Large-school girls basketball power poll: Edmond Santa Fe, Shawnee top rankings
Courtney Walker, left, and Edmond Santa Fe are the best girls' basketball team in the state. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
Here is my first girls’ basketball power poll. This one just covers the large schools (6A and 5A). Tomorrow, I’ll have one for 2A-3A-4A.
Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail.
1. Edmond Santa Fe (6A, 21-0)
No brainer at No. 1. Texas A&M signee Courtney Walker and company are the clear favorites to win their second straight 6A title. The Wolves’ smallest margin of victory is 15. The biggest question mark surrounding this team is its strength of schedule. The Wolves haven’t really been tested this season.
Record vs. this poll: 2-0
2. Shawnee (5A, 21-0)
The Wolves lost Tulsa signee Caitlyn Ramirez to an ACL tear before the season, but it hasn’t seemed to affect them much at all. Move-ins Taylor and McKenzie Cooper obviously helped ease the blow, and guard Kelsee Grovey, another Tulsa signee, has shown herself to be one of the best players in the state.
Record vs. this poll: 3-0
3. Midwest City (6A, 21-0)
Two and three were tough to choose, because I think Midwest City has a terrific team and, I think, is the only team right now in 6A with a legitimate shot at beating Santa Fe. I watched the Bombers and Shawnee scrimmage in the preseason and it was a good matchup. After watching both teams play, I like the Wolves just a little better right now.
Record vs. this poll: 3-0
4. Tulsa East Central (5A, 21-3)
Shawnee’s chief competition in Class 5A. Two of the Cardinals’ losses were to out-of-state teams in a season-opening tourney in Tennessee, and the other came to Jenks on Jan. 20. But East Central has also beaten Jenks this season.
Record vs. this poll: 1-1
5. Edmond Memorial (6A, 16-5)
The Bulldogs five losses are: Twice to Santa Fe, twice to Midwest City and once to Shawnee. Memorial and Midwest City are lined up for a possible third game in areas.
Record vs. this poll: 1-5
6. Jenks (6A, 18-4)
Jessica Washington has returned from an injury but isn’t 100 percent. The Trojans lost in overtime to Muskogee on Tuesday.
Record vs. this poll: 2-3
7. Deer Creek (5A, 19-3)
Since a one-point loss to 4A Piedmont on Jan. 13, the Antlers have reeled off nine straight wins, including a big win at Carl Albert. Deer Creek is peaking at the right time and seems poised for a run at state.
Record vs. this poll: 2-1
8. Carl Albert (5A, 17-5)
The Titans go through rough shooting stretches, which cost them in recent home losses to Deer Creek and Shawnee. CA got a break in their playoff position and should be considered a lock for the state tournament.
Record vs. this poll: 0-2
9. Muskogee (6A, 16-6)
Since losing to Stillwater in the finals of the John Nobles Tournament in Moore on Jan. 21, the Rougers have reeled off seven straight wins, including Tuesday’s overtime upset of Jenks. Muskogee also has impressive wins over Tulsa Union and Bixby, and has beaten Sapulpa twice.
Record vs. this poll: 1-1
10. Bishop McGuinness (5A, 18-5)
Irish got off to a rocky start to the season after losing several starters, and adjusting to a new head coach, Shawn Clark. But the team has been on a roll, losing just twice since Dec. 17. Both of those losses — three points to Cascia Hall and in overtime to PC North — came with top scorer and rebounder Elyse Hight hurt.
Record vs. this poll: 0-2
Bishop McGuinness’ Elyse Hight has big game in return from injury
McGuinness' Elyse Hight returned from a hip injury and scored 23 points Saturday. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
Bishop McGuinness senior Elyse Hight, who tore muscles in her hip in practice on Jan. 9, returned to action Saturday in the Irish’s 51-45 win over Tulsa Bishop Kelley and led all scorers with 23 points.
Hight, who missed 10 games with the injury, helped lead the Irish to the Class 5A championship last season as a junior.
This season, she was averaging over 20 points a game before the injury.
She was on crutches for about a week after injuring her hip, and then began an intense rehabilitation regimen.
The McGuinness girls, who are 16-5 and ranked No. 6 in 5A, went 8-2 in Hight’s absense and said they dedicated their performance to her.
