Sports

The Jenks Simmons Field House Annex was the site for the Eighth Annual El Reno Archery Tournament over the weekend.

The event hosted 760 archers representing 40 schools and is the first of two qualifying events for state that El Reno will host.

El Reno High School was runner-up to Lawton MacArthur, while El Reno’s junior high team took third behind Altus and Clinton.

Ethen Turner releases an arrow toward a 10-meter target. (Tribune photographer/Glen Miller)

Overcoming a dismal shooting night from the 3-point arc, Calumet High School’s boys basketball team extended its regular-season winning streak to 31 games in a row with a 27-point win over Hinton.

The Chieftains, ranked second in the state in Class B, moved to 6-0 on the season with a 71-44 decision over the Comets.

Calumet struggled to a 3-of-23 effort from the 3-point line against Hinton for 13 percent.

Talon Arnold, Kaleb Thiessen and Kingston Arnold posted a trey each.

Held to a season-low 10 points in the second half, Okarche High School’s girls basketball team had its two-game win streak snapped last week with a 38-31 loss to Oklahoma Bible Academy.

The Warriors, ranked 12th in Class A, fell to 3-2 overall with the loss to OBA, which held the No.8 spot in the Class 2A poll.

Okarche held a 13-5 lead after one period and a 21-15 lead at the half. However, the Warriors scored just six points in the third and four over the final eight minutes.

El Reno High School landed two players on each of the three teams voted on by member coaches to make up the 2024 All-Suburban Conference Volleyball Team.

The Indians were coming off a 13-17 season which saw the team win its final three regular-season matches before losing out in the Class 5A regional semifinal round to Collinsville.

Earning a spot on the all-conference first team for El Reno were Trinity Black and Daily Maples.

Okarche High School Guard Squad members Bailey Bomhak (left) and Kaytlin Steelman cheer with other squad members during a timeout at a recent home basketball game.

The time to celebrate the Class 5A state championship is over because the hunter has now become the hunted.

El Reno High School’s girls basketball team will kick off the 2024-25 season Tuesday night at home with Guymon as the No.1 team in the majority of preseason polls.

So has the hunted changed its tactics in preparation to defend its title and a shot at back-to-back state titles? Has the atmosphere around preseason work changed being the queen of the hill?

The answer is a firm no for both from head coach Jennifer Douglas.

OKARCHE – Rotating between a half- and full-court pressure defensive scheme, Okarche High School’s girls basketball team shook off the rust from the Thanksgiving break with a 54-17 victory over Coyle.

The 37-point win was the second in a row for Okarche, which improved to 3-1 on the year. The Warriors pulled into the No.12 slot in the first Class A poll of the 2024-25 season.

Okarche’s defense dominated the Bluejackets with 23 turnovers for the game, leading to a 17-2 edge for the Warriors in transition points and a 29-8 margin in points off miscues.

OKARCHE – Aggressive play on both ends of the floor from the opening tipoff allowed Okarche High School’s boys basketball team to remain undefeated on the season.

The Warriors moved to 4-0 on the year with a 93-42 decision over Coyle. It was the fourth game for Okarche to put up 70 or more points on offense, three of those breaking the 90-point barrier.

The defending champion holds the top spot in the first Class A poll of the 2024-25 season, garnering 58 of the 74 first-place votes cast.

Missouri-based Crowder College completed a two-game sweep of Redlands Community College women’s basketball team last week, defeating the visiting Cougars 74-59.

Crowder, which plays out of NJCAA Region 16, defeated Redlands by 14 points in their meeting in Oklahoma two weeks ago. The Cougars dropped to 5-4 on the year with the setback.

Redlands missed all eight of its 3-point attempts in the road loss and went 26-of-55 (47 percent) from inside the arc. The Cougars were 7-of-11 from the free-throw line.

One advantage of running the same system each year is the ability to plug in new players to the lineup with little or no lost momentum from the previous season.

“We have a system and everyone knows that system. It’s been here for years and we run it throughout the summer and in everything we do. We have guys come in here and they know their roles, they know the system and they know what their expectations are.

“From there we just plug in any holes we have the best we can,” said El Reno head coach Rodney Haydon.