Oklahoma

Vote: Who should be Oklahoma high school Athlete of the Week? (9/3/2024)

Published

1 year ago

September 3, 2024

Vote: Who should be Oklahoma high school Athlete of the Week? (9/3/2024)

A new school year is upon us in Oklahoma, and with that commences the many achievements athletes will be providing in 2024-25.

Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Oklahoma high school athlete of the week for August 26-Sept. 1. Read through the nominees and cast your vote.

Voting will conclude Sunday at 11:59 p.m. If you would like to make a nomination in a future week, email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com.

Editor’s Note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll are intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes who receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.

OKLAHOMA ATHLETE OF THE WEEK NOMINEES

Tahkari Bethel, Owasso football

A junior wide receiver, Bethel had a big night against defending 6AI champion Bixby. He caught five passes for 146 yards and two TDs and also returned a kickoff 99 yards for another score in the Rams’ dominant 40-21 win against the Spartans.

Jaseir Posey, Pocola football

Posey completed 13-of-16 passes for 278 yards and five TDs while adding 54 yards rushing on seven carries in the Indians’ 54-28 win against Antlers.

Colby Shannon, Comanche football

A quarterback, Shannon passed for 105 yards, but had a much greater night running the ball, carrying it 24 times for 234 yards and scoring five TDs in Comanche’s 31-15 win against S&S Consolidated (Texas).

KD Jones, Jenks football

The junior standout tailback carried the ball 23 times for 187 yards and had three TDs in the Trojans’ 48-3 win against Edmond Santa Fe.

Gavin Salt, Oologah football

A linebacker, Salt was instrumental for a Mustang defense that held Vinita to just 34 yards of total offense in a 27-0 win. He finished with six tackles, two tackles for loss and two sacks.

Jackson Harris, Sallisaw football

The Black Diamonds’ quarterback completed 15-of-20 passes for 127 yards and a TD while adding 178 yards rushing on 22 carries with two TDs in their 31-14 win against Pryor.

Brodie Grace, North Rock Creek football

A sophomore linebacker, Grace finished with 10 tackles and also intercepted a pass, forced a fumble and recovered another in his team’s 17-7 win against Marlow.

Nolan Yates, Prague football

Yates rushed for 152 yards on nine carries and scored four TDs in the Red Devils’ 60-7 win against Classen SAS.

Grady Adamson, Edmond Deer Creek football

The Antlers’ star quarterback had an impressive season debut. He was 12-of-19 passing for 220 yards and four TDs and also added 59 yards rushing on seven carries with a TD in Deer Creek’s 53-17 win against Bishop McGuinness.

Josiah Woods, OKC Southeast football

Woods rushed for three touchdowns and passed for three more touchdowns in the Spartans’ 68-18 win against the OKC Patriots.

Wyatt Geissler, Bethany football

Geissler caught eight passes for 140 yards and three TDs in the Bronchos’ 40-21 win against Noble.

Brady McAdoo, Tuttle football

McAdoo caught four passes for 45 yards and two TDs, including the game-winning 27-yard reception with less than a minute left in the Tigers’ 31-24 win against Guthrie. He also had 12 tackles and an interception on defense.

Destry Lujan, Yukon football

A junior running back/linebacker, Lujan was active in the Millers’ 26-16 win against Del City. He rushed for 59 yards and a TD, while on defense, recorded eight tackles, three tackles for loss, forced two fumbles and recovered another fumble.

Caden Knighten, Pauls Valley football

Making his debut with the Panthers after transferring from Wynnewood, Knighten rushed for 221 yards on 21 carries and had three TDs as Pauls Valley downed Lindsay, 28-6.

Wyatt Fitzgerald, Oklahoma Christian School football

Fitzgerald threw three TD passes, including a 37-yard Hail Mary to Elijah Winter as time expired in the Saints’ come-from-behind 19-13 win against Christian Heritage Academy. He also passed for 222 yards – 186 of those coming in the second half.

Malikai Miller, Moore football

The Lions’ quarterback completed 71 percent of his passes for 192 yards and two TDs as Moore won the “Moore War” against rival Westmoore, 35-3. He also broke up three passes at defensive back.

Kaeden Goodman, Metro Christian football

Goodman caught six passes for 54 yards and also registered seven tackles in the Patriots’ 21-12 win against Chisholm.

Cleveland Williamson, McAlester football

Williamson intercepted two passes, running one back for a TD, and also had a receiving TD as the Buffaloes began 2024 with a bang, beating Broken Bow, 37-26.

