Sports

Pauline Black-Harmon continued her quest to become El Reno High School’s all-time leading female rebounder with her third double-double of the season in the Indians road game against Elgin.

The senior’s 18 points and 12 rebounds, both team highs, led El Reno to a 63-40 win over the Owls as the Indians head into the holiday break undefeated for the first time under head coach Jennifer Douglas.

With playoff seedings in the upper divisions resting solely on the outcome of league games, winning each night in District 5A-1 has become a critical factor - especially on the road.

“District road wins are tough,” said El Reno head coach Rodney Haydon.

El Reno seems to have winning away from Jenks Simmons Field House down to a science as the Indians picked up a 66-45 victory over Elgin. The 21-point decision moved EHS to 5-0 in road games this season, two of those in district play.

Calumet High School’s basketball teams split homecoming games with Corn Bible Academy last week.

See Saturday’s edition for county action wrap-up.

Riding a dominating first-period scoring blitz, El Reno High School’s girls basketball team took over sole possession of first place in the District 5A-1 standings with a 54-24 win over Crossings Christian School.

El Reno moved to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in the 5A-1 standings and sit a half game ahead of Elgin, which the Indians were slated to visit Friday, for the lead.

“We have not been starting off games like we should and our first and third periods have been our worst. We’ve talked about the need to start games stronger and not gamble on things later on.

El Reno High School’s boys basketball team had an early-season upset bid derailed by a fourth-period shooting slump as Crossings Christian School escaped Jenks Simmons Field House with a 55-46 win.

The Knights, considered a top five team in Class 5A, had beaten their first three opponents by double digits, including a 14-point win over Carl Albert. The win over El Reno lifted Crossings Christian to 4-0 in the District 5A-1 standings and top of the league.

While the roster had only five grapplers, it produced close to 150 points as El Reno High School’s girls wrestling team placed seventh in its first tournament outing of the season.

El Reno posted 147 points in the Wrestle Like a Girl Invitational hosted by Cache. The Indians were one of 12 teams to top the 100-point barrier but EHS was only 16 points from the top five. The effort was led by returning state champion Kaylee Miller (145), who logged 32 team points with a first-place effort.

El Reno High School’s wrestling team took 12 grapplers to the 2023 Mid-America Nationals in Enid, with the entire squad placing 28th or better at their respective weights. The 37-team field featured 21 schools from Oklahoma as well as teams from Kansas, Texas and Washington. Among the state schools were Class 4A’s top-ranked Tuttle and Class 6A powers Mustang, Sand Springs and Tulsa Union.

El Reno placed 27th as a team with 97.5 points, missing the top 25 by five and a half points.

Haley Mitchel is no longer a part of the program in which she’s had a major impact as both a player and coach over the span of two decades.

Mitchel informed Okarche Superintendent Josh Sumrall on Sunday that she was resigning her duties as girls basketball coach, effective immediately. She made it official Monday night when she read a tearful, emotional resignation letter to the Okarche Board of Education members during their December regular meeting.