a nail-biter last week to snap a four-match losing streak and earn its first win in District 5A-1 action.

Christian Diaz scored in the final two minutes of regulation as the Indians defeated Noble 1-0.

It was El Reno’s first goal in five matches as EHS improved to 2-7 on the season and 1-1 in district play.

The match was as close as the final score as El Reno led in shots (14-14), shots on goal (7-6) and possessions (55-45).

Redlands Community College soccer player Riley Robertson dribbles up the field during the Cougars recent season opener at Memorial Stadium.

Robertson, who had originally signed with another NJCAA program, has since transferred to RCC and will have two years of eligibility. Robertson was a standout player for El Reno High School on the same field.

Redlands Community College landed two players on the NJCAA All-Region 2 basketball squads during recent voting among league coaches.

Forward Idalis Ortiz was one of five first-team players selected on the women’s all-region team, while Joshua Robinson was a first-team pick for the Cougars.

Ortiz played in 19 regular-season games, closing with a 37.8 percent shooting mark. She made 99-of-262 baskets including a 26-of-87 (29.9 percent) effort from behind the 3-point arc.

Right-hander Josh Harrel tossed a no-hitter last week as Redlands Community College’s baseball team split a road twinbill with Rose State College.

The Cougars dropped the first game of the set 14-12, before Harrel’s efforts allowed Redlands to win game two by a 10-0 margin.

The split left Redlands with a 9-19 record for the season. The Cougars are still 2-6 in Division 2 of the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference standings as the Raiders play out of OCAC’s Division 1.

El Reno artist Sue Johnson paints a white outline on a flower which is the centerpiece of her mural on the side of a van located on South Dille Avenue last week.

The van is being repainted as an eye-catcher to the community garden project being conducted by Southern Heights Baptist Church and local charity Children of Hope Community Outreach. The garden idea was started last year during the COVID-19 lockdown as a way to teach youth how to grow and cultivate their own food during a pandemic.

El Reno Public Schools has completed its latest round of vaccine distribution in the district’s ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the state of Oklahoma made the vaccine available to educators, administration and support staff for kindergarten through 12th grade in late February, El Reno has held three vaccination pods.

The last two were conducted internally with district nurse Nikki Cerne giving shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

El Reno Community Theatre’s Garrett Wells, blue shirt and red shoes, acts out a scene from “The Absolutely True Story of Tom Sawyer As Told By Becky Thatcher,” while fellow cast members, from left, McKenzi Smith, Camden Sears, Coen Taylor, Emercyn Looper and Teagan Finnigan look on during a recent practice at the Centre Theatre. The cast, which features 10 youth actors, will be putting on the show as part of ERCT’s Fourth Annual Dinner Theatre on April 17 at the Education Building at the Canadian County Fairgrounds.