Sports

The Hub Reed Complex is usually a main hub for the annual Union City Spring Break Festival, but with El Reno High School on a different break schedule than the host, games at the HRC were trimmed down.

This season El Reno played in just two junior varsity and a pair of varsity outings in the event, which was scaled back due to Union City having its spring break a week earlier than many other districts.

“The field was cut by more than half,” said Union City head coach Ludy Griggs.

Redlands Community College’s baseball team snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 12-6 win over Carl Albert State College to avoid being swept by the Vikings.

The road win was the first of the season for the Cougars in NJCAA Region 2, Division 2 action as RCC improved to 1-8 in the standings and 5-25 overall. Carl Albert took the first two games of the series by scores of 5-3 and 10-2.

Nazhoni Sleeper is a young woman of God.

The senior is also the starting point guard for El Reno High School’s state championship girls basketball team and will have the privilege of playing the sport at the next level at Seminole State College.

However, Sleeper is quick to tell anyone who will listen that without putting God first, the second would have never happened.

El Reno High School held a downtown parade last week to honor its girls basketball team which brought home the program’s first-ever state championship.

It was the first basketball title won by either the boys or girls programs in 71 years.

The 2024 Class 5A state champions also toured ERPS school sites as well as schools in the county such as Maple and Darlington.

The team was accompanied by the EHS cheerleaders and the pep band.

Dominating the time of possession and touches in the middle part of the pitch, El Reno High School’s girls soccer team picked up its second straight win with a 6-2 decision over the Oklahoma City Storm.

El Reno moved to 2-1 on the season with the wire-to-wire victory over the home-schooled program. The win came on the heels of a 6-0 home decision over Guymon to open EHS’ District 5A-2 slate.

After logging seven goals in the win over Tuttle, El Reno High School’s boys soccer team’s offense has dried up as far as shots finding the net.

El Reno slipped to 1-3 on the season with a 4-0 home loss to the Oklahoma City Storm. All four goals came in the first half as Indians goalkeeper Aldo De La Torre blocked a second-half shutout. The sophomore had more than 10 saves on the night.

El Reno has gone two matches without scoring following a 5-0 setback to Guymon in the District 5A-2 opener for both schools.

Kingfisher scored 13 runs in the first four innings, then held off a late rally by El Reno High School’s baseball team to hand the Indians their first loss of the 2024 spring season, 15-12.

El Reno slipped to 5-1 on the season with the non-district loss to the Yellowjackets.

The setback was part of a three-game home set over a 24-hour period as the Indians defeated Western Heights 17-2 and 25-6. The sweep of the Jets kept El Reno in first place in District 5A-1 standings at 4-0, tied with Carl Albert, Guthrie and Noble.

Calumet High School’s baseball team, Class B’s state runner-up in the fall, kicked off its spring schedule last week with a 16-6 win over Lomega.

The Chieftains are ranked second in the state in the first spring poll behind Fort Cobb-Broxton, which defeated CHS in the fall championship.

Calumet went 11-of-20 (.550) from the plate in the season opener with 16 runs batted in. The squad had two doubles by Derrick Krantzman and a third by Hunter Navanick. Brendon Voss and Kaleb Thiessen added a triple each.

Union City High School’s slow-pitch softball team moved closer to a .500 record for the spring following an 8-5 road win over Wayne.

The Tigers are now 4-5 on the spring with two wins over Ninnekah by scores of 28-4 and 23-4 and a 6-5 win over Timberlake in the Waukomis tournament.

Morgan Brothers has been the main offensive weapon with 13 base hits, with two triples and five home runs.

Four of those round-trippers came in a game against Ninnekah.

Redlands Community College’s basketball teams were on the opposite ends of the seeding spectrum going into the 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association’s Region 2 Postseason Championships.

The Redlands women won three of the final four regular-season games, including a sweep of both Northern Oklahoma College programs (Enid, Tonkawa) to take the No.2 seed.

Jay Niehues’ team closed with a 20-9 overall record and posted a 10-6 mark in the Region 2 regular-season standings.

The Cougars were second only to Connors State (14-2).