“That pushed me to work so much harder to get back into it,” Hight said. “To hear them say they played for me when I was having a hard time was really uplifting.”
Sheldon Wilson headlines impressive Northeastern Oklahoma A&M class
Anadarko running back Sheldon Wilson is part of an impressive Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Class of 2012. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN
Anadarko running back Sheldon Wilson isn’t used to competing for playing time.
After signing Wednesday with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, he’ll have to put in extra work as he fights for carries with other top backs the Norsemen signed.
“I’m gonna love that,” Wilson said. “I’ve never really had to compete for carries, so getting pushed and competing every day will make me better.”
Putnam City running back Casey Curtis, who rushed for 1,805 yards and 28 touchdowns as a senior, signed with NEO on Wednesday, as did Edmond North’s Jared Benway and Broken Bow’s Eric Dockins.
Wilson rushed for 3,335 yards and set state records with 57 rushing and 64 total touchdowns as a senior on Anadarko’s first state championship football team.
After the season, he was named The Oklahoman’s 2011 All-State Offensive Player of the Year.
Dale Patterson first recruiting class in his second stint as NEO’s coach was impressive beyond running backs.
NEO signed three top Oklahoma high school quarterbacks in McAlester’s Tony Kiefer, Owasso’s Kason Key and Mustang’s Brandon Taylor.
Four Edmond North seniors — Benway, tight end Troy Davis and offensive linemen Trevor Barron and Will Wiedenmann — also signed with NEO.
Other city-area prospects who signed with the Norsemen include Midwest City defensive back Ronnie Davis, Oklahoma Christian School kicker Keegan Carter and Kingfisher offensive lineman Hunter Endres.
The amount of talent NEO signed has Wilson thinking title.
“Looking at these guys, we might be able to win a little championship up there,” Wilson said.
Wilson will be joined at NEO by two of his Anadarko teammates, offensive lineman Randy Martinez and linebacker Wes Satoe.
“That’s really cool to go up there with teammates I know,” Wilson said. “I don’t have to go up there and feel like I don’t know anybody.”
Jason Kersey
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Heritage Hall’s Markus Wakefield commits to Howard
Heritage Hall's Markus Wakefield committed to Howard on Monday. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN
Heritage Hall lineman Markus Wakefield committed play his college football at Howard University in Washington, D.C., on Monday afternoon on his official visit to the school.
“The first thing was the top level education,” Wakefield said of his commitment. “Then I fell in love with the people.
“I also like coach (Gary) Harrell and the direction they were going with the program.”
Howard, which plays in the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision, finished 5-6 last season, its first under Harrell.
Wakefield (6-foot-1, 280 pounds) was a first-team offensive lineman on The Oklahoman‘s 2011 All-State team, but he was key to the Chargers’ success on both sides of the ball.
Heritage Hall coach Andy Bogert said in November that his team, which featured Stanford commit Barry J. Sanders in its backfield, would “probably have trouble running the ball” without Wakefield.
Bogert said he designed the Chargers’ offensive scripts each week with Wakefield in mind on each play.
Wakefield will sign with Howard on Wednesday’s National Signing Day.
Mount St. Mary to honor Mike de la Garza at halftime of Friday’s basketball game
Former Edmond Memorial basketball coach and athletic director Mike de la Garza will be honored at halftime of Friday's Mount St. Mary boys basketball game. De la Garza graduated from St. Mary and began his coaching career there. PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN
Mount St. Mary will honor Mike de la Garza at halftime of its boys basketball game against Oklahoma Christian School on Friday.
De la Garza, who was inducted into the Oklahoma Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame last July, is a 1964 Mount St. Mary graduate. He began his coaching career as the Rockets’ boys basketball coach in 1969 before going on to coach at Edmond for more than 20 years.
He led the school to the 1993 state championship, and was Edmond Memorial’s athletic director when it took home its next boys basketball state title in 2011. He retired in May.
St. Mary will host a reception at 7 p.m. in the school’s Mollman Fitness Center for all of de la Garza’s former Rockets players and classmates.
Video: Quintaz Struble talks about his dad, Mandrell Dean
Heritage Hall’s Quintaz Struble is proud of his father’s legacy as one of Oklahoma’s greatest-ever high school athletes.
But he also knows well the lessons of Mandrell Dean‘s tragic demise.
Check out this video interview with Quintaz, where he talked to me about his dad, his mom and his family’s legacy.
