When state schools were allowed to open preseason workouts July 15, El Reno High School volleyball coach Kristin Koehler faced a puzzling situation.
With the majority of her team at Falls Creek Church Camp for a week, Koehler had to choose between holding practices with a limited number of players or delay the start of workouts.
While scaled down dramatically from their life-sized crafts, size is about the only real difference between remote-controlled racing and the competitions found on either the drag boat or offshore powerboat circuits.
More than 100 R/C boat racers descended on Lake El Reno last week for the inaugural Oklahoma Shootout. They came from six different states, the furthest California, driving campers and pulling trailers filled with boats, supplies and replacement parts.
El Reno faced Union City in a home scrimmage last week.
A week after hosting the big boats for Smoke on the Water, Lake El Reno was the site for the 2025 Oklahoma Shootout.
The event was hosted by the Oklahoma City R/C Power Boaters Association and featured scaled replicas of larger speed boats.
The crafts were gas and electric powered.
See Saturday’s edition for complete coverage.
El Reno High School’s softball program kicked off its preseason slate last week with a 10-7 setback to Clinton in a scrimmage in which both teams rotated players at different positions and experience.
El Reno will host Union City and Shawnee this week in scrimmages.
El Reno High School’s all-time male career scoring leader closed out his prep career on a winning note as the West swept the 2025 Oklahoma Coaches Association’s All-State Boys Basketball Games.
Carter Roman Nose played in his third postseason elite game of the summer, scoring a basket in the Large School Game, which was won by the West squad 78-57.
Roman Nose did not start but entered the game on the first rotation. He blocked a shot with 1:26 left in the first period as the West took a 17-12 lead. He started the second period and missed a 3-pointer.
TULSA – The architect and two keystones of El Reno High School’s historic back-to-back state championships took to the court together one last time.
El Reno head coach Jennifer Douglas served as assistant coach for the West squad in the 2025 Oklahoma Coaches Association’s Large School All-State Girls Basketball Game.
Two of the West starters were El Reno graduates Emmary Elizondo and Lilly Thomas.
The silver anniversary of the Smoke on the Water Drag Boat Races drew interest from coast to coast as the Outlaw-style event continues to gain popularity after two and a half decades.
“It went really well. We had good weather and didn't have a whole lot of issues. It was a great weekend.
“I kept waiting for that moment for something to happen and it never did and it turned out fantastic,” said race co-organizer Josh Finnigan.
Missing the sounds and thrills of boat racing on Lake El Reno?
Well, you won't have to wait until next July to hear engines humming, waves crashing and side-by-side racing. All those return this weekend, just on a smaller scale.
The North America Model Boat Association has sanctioned a remote control racing event for Saturday and Sunday on the west shore of Lake El Reno.
The event, a first for El Reno, is being sponsored by the Oklahoma City Remote Control Power Boaters.
Drivers are coming from Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico and California.
With his pit area near the fishing pier at Lake El Reno, Matt Miller has a front row seat of sorts for most passes during the Smoke on the Water Drag Boat Races.
Yet when he has his head down working on his boat or being shuttled back and forth between races, the veteran El Reno driver is always listening to the races he can’t see.
“You can tell by the pitch of the motor how many RPMs they’re running if you’re really paying attention. You know when there’s a quick pass being made,” said Miller.
So why such a keen ear?
