2025's BIGGEST STORIES: COUNTDOWN CONCLUDES WITH NOS. 10-1
By Mike Tupa
Jan. 7, 2026
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
It has been an incredible year for area sports. The following is a look back at the top 30 stories of 2025. Today we’ll finish with Nos. 10-1.
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Bartlesville High School’s swim team were Class 6A state runner-ups in the 2024-25 season and is BASR’s 10th top story of 2025.
Courtesy photo
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10 — BARTLESVILLE SWIM TEAMS FLIRT WITH STATE TITLES
Bartlesville High School pool puppies made a growl heard around Class 6A.
The Bruins and Lady Bruins both finished as state runner-ups in the boys’ and girls’ divisions, respectively.
Thus continued the amazing run of Bartlesville swimming — led the past decade by head coach Chad Englehart — as a persistent state power.
Bartlesville has averaged more than one state championship every other year during Englehart’s sparkling tenure and has averaged a top two finish every other year going many back many seasons.
Jenks proved to be too much to overcome for Bartlesville in the 2025 competition. In the boys’ meet, Jenks outlasted the Bruins, 349-305, and Jenks’ claimed the girls’ crown at the expense of the Lady Bruins, 427-338.
Bartlesville boasted two gold medal winners (distance in yards): Anna Young (girls, 200 free, 500 free) and Addison Howze (girls, 200 I.M., 100 back),
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Bartlesville HIgh School’s Addison Howze won a gold medal in the 2024-25 Class 6A state swim meet.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
Lorrie Bertolet retired from the Bartlesville Gymnastics Club and is BASR’s 9th top story of 2025.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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9 — LORRIE BERTOLET RETIRES
After more than several decades of impacting local girls’ gymnastics history, Lorrie Bertolet stepped away in retirement last year.
Lorrie Bertolet, who had started out as a girl gymnast and came back to the Phillips 66 Gymnastics Club as a coach, a member of the club’s administrative and leadership staff and finally as the chief officer of the organization — whose name meanwhile would be changed to the Bartlesville Gymnastics Club.
Bertolet helped guide the program through the initial transition from an embedded corporate appendage to more of a sponsor-funded program.
A winner of the prestigious Shannon Miller Award, Bertolet helped develop numerous Bartlesville gymnasts the opportunity to compete in college.
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Pawhuska High School’s Vann Wildcat fights for yards during playoff action last December. The Huskies made it to Class A-1 semifinals and is BASR’s 8th top story of 2025.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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8 — PAWHUSKA STORMS INTO SEMIFINALS
Despite breaking in a new quarterback, replacing other key pieces and playing one of the toughest non-district and district football schedules in Class A, the Huskies put together another amazing deep playoff run.
The Huskies hammered through the regular season at 9-1, including signature wins against Hominy, 44-27; Woodland, 44-12, and Pawnee, 42-40.
They opened the Class A-1 postseason by thumping Panama, 48-6; and wrestling out a quarterfinal win from Wynnewood, 28-26.
In the semifinal, Rejoice Christian held off Pawhuska, 42-34. (The next week Rejoice Christian beat Tonkawa for the state title, 34-13.)
Pawhuska’s list of heroes went deep —quarterback Kane Foreman (a transfer from Copan), and two-way warriors Vann Wildcat, Logan Cass, Corlin Cass, Jimmie Wildcat, Jarek Edwards, Dane Jensen, Jaxon Arnett, Leighton Shaw and others.
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Bartlesville High School’s Abby Shelley, No. 1 girls singles, came just shy of a state title last spring and is BASR’s 7th top story of 2025.
Courtesy photo
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7 — ABBY SHELLEY CHALLENGES FOR STATE NET SUPREMACY
It seemed from the moment she stepped on the Bartlesville High varsity tennis Abby Shelley was destined to be one of the best in team history.
Last spring, Shelley fulfilled that potential by charging to the state championship match in No. 1 girls singles.
Even though she came up barely short of winning the title, Shelley played to split sets 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, in falling to the No. 1 seed.
In the first round, Shelley vaporized her first-round opponent, 6-0, 6-0. In the quarterfinals, she steamrolled over her foe, 6-1, 6-2.
Next up, Shelley swooped past her semifinal opponent — the No. 3 seed — in a 6-2, 6-2 seep.