Alex Nathman, Cascia Hall football

Nathman caught five passes for 110 yards and scored three TDs as the Commandos edged Holland Hall, 29-28.

Jackson Still, Colcord football

The Hornets’ quarterback had 272 yards of total offense and was responsible for six TDs in their 40-7 win against Oklahoma Union.

Jason Powders, Henryetta football

Powders, a senior running back, carried the ball just six times but had 213 yards and four TDs as the Knights downed Kellyville, 58-0.

Tayveon Parry-Speight, Tulsa Union football

Parry-Speight rushed for 144 yards on 17 carries and also caught five passes for 58 yards while scoring two total touchdowns as the Redhawks outlasted Bentonville (Ark.) in overtime, 42-35.

Chase Eaves, Pawhuska football

A senior receiver, Eaves had eight receptions for 128 yards, added 21 more yards rushing and scored two total TDs in his team’s 50-6 win against Nowata.

Landen Griffith, Talihina football

The quarterback passed for 282 yards and five TDs and added 175 yards on 20 carries with three TDs as the Golden Tigers defeated Summit Christian, 62-28.

Jeramiah Ssettimba, Broken Arrow football

Ssettimba completed 21-of-30 passes for 292 yards and three TDs and added 39 yards rushing in the Tigers’ 42-21 win against Springdale (Ark.) Har-Ber.

Whelan Carson, Perry football

A receiver/linebacker, Carson hauled in six passes for 132 yards and four TDs, while on defense, he had 10 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and a sack in the Maroons’ 52-12 win against Mannford.

– Buck Ringgold | @SBLiveOK

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Oklahoma

How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

Published

4 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy experienced great success during his first year in Norman.

Nagy, who joined OU’s staff in February 2025, oversaw the Sooners’ scouting staff as Oklahoma reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. He also helped OU sign a top-15 2026 recruiting class and land several key transfer portal players after the 2025 season.

Though the wins outweighed the losses in Nagy’s first year, the Sooners’ general manager knew that there was much to fortify during the offseason.

Oklahoma’s offense sputtered late in the season, as the Sooners scored fewer than 25 points in each of their last four games.

For Nagy, a major focus was surrounding OU quarterback John Mateer with quality talent.

“(We wanted to) just really put more around John Mateer,” Nagy said on The Dari Nowkhah Show on KREF on Friday.

Nagy and his scouting team added plenty of pieces from the portal that should elevate Oklahoma’s offense.

The Sooners signed three portal wideouts — Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State) — after the 2025 season to join returning receivers Isaiah Sategna, Jer’Michael Carter and Jacob Jordan.

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Sategna, who transferred to OU from Arkansas after the 2024 season, served as Mateer’s safety net in 2025. The receiver finished the year with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches.

Harris and Livingstone are both proven producers at the Power Four level, and Nagy believes that those two will make OU’s receiving corps stronger in 2026.

“Those two, we’re very excited about both of those guys,” Nagy said.

Nagy also did plenty of work to ensure that OU’s run game improves in 2026.

The Sooners added three tight ends — Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) — from the portal. They also added three transfer offensive linemen: Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky), E’Marion Harris (Arkansas) and Peyton Joseph (Georgia Tech).

OU will have its two top running backs from the 2025 squad, Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, back in 2026.

For those two to reach their full potential, the Sooners’ blockers will have to regularly open up running lanes — and Nagy is confident that they will.

“We have to run the ball better, there’s no way around that,” Nagy said. “Our job is to create more competition in every room in the offseason. I feel like we’ve done that.”

On the show, Nagy revealed that the Sooners added nearly 9,000 collegiate snaps to their roster during the offseason.

The general manager believes that both sides of the ball will be stronger as a result of his scouting team’s offseason efforts and their collaboration with OU’s coaching staff.

“I’ve tried to be really intentional with our communication,” Nagy said. “There’s a common goal: We’re trying to win a national championship. This is a true partnership, and we all have the same goal in mind. It’s going to continue to evolve and get better.”

Oklahoma will open its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.

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Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion

Published

16 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion

The loss was on Ritson Meyer’s mind all week as he prepared for his final state wrestling tournament.

A senior 215-pounder at Elgin, Meyer isn’t used to getting beaten, but he got a wake-up call when he lost against Coweta senior Aiven Robbins by five points in their regional championship match.

For Meyer, it set in that winning his fourth state championship wouldn’t be an easy task.

