December 2023

While the roster had only five grapplers, it produced close to 150 points as El Reno High School’s girls wrestling team placed seventh in its first tournament outing of the season. El Reno posted 147 points in the Wrestle Like a Girl Invitational hosted by Cache.

El Reno High School’s wrestling team took 12 grapplers to the 2023 Mid-America Nationals in Enid, with the entire squad placing 28th or better at their respective weights. The 37-team field featured 21 schools from Oklahoma as well as teams from Kansas, Texas and Washington.

Haley Mitchel is no longer a part of the program in which she’s had a major impact as both a player and coach over the span of two decades. Mitchel informed Okarche Superintendent Josh Sumrall on Sunday that she was resigning her duties as girls basketball coach, effective immediately.

Just days before earning the lion’s share of first-place votes in the second Class B poll of the season, Calumet High School’s boys basketball team defeated 18th-ranked Lomega 62-52 to win the 2023 Canton Invitational.

Despite rebounding from a sub-par offensive effort in the tourney-opening loss to Lomega, Calumet High School’s girls basketball team suffered back-to-back losses in the 2023 Canton Invitational.

Services for Mary Alice Younger will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16 at Sunrise Baptist Church, with burial to follow at the El Reno Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Friday, Dec. 15 at Wilson Funeral Home from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Family will be present for the entire duration.

El Reno is about to set a record. City Manager Matt Sandidge said 2023 will establish a “record” in the category of new home construction, “We will set a new record in new residential units,” Sandidge said. He said the city has issued, so far this year, 163 permits for new home construction.

El Reno High School held its Native American Heritage Night recently during the season-opening basketball games at Jenks Simmons Field House. The event featured drummers from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes who sang the national anthem in both languages.

Just in time for the recent Thanksgiving holiday, the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office, El Reno Police Department and El Reno Fire Department received homemade pumpkin pies courtesy of students in the BlueSTEM AgriLearning Center.

Brad Baker will retain his seat on the El Reno Public Schools Board of Education after no one filed against the incumbent, whose current term is set to expire in April. “I’m very happy to have another term on the El Reno School Board.