Building a culture where players have each other’s backs, in good times or bad, has been the cornerstone of Russell Cook’s coaching philosophy since day one after taking the El Reno High School football job.
Last week his players did just that – even in spirit.
Coy Atkins doubled in Gage Lesperance in the top of the fifth inning to break a 4-all tie as El Reno High School’s summer baseball team remains undefeated with a 5-4 road win over Chickasha.
The one-run win over the Chicks moved El Reno to 2-0. It’s the first of two non-league meetings with Chickasha in June.
El Reno High School’s girls basketball program had two squads in last week’s Mustang Team Camp.
El Reno was 4-0 after two days with wins over Dibble, Bethany, Community Christian and Leedy.
El Reno High School basketball players (from left) Lyric Chapel, Aashari Hollins, Karmen Warner, Ava Mendoza and Caitlyn Mendez flash peace signs during a break in the action at the El Reno High School Girls Youth Skills Camp held at Jenks Simmons Field House.
More than 50 campers took part in the event.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Chase Johnson’s tenure as El Reno High School’s baseball coach got off to a fast start as the Indians jumped out to a 2-0 record in the Putnam City Summer League.
The varsity posted a 19-1 win over the PCO orange squad, while the junior varsity shut out the Pirates by a 10-0 margin.
El Reno’s varsity offense was led by Maddox Ferguson with a 3-for-3 effort and Austin Steffler’s 3-for-4 tally as the Indians belted out 13 hits.
Three of those were triples by Gage Lesperance, Austin Steffler and Ryker Crain.
Picking from 8-man through Class 6A, only 74 players were chosen to take part in next month’s Oklahoma Coaches Association’s All-State Football Game.
The West roster for the 2026 Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association’s Small School All-State Baseball Game will have five spots filled by players within a 25-mile radius of each other.
Calumet High School, which won the Class B title for both fall and spring, earned two first-pick spots in catcher Kingston Arnold and outfielder Kaleb Thiessen.
El Reno High School baseball player Ryker Crain leaps into the air to make a throw toward first base during the Indians junior varsity game with Putnam City Orange to kick off summer league action.
Crain was getting extra time at a different position after playing third base in the varsity game.
El Reno defeated the Pirates in both games, with varsity winning 19-0 and the junior varsity 10-0.
See Wednesday’s paper for a recap.
Josh Davis held his first youth skills camp as head coach of the El Reno High School boys basketball program.
Thirty-seven players in grades 2-8 went through three days of skills challenges, layup and shooting contests as well as one-on-one and 5-on-5 team games.
WEATHERFORD – Three El Reno High School graduates and a trio of their former coaches narrowly missed logging a win in their final baseball game together.
Jonathan Shelley, Mason Fulton and Preston Archer played for the Large North squad in the 2026 Western Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association’s All-Star Games.
The squad, which lost 6-3 to the South, was coached by El Reno’s Keith Hill, Rusty Shamblin and Gavin Beavers. It’s the first time since joining the WOBCA for El Reno to have that many representatives.