(Note: This interview was filmed well before his official visit to Arkansas State, where he committed Sunday, was planned).
Video: Mandrell Dean, one of Oklahoma’s greatest high school athletes
Ever seen an eighth-grader break a backboard?
That’s exactly what Millwood’s Mandrell Dean did in junior high.
The footage is here, in a video I recorded with Oklahoman sports editor Mike Sherman, who covered Mandrell as a high school beat writer in the early 1990s.
We talk about Dean, his legacy, and his son, Heritage Hall’s Quintaz Struble.
Quintaz Struble commits to Arkansas State
Heritage Hall's Quintaz Struble committed to Arkansas State on Sunday. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN
Heritage Hall’s Quintaz Struble will do Wednesday what his father couldn’t nearly 20 years ago — sign with an NCAA Division I college football program.
Struble committed this morning to Arkansas State on his official visit, he said.
He held offers from some smaller, non-Division I schools, and Wyoming wanted him to “grayshirt,” meaning he’d join the program next January as part of its class of 2013.
Struble’s commitment to a Division I program is significant because of his father’s legacy. Mandrell Dean, considered one of Oklahoma’s greatest high school athletes ever, committed to Oklahoma out of Millwood but couldn’t qualify academically.
I wrote a feature in this morning’s Oklahoman about Struble and the lessons of his father. Struble found out late last month that he had qualified academically for D-I football.
Struble joins a Red Wolves team coming off a 10-3 season and an appearance in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. Former Auburn, Tulsa and Arkansas offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn is entering his first season as Arkansas State’s head coach.
After his senior season, Struble was named to The Oklahoman’s elite, 25-man All-State football team.
Coming Sunday: The story of Quintaz Struble, son of an Oklahoma legend
Millwood legend Mandrell Dean's son, Quintaz Struble, is a senior at Heritage Hall. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE
Five years ago today, an Oklahoma high school legend died.
Mandrell Dean is one of the greatest athletes in Millwood — and Oklahoma high school — history.
His 85 total touchdowns — including a stunning 28 on kick returns — had college football programs flocking to eastern Oklahoma City to recruit him.
He committed to Oklahoma in January 1993, but never signed with the Sooners because of academic issues.
After touring the country playing for semipro and arena teams, Dean returned home, became involved with the wrong people and was shot and killed while allegedly committing a home invasion.
His son, Quintaz Struble, is a senior at Heritage Hall and is on the verge of a college football career his father didn’t have.
This story was originally supposed to run two weeks ago, but we held it to gather more information and plan for a big presentation. I posted a blog about it then, but took it down when we decided to hold off on the story. I apologize for jumping the gun back then, but I think you’ll see this weekend that it was worth the wait.
Heritage Hall senior Quintaz Struble's father is Millwood legend Mandrell Dean. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN
Pick up a copy of The Oklahoman on Sunday to read the inspiring story of a young man with some of his father’s talent, but few of his personal burdens, and the mother who sacrificed everything to make him who he is today.
Also Sunday, on NewsOK.com, we’ll have lots of photographs, a video interview with Quintaz Struble about his dad and video highlights of Mandrell Dean.
I’ve been working on this story since October, and I’m so excited for you all to read the final product.
Edmond North’s Jared Benway, Troy Davis commit to NEO
Edmond North's Jared Benway has committed to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.
The number of Oklahoma high school football standouts committing to begin their college football careers at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M continues to grow.
Edmond North running back Jared Benway and tight end Troy Davis both committed to the Miami, OK, junior college on Saturday.
Benway, who lost his entire junior season to a torn ACL, shared the backfield with speedster Jarion Tudman as a senior. Much of his role was a blocking one, but he also rushed for 574 yards and six touchdowns.
Davis caught 31 passes for 374 yards and four touchdowns as a senior. Edmond North finished the season 9-3 with a tough, 17-16 loss in the Class 6A quarterfinals to eventual state champion Tulsa Union.
Edmond North's Troy Davis will also start his college career at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.
Benway and Davis’ commitments come after news that Anadarko running back Sheldon Wilson, The Oklahoman‘s 2011 Offensive Player of the Year, and Putnam City running back Casey Curtis were also both committing to NEO.
Oklahoma Christian School kicker Keegan Carter is also starting his college career at the junior college.
