Sports

Bouncing back from its first loss of the season, El Reno High School’s girls basketball team won back-to-back games against fellow ranked Oklahoma squads to take the consolation championship of the 2021 Arkansas Tournament of Champions.

Playing in Fort Smith, El Reno opened with a 60-54 loss to local power Northside.

The Indians got a steal and a layup with 1.5 seconds left from Janae Black-Harmon to defeat Howe, the top-ranked Class 2A team in Oklahoma, 56-54.

Freshman guard Carter Roman Nose logged his first double-double of the season as El Reno High School’s boys basketball team defeated Star Spencer 78-55 to win the consolation title at the 2021 Harrah Panthers Classic.

El Reno, ranked 10th in Class 5A, improved to 3-2 on the season with the 2-1 run through the classic.

The Indians suffered their second straight loss with a 48-32 opening-round setback to Class 6A’s Stillwater.

El Reno High School’s wrestling team placed 10th overall in the 2021 Mid-America Nationals in Enid, but in reality it was a runner-up finish when you break down the field by classes.

There were 35 teams entered from Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and Kansas.

However, the Indians were one of two Class 5A teams to place in the top 10, with top-ranked Collinsville taking seventh place with 328.5 points.

El Reno, ranked second in Class 5A, posted 233 points and finished 21.5 points in front of third-ranked Glenpool - which was 12th in the Mid-America field with 211.5.

Three double-digit victories allowed Calumet High School’s boys basketball team to collect its first tournament hardware of the season, taking the championship of the 2021 Canton Invitational.

The Chieftains, ranked eighth in Class A, improved to 9-2 on the season with wins over Arnett (71-38), Crescent (55-31) and Class B’s 20th-ranked Lomega 64-49 in the championship game.

It was the Chieftains seventh straight Canton title, with Matt Snyder earning Most Valuable Player honors, while Dylan Walling and Hunter Arnold were named all-tourney picks.

Okarche High School’s girls basketball team bounced back from its first loss of the season to defeat Class 2A’s 12th-ranked Cashion 50-47 to take third place in the 2021 Garber Invitational.

The Warriors exited the tourney with a 10-1 record for the season after a 73-38 win over Ripley and a 55-51 loss to Class 2A’s seventh-ranked Hooker.

Emma Stover scored 24 points total in the win over Ripley and the Hooker loss, followed by 22 from Jalie Rother and 20 points from Jadyn Rother.

The key to running a successful uptempo transition offense is to control the defensive boards and outhustle your opponent to the basket on the other end of the floor.

El Reno High School’s girls basketball team, ranked third in Class 5A, did both like clockwork for three periods to spark a 55-39 win over fifth-ranked Bishop McGuinness.

The non-conference win pushed the Indians to 2-0 on the season heading into this weekend’s Arkansas Tournament of Champions in Fort Smith.

El Reno junior James Reveles’ tying 3-point attempt hit off the front edge of the rim with 1.2 seconds left as Class 5A’s 11th-ranked Bishop McGuinness escaped Jenks Simmons Field House with a 79-76 double overtime victory.

The loss dropped the Indians, ranked 10th in the same poll, to 1-1 on the season heading into this weekend’s Harrah Panthers Invitational.

The six-period marathon game was a see-saw affair which featured 10 ties and 14 lead changes. Neither team led by more than nine points at any time during the 40 minutes of action.

El Reno High School’s wrestling team earned its first win of the 2021-22 dual season last week with a 54-23 decision over Piedmont.

The Indians, ranked second in the state in Class 5A, improved to 1-2 on the year with their second win in a row in the series with the Wildcats.

El Reno never trailed as Niko Gonzalez (106) and Terry Guzman (113) earned forfeits. Piedmont got five points back with Cash Donnell’s 15-0 technical fall over EHS’ Hudson Brooks (120), but the Indians would reel off wins in the next five weights.

Holding Hinton to single-digit scoring for three of the four periods, Calumet High School’s girls basketball team picked up back-to-back wins for the second time this season.

The 56-28 win over the Comets lifted unranked Calumet to 4-4 on the season going into the Canton tourney.

Calumet shot 45 percent from the floor, while holding the Comets to eight made baskets for the night.

The Chieftains held the edge in made two-point (15-5) and 3-point (7-3) baskets, while Hinton led 9-5 in made free throws.

For the first time since 2017, Calumet High School’s boys basketball team has two losses before the holiday break after Hinton stunned the state-ranked Chieftains 73-67.

The loss dropped Calumet, which fell to No.8 in the latest Class A poll, to 6-2 on the season heading into the Canton tourney.

Calumet, with two setbacks before the holidays in both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns, has lost only one game in the months of November and December over the past two seasons.