Sports

There’s an old saying that when one door closes, another one opens.

El Reno High School basketball coach Rodney Haydon is now a true believer of that old phrase.

With graduation as well as the departure of Kaleb Blackwolf after his breakout freshman season, the Indians were looking at returning just two full-time and one part-time starter from a team that fell a quarter shy of making the state tourney.

Facing a tough reload, El Reno got a boost when two familiar faces returned to the program in seniors Tre Davis and Jonathan Reed.

While many coaches and players see spring drills as just glorified practices, El Reno High School’s football team took a more serious approach to its allotted time.

A sort of on-the-job training vibe, according to head coach Russell Cook.

“We’ve got a few spots to fill, but overall I thought the kids looked pretty good in both practices and at our team camp,” said Cook.

The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association allows programs 10 practices to be conducted over a 21-day window following the conclusion of all high school spring sports in the state.

The Class 5A state champion El Reno High School girls basketball program held its youth camp last week.

Seventy-one campers attended the two-sessions event which was split by age groups.

The recent passing of longtime El Reno High School administrator and coaching legend Hub Reed has been hard news for the countless number of former students and colleagues to process.

“Hub was just one of those guys you always wanted to be like. He influenced so many lives during his time and mine was one of those,” said former El Reno coach and athletic director Rocky Carter.

Reed passed away in his home May 28 at the age of 89.

OKARCHE – El Reno High School’s baseball team broke new ground last week, opening up its summer schedule with a doubleheader split against Class A power Okarche.

The Warriors took the first game of the doubleheader by a 10-1 score, before El Reno earned the split with an 11-4 decision in the nightcap.

The Indians are playing an independent schedule this summer, breaking away from the traditional Red Dirt League for the first time in more than a decade.

El Reno High School graduates Pauline Black-Harmon and Nazhoni Sleeper will have a busy summer slate of All-Star games before the two head off to Seminole State to begin their collegiate careers.

The pair have been selected for three postseason All-Star games, starting with Saturday’s Oklahoma Girls Basketball Coaches Association (OGBCA) All-State Game.

They will play for the West in the Large School Game set for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff in Mustang.

El Reno High School’s boys basketball program held its annual youth skills camp recently.

Forty-two campers took part in the three-day event, spending two hours each day working fundamentals of ball handling, shooting and defense.

Contests were held in both individual and team events.

In a shocking turn of events, the No.2 seeded Oklahoma City University Stars dropped back-to-back games in the 2024 NAIA Softball World Series in Georgia and were eliminated.

“We didn’t get the outcome we wanted but it was a great season and a great experience. I enjoyed every minute of it,” said El Reno freshman Iliana Ashford

The Stars, winners of 34 of the final 35 games before the World Series, took a 54-3 overall record into their championship run.

Three intricate parts of Calumet High School’s run to back-to-back Class B state runner-up titles during the 2023-24 school year will have one more baseball game each before heading to college.

Hunter Arnold and Dalton Belcher, both Redlands Community College signees, will play Sunday in the Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association’s All-State Games.

The pair were picked for the West squad in the Small School Game, which will be contested at 6 p.m. inside David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid.

Despite putting together four consistent rounds, Redlands Community College was unable to crack the top ten at the 2024 NJCAA Division 1 Women's National Golf Championships.

Navigating the Gold Course at the Duran Golf Club in Melbourne, Florida, Redlands placed 11th out of 15 teams with a 72-hole total of 1,302 – which was 134 strokes over par for the event.

“As a team our scores were pretty consistent all week. All the girls have been working hard and I’m really proud of all their progress.