That matched her against favorite Haley Hibbets, who Shelley battled with fierce resolve before walking away with the state runner-up honor and the memories of an unforgettable season.
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Bartlesville High School’s Klayton Bastings makes a save during a soccer match last spring. The Bruins made it to the Class 6A semifinals last fall and is BASR’s 6th top story of 2025.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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6 — BRUIN SOCCER MAKES SEMIFINAL APPEARANCE
With head coach Cedric Muteshi and his staff unlocking the team’s potential, the Bruins (8-7) muscled through the first two rounds of the Class 6A playoffs and into the semifinals, where they were squeezed out by Broken Arrow, 1-0.
It was a season of twists for the Bruins — 0-3 before Spring Break, 6-1 in their next seven matches, and 0-2 in their final two regular season games.
They then made their power move in the playoffs — eliminating perennial power Tulsa Union, 2-1 (OT) and knocking off Northwest Classen, 1-0 (OT), in the quarterfinals.
Bartlesville was a beast in tied matches — they finished 5-1 in overtime battles.
In the quarterfinal win, sophomore Carnell Lusuli ripped the decisive goal in the penalty kick shootout. During regulation play, Braxton Decker tallied the Bruins’ lone goal, off an assist from Austin Bastings.
Klayton Bastings created a nearly impenetrable wall in front of the Bruin goal.
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Dewey High School’s Londyn Bond, left, was one of many local athletes who won silver or gold at last spring’s track meets and is BASR’s 5th top story of 2025.
Courtesy photo
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5 — SLIVERS OF SILVER AND GOBS OF GOLD
Several are high school athletes seized either gold or silver at last spring’s state track meets.
Dewey’s Londyn Bond boasted the area only state championship by winning the girls shot put (40-feet-2-inches) in Class 3A. Bond was the lone thrower to reach 40 feet.
For Bartlesville High, sophomore skyrocket Wes Turner soared to second place in the Class 6A boys pole vault (15-feet-6-inches).
Dewey’s Keidon Holt was the lone area thinclad to lasso two silver medals — in the boys’ 110m hurdles (:14.63) and in the boys’ 300m hurdles (:39.43).
Another Dewey standout Camrin “C.J.” Jones swooped over the high jump bar at 5-feet-6-inches to earn the girls’ silver at the Class 3A meet.
Pawhuska’s Tripp Walker bolted to second place in the boys’ high jump (6-feet-2-inches) in Class 2A.
Another Dewey warrior also mined silver — Lacey Nichols in the girls’ discus (106-feet-7-inches).
Notes: Pawhuska’s Brooklyn Miles distinguished herself as one of the fastest girls in the state, finishing third in the 2A 200m dash (:25.84).
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The Doenges Ford Indians captured the Glen Winget Memorial Tournament crown and is BASR’s 4th top story of 2025.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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4 — WIN-DIANS WREST WINGET CROWN
It had been seven years since the Bartlesville Doenges Toyota Indians had climbed to the top at the annual Glenn Winget Memorial Baseball Tournament — and only three times the previous 26 seasons.
But the 2025 19-and-under crew put it all together for a triumphal run to Winget supremacy during July Fourth Week.
Several players contributed to capture the crown jewel of the Bartlesville summer sports season.
Kael Siemers earned the MVP (Belva Hively Award) for the Indians.
In addition to his mastery at the plate and in the field, Siemers nailed down the pitching save in the 3-2 win in the championship final against Bryant (Ark.) Black Sox.
The Indians powered unbeaten through pool play, beating the Branson (Mo.) Pirates, 5-3; the Springfield (Mo.) Hillcrest Merchants, 10-0, and the Fort Smith (Ark.) Sportsman, 9-7.
In the semifinals they thundered past Springfield (Mo.) Kickapoo, 7-2.
Indians’ manager John Pannell called on four pitchers (Zane Stricklin, Eli Winter, Justin Swart and Hunter Shea) in the signature win against Springfield — the Indians’ longest Winget rival going back to the 1950 and 60s. Bryce Luelf handled catching duties.
During a volcano-like eruption in the first inning, the Indians scored eight runs, led by Siemers with two hits in the inning and a RBI. Sam Marcella and Jaxon Zaun each added a two-run single in the frame.
Two days later, the Indians won it all by knocking off Bryant, fueled by a two-run hit by Grant Clark.
