March 2026

OKLAHOMA CITY – Okarche made only two baskets in the fourth period of the Warriors quarterfinal matchup with No.7 Allen at the Class A Girls Oklahoma Basketball State Championships.

Yet Brett Tahah’s fifth-ranked team walked away with a 51-43 victory over the Mustangs after hitting 11-of-13 free throws in the final 4:19 to secure a spot in the Final Four for a second straight season.

Okarche, now 25-5 on the year, will take on No.2 Canute in the semifinals.

El Reno High School’s stay at the 2026 OSSAA Oklahoma Wrestling State Championships did not reach Championship Saturday as the Indians four entries were knocked out in early rounds.

Three boys competed in the Class 5A brackets, with senior Diesel Baker losing both matches.

He dropped a 1-0 match to Claremore’s Kale Shultz in the quarterfinals before exiting with a 13-8 setback to Ada’s Jacob Bohannon.

El Reno High School’s tennis team served up the first of its 2026 home dates last week, dropping a 4-2 decision to Weatherford at the Legion Park courts.

With no doubles teams, El Reno went 1-1 on the boys side. Jacob Richey won at No.2 singles 6-0/6-1 over Weatherford’s Ethan Nguyen.

Sergio Roses dropped his No.1 singles bid to Carson Bonner 1-6/3-6.

Riding a 19-0 edge in total shots, El Reno High School’s girls soccer team kicked off the 2026 season with an 8-0 road win over U.S. Grant.

El Reno had six different players score, led by Haven Fleenor and Lily Hayes with two goals each. Grisell Guzman, Karsyn Conner, Zamora Santos and Sinthia Puebla added a goal each.

Guzman and Hayes each logged an assist.

Hayes topped all shooters with seven shots, three on goal, followed by Conner with four shots. Fleenor added three shots, Guzman with two and Gracie Colson with one shot.

Though outshot by U.S. Grant, El Reno High School’s boys soccer team opened up the 2026 season with a 4-2 road win over the Generals in non-district action.

The Indians were outshot 17-15 by the Generals, who also had a 7-2 edge in corner kicks.

El Reno got two goals from Vicente Saldana Barbosa along with a penalty kick from Diego Reyes.

The Indians fourth goal came from Angel Zarate.

Saldana Barbosa led the team in shots with eight, five of those on frame, followed by Reyes with two along with Demarco Guzman, while Carlos Conteras added a shot.

Redlands Community College women’s basketball team will be the third seed for the upcoming NJCAA Region 2 postseason championship after splitting the final two games of the regular season.

The Cougars lost their rematch with Seminole State (57-52) before posting a 49-40 win over Northern Oklahoma College of Enid to cap the season with a 28-5 record.

The split left Redlands with a 12-4 record in the Region 2 standings, a half game back of No.25 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (12-3) and two and a half games back of No.24 Murray State (14-1).

With a bye on the final day of the regular season for NJCAA Region 2 teams, Redlands Community College men’s basketball team knows it’s made the postseason tournament.

Unknown is just what seed.

The Cougars closed out the regular season at 13-17 with a 58-55 win over Northern Oklahoma College of Enid. The Cougars dropped a road game at Seminole State (76-69) four days earlier.

The split left Redlands with a 7-9 Region 2 record for sixth, a half game back of Eastern Oklahoma for fifth.

Several dozen people turned out last week for the dedication of a mural honoring the service and sacrifice of Sgt. Thomas Duran. 

Duran, 41, and a 14-year veteran of the El Reno Police Department, was killed after being struck by a vehicle early on Oct. 17.

Duran was reportedly assisting a man in the area of Watts and Wilson when he was struck by a vehicle while standing outside his patrol cruiser. The vehicle left the scene.

Sgt. Duran would die Oct. 24 from the injuries he suffered.

Two people have been charged in connection with his death.

El Reno police said a stalled train Monday morning resulted in kids on their way to school crawling under it.  

Police Chief Ken Brown said no injuries were reported.  

El Reno’s Frank Knight Park is named for a man who was a beloved baseball coach but died tragically when he attempted to crawl between a train that had stalled momentarily.

Parents are encouraged to talk to their children about the dangers in a scenario such as what occurred Monday morning.

Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes representatives came to Cardinal Point Family Justice Center to deliver new forensic exam equipment and supplies.

“This is a huge milestone for Canadian County,” Cardinal Point CEO Karla Docter said.

“Currently, we do not have dedicated Sexual Assault Nurse Exam (SANE) or Domestic Violence Nurse Exam (DVNE) programming to meet the needs of our community. The result is that victims would have to travel to another county, or do not reach out for support because they feel like people wouldn’t understand or be able to help them.”