Sports

Following runner-up finishes at Little Axe, Dibble and Bethel meets, El Reno High School’s boys powerlifting team placed six lifters in the top five at the recent Chickasha Invitational.

The effort, a tuneup for the Oklahoma Powerlifting Coaches Association’s regional meet, left El Reno in third place in the large school standings with 111 points.

Edmond North (165) and Ardmore (141) had the top two spots, while El Reno edged Woodward (104) and 19 other schools.

El Reno High School will have three lifters in the Oklahoma Girls Powerlifting Coaches Association’s State Championships, which start Monday in Durant.

Competing in the North Regional, Brailynn Pawnee (105) took third place to punch her state ticket with a total weight of 430 pounds. Her best was a 195-pound deadlift, followed by a 155-pound squat and an 80-pound bench.

Izzy Birdsong was fifth in the same weight class with a 370-pound total. The senior had a 155-pound deadlift, a 135-pound squat and an 80-pound bench.

NOBLE - Critical-moment points and an untimely injury kept El Reno High School’s boys wrestling team from adding to its list of qualifiers for this weekend’s Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association’s Class 5A Wrestling State Championships.

Competing in the 5A West Regional, El Reno collected 85 points to take 10th in the standings.

Three grapplers secured state passes, while three more will serve as alternates.

El Reno High School senior Izzy Birdsong (center) recently signed to play college softball for the Royals of Ecclesia College.

The program plays on the NCAA Division I level and is based in Springdale, Ark.

El Reno High School freshman first baseman Garrett Moss reaches out to glove a pickoff throw to the bag during a preseason game against Clinton last week at the Hub Reed Complex.

El Reno defeated the Red Tornado 9-5, paced by three runs in the fifth inning to break a 3-all tie.

El Reno had two more preseason outings slated before kicking off the 2026 season Monday at home against Midwest City. The two games with the Bombers, one on the road Tuesday, kick off District 5A-1 play for both schools.

All three area small school boys basketball programs remain in the hunt for a state tournament berth with defending champions Calumet and Okarche now one win away from punching Elite Eight tickets.

Calumet captured the Class B1, Area I, Region C title with a 99-44 win over Balko-Forgan for its sixth straight victory.

The Chieftains, ranked second in the state, are now 25-3 on the year and will play No.8 Hammon for the Area I Championship and a direct state pass.

Calumet, needing to win one out of two games, is seeking its 14th trip to state and fourth in a row.

Rallying from two points down to start the final period, Okarche High School’s girls basketball team joined Calumet in the driver’s seat toward state tournament berths in their respective classes – each needed one win.

Fifth-ranked Okarche outscored No.12 Mooreland 13-8 in the fourth period to secure a 41-38 win in the Class A, Area I, Region A Championship.

Now 22-4 on the year and riding a seven-game win streak, the Warriors face fourth-ranked Amber-Pocasset in the Area I title game. The last loss for Okarche was to the Panthers.

Several uncharacteristic turnovers throughout the final period allowed Tonkawa to get close, but Redlands Community College women’s basketball team pulled out a 66-54 home win over Northern Oklahoma College of Tonkawa.

The Cougars have won nine straight games to move to 24-4 on the season. The streak has occurred in NJCAA Region 2 play as Redlands is now 11-3 in the standings for third place, and still a game and a half out of first place.

Pushing four players in double-digit scoring led Redlands Community College men’s basketball team to its first win streak of the year in NJCAA Region 2 action.

The Cougars defeated Northern Oklahoma College of Tonkawa 83-69 for its second straight win, improving to 12-16 on the season. The Cougars are 6-8 in the region standings and move into a tie for sixth place.

The first-ever game utilizing a shot clock in the 71-year history of Jenks Simmons Field House came with two 35-second violations and some on-the- job training for the home team.

“We didn’t even practice using the shot clock for this game. The only thing that happened was the first time it (clock) went off our girls didn’t know what to do. So we had to tell them to keep playing.

“Even though the clock goes off, you’ve still got to play until you hear a whistle, because you don’t know if they're going to blow it dead or not,” said El Reno head coach Jennifer Douglas.