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Oklahoma Wesleyan University’s Derrick Talton Jr. blocks out during the 2024-25 season. The Eagles came in second at the NAIA National Men’s Basketball Tournament and is BASR’s 3rd top story of 2025.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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3 — EAGLES NEARLY SNATCH NATIONAL TITLE
Oklahoma Wesleyan University did some high climbing in last spring’s NAIA National Men’s Basketball Tournament.
With Donnie Bostwick in the pilot’s seat, the Eagles soared all the way to the national championship game. The College of Idaho handed the Eagles (28-8) a rare one-sided loss in the championship final, 93-65.
This was the second time Bostwick had navigated OKWU to the final two.
His Big Two included Derrick Talton Jr. (14.2 ppg, 62-77 FTs, 4.3 rpg, 5.1 assists per game, 64 total steals) and Jaden Lietzke (13.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 48 total assists, 32 total blocks, 138-192 FGs).
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Jake Christenson replaced Tommy DeSalme as Bartlesville High School’s Bruins head basketball coach and is BASR’s 2nd top story of 2025.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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2 — CHANGING OF GUARD IN BRUIN BASKETBALL
The hiring in 2024 of Tommy DeSalme as the new head boys basketball coach zapped through the Bartlesville High School sports universe like a lightning bolt.
Not only was DeSalme the first Bruin alumnus to lead the basketball program, but he had been one of the star players on Bartlesville’s electric run to two state finals (1989, 1991) and three-straight years in the state tournament (1989-91).
The return in 2024 of one of the stalwarts from the Golden Era seemed to be the jolt that the struggling Bruin program — Bartlesville hadn’t been to state since 2012 and hadn’t recorded back-to-back winning seasons since 2011-12 and 2012-13 — needed to get back into elite status..
He left an extremely successful career as a men’s college basketball coach in the state of Kansas in order to try to revive Bruin basketball. It was a daunting task — his season roster would include just one senior and he would end up playing 10-or-more freshmen regularly. The Bruins lacked both height and broad varsity experience.
The experiment didn’t produce a miracle turnaround. The Bruins struggled to a three-win season and suffered several blow-out losses.
The positive impact DeSalme had had in developing the program would have to be built on by another coach. DeSalme resigned after the 2024-25 season in order to return to coaching college basketball in Kansas.
Bartlesville then brought on board another talented young coach in Jake Christenson, a Pawhuska High School graduate. Christenson had recorded success in multiple stops as a high school head coach, including Shidler, Barnsdall, Pawhuska, Cushing and elsewhere.
Christenson became only the eighth head coach in the 44-year history of Bruin basketball.
During his first eight games as Bruin head coach — in November and December of 2025 — the Bruins recorded three victories, matching their win total for all of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
DeSalme, meanwhile, is off to a Ho! Ho! Ho! start at Garden City (Kan.) Community College. His team burst to a 9-4 record in the fall semester while averaging 104 points per game.
DeSalme (480-265, 23-plus seasons) is just 20 wins shy of reaching his 500th college career victory.
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Pawhuska High School’s Matt Hennesy was hired as Bartlesville’s head football coach and is BASR’s top story of 2025.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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1 — MATT HENNESY HIRING
Following the resignation of Harry Wright as head football coach, Bartlesville High School didn’t have to look very far for its future direction.
Following an ultra-successful eight-year stretch at Pawhuska High — including three appearances in the Class A state semifinals — Matt Hennesy became the 12th Bruin head grid coach in the 44-years-and-counting history of the program. Hennesy brings broad experience to the job, having coached from Class A to Class 6A and fostering success at every stop.
He inherited a Bruin program that continues to enjoy tremendous community support despite 10-straight losing seasons and two first-round playoff eliminations the past two seasons. From 2016 through 2025, Bartlesville’s cumulative record on the gridiron was 32-73. Some of the five playoff appearances are deceptive. In 2020, the OSSAA invited every team to the playoffs because of the upheaval caused by the COVID disruptions.
During his eight years at Pawhuska, Hennesy turned around a program that had petered out to an 0-10 record the season prior to his arrival. He guided Pawhuska to 72 wins and a playoff appearance every season during his tenure there.
His hiring ignited a wave of hope among a Bruin fan base anxious for consistent progress and upward district mobility.