“I lost to him last week and I’m not a loser, so it was eating on me all week in practice,” Meyer said. “So (in) practice, I really leveled up everything. Everything about it.”

Meyer and Robbins met again on Saturday, this time with the Class 5A state championship on the line.

Intensely focused from the start, Meyer came out aggressive. And although it was another great match, Meyer did just enough to etch his name in the state history books.

Meyer held on to beat Robbins in an 8-7 decision in the new OG&E Coliseum as he claimed his fourth state championship, while Coweta won the team title.

An Abilene Christian football signee, Meyer’s wrestling days are over, but he leaves the sport with satisfaction.

“I came out here — even though it hurt, even though I was tired — I got it done,” Meyer said. “I’m so happy. I got to celebrate with my parents, my family, my friends. It’s a crazy feeling.”

A standout running back and linebacker on the gridiron, Meyer helped his team win the Class 4A state title in football as a junior before Elgin lost to Tuttle 23-20 in the 2025 championship game in December.

It’s a different sport, but that loss fueled Meyer’s wrestling season in a way.

“I like to tell people that wrestling is like offseason football,” Meyer said. “I can’t go out, lose. Everybody wanted me to win this. I won it for the whole entire community. First four-timer at Elgin. And that football (loss) really did eat me alive. It didn’t feel good at all, and I didn’t want that same feeling again.”

Meyer had a great start against Robbins on Saturday and never trailed, but Robbins battled to set up a great finish and both were gassed when it was over.

“I just gave it my all,” Meyer said, “and I got it done.”

This article will be updated.

Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at@nicksardis. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

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Oklahoma leaders react after U.S. and Israel launch joint attack on Iran

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma leaders react after U.S. and Israel launch joint attack on Iran

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — State leaders are reacting after the United States launched an attack on Iran Saturday morning.

U.S. Senator James Lankford said he is praying for the safety of the American service members involved in the attack.

“Iran remains the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and has long threatened the United States and our allies. Today’s military actions underscore the seriousness of that threat and the need to prevent Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Lankford said. “I’m praying for the safety of every American service member involved in these operations and for their families at home. God bless our troops and God bless America.”

Lankford also said that any Americans in the Middle East should keep an eye out for advisories and guidance from the U.S. Department of State.

U.S. Representative Tom Cole released a statement following the attack:

It’s a time of reckoning for those who chant ‘Death to America.’ President Trump is right when he calls the effort to eradicate Iran’s nuclear weapons program and give its people the opportunity to seize their freedom ‘a noble mission.’ The evil Iranian regime has been the leading state sponsor of terror for decades. It has killed thousands of people within and beyond its borders, including hundreds of Americans. It must be defanged and dismantled.

The President did not take this action lightly or impulsively. He has warned Iran repeatedly that it must change its policies and its actions. He has negotiated with Iran in good faith and with great clarity. It was the Iranian regime that chose to ignore those warnings and make a mockery of those negotiations. In doing so, its tyrannical leaders made an enormous miscalculation.

Our Commander in Chief has made clear that his goal is not just to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. It is also to give the Iranian people a chance to take back their country. Self-determination and freedom will be theirs to claim. I hope they will.

Like every American, my thoughts and prayers are with our brave and capable men and women in uniform who are carrying out this noble but hard and dangerous mission. I know that they will have the unwavering support of every American, and I am confident that they will acquit themselves with honor and distinction.

May God protect our troops and the innocent Iranian people – and once again – as He so often has, bless America.

U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin said he is praying for the United States’ men and women in uniform in a post on Saturday.

“May God bless and protect our men and women in uniform—the greatest peacekeeping force in the history of the world. Americans are praying for your safety in this mission,” Mullin said.

U.S. Representative Kevin Hern said the Iranian regime is a threat to the U.S. and President Trump was left with no other choice than to take action.

As the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, the Iranian regime is an active threat to the United States, our allies, and stability across the Middle East.”

Iran’s refusal to accept a deal left President Trump with no choice other than to take decisive action to ensure the regime never possesses a nuclear weapon. There is no peace without strength, and the United States will not sit by while this regime pursues their nuclear ambitions, fuels their terrorist proxies, and brutalizes the Iranian people. I’m praying for our brave troops in the region. May God bless them, and may God bless the United States.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a social media post that his prayers are with President Trump and Secretary Pete Hegseth as they work to achieve a safer world.

“God bless and protect the men and women of the United States military engaged in the Middle East this weekend. My prayers are with our military, President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, and our Generals, as they use American force to achieve a safer world for the future of our children and grandchildren,” Drummond said.

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