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Douglas urges team to trust the process

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After two of its three summer outings, El Reno High School’s girls basketball coach Jennifer Douglas has been reminding her players one simple phrase.

“Trust the process,” said Douglas.

The Indians have four wins and just as many close calls as the back-to-back Class 5A state champions have been dealing with retooling an offense hit hard by graduation.

Juliana Thomas slices her way between Broken Bow defenders to shoot a driving layup

Indians sweep PCO Pirates

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OKLAHOMA CITY – Due to several veteran holdovers committed to travel ball teams or nursing nagging injuries, El Reno High School baseball coach Keith Hill has switched up his summer routine.

Instead of playing in the annual Red Dirt League, Hill has put a junior varsity team in an independent league splitting dates between Southeast and Putnam City. Hill has been mixing in the veteran players when available.

“I wanted to focus on developing those younger kids who will be key for us next spring,” said Hill.

Austin Steffler jumps into the air as he makes a throw to first base

Camp of Champions

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El Reno High School’s girls basketball program recently held a two-day youth skills camp.

Each day had two sessions where fundamentals such as dribbling, passing, shooting and rebounding were taught.

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Late game heroics elude Karty, West in ONASA football bid

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Miscommunication on the game’s final play between backup quarterback Zane Balentine and El Reno’s Xzavier Karty kept the West out of the end zone and the win column during the 2025 Oklahoma Native All-State Association's Football Game.

Central Sallisaw’s Xhaiden Mosby intercepted Balentine’s pass in the end zone with 19 seconds to play, sealing the East’s 7-6 victory.

“It was going to me. It was an out and up route and I guess there was some miscommunication,” said Karty.

Xzavier Karty (21) falls over while reaching for first down yardage after catching a pass

Roman Nose to face elite foes without teammate

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Shortly after El Reno High School’s loss to Tulsa Memorial in the Class 5A state quarterfinals, seniors Carter Roman Nose and Tre Davis made a slow quiet walk around the corridor of the Jim Norick Arena.

It would be the last time the two 1,000-point career scorers would take the court together.

Coaches voted for more outings from the pair, who combined for 1,016 points in their final season, selecting them to play in two of the state’s elite all-star events, the first being the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association’s All-Star Games Saturday.

Carter Roman Nose drives the basketball around a Tulsa Memorial defender

Brooks closes track season with PR time in 1,600 run

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El Reno High School’s Ethan Brooks wrapped up his freshman track season last week with a record-setting performance in the Stars Mile Night event in Oklahoma City.

Running at historic Taft Stadium, Brooks was among the field of 145 thinclads in the high school division. Eighty-six of those runners broke the five-minute mark for the 1,600-meter run, including Brooks.

There were eight heats, each using a pacesetter, with Brooks winning the fourth with a personal-best time of four minutes and 25.25 seconds. He was 4.77 seconds faster than the runner-up.

Ethan Brooks (right) runs in step with Guthrie’s Isaiah Blevins

Friday Night Lights with a June twist

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Russell Cook admits he had a personal motive when he went looking to rekindle the Oklahoma Native All-State Association’s football game after an 18-year hiatus.

“Originally I approached the Native All-State Association because Evan Roman Nose was initially left off the All-State team for the Oklahoma Coaches Association and we felt he was an All-State caliber player,” said Cook.

Though Roman Nose was later added to the OCA squad as an alternate, Cook felt the need to keep the process of the Native All-State game intact.

Eric Parker reaches out to grab a John Marshall quarterback

Thunder up!

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This young basketball player was sporting his Oklahoma City Thunder jersey at the recent El Reno High School Boys Youth Basketball Skills Camp.

The Thunder won the Western Conference title and will play for the NBA title starting Thursday.

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