Draft night thunderstorms and golfers in Tulsa.
Joc hits homers and Spence leads rallies.
Game winning baskets that take golden balls.
These are some of my favorite things.
With apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein, it’s time to take a look back at the year in Oklahoma sports. Our state had no shortage of memorable moments in 2022, and while there were a few we’d like to forget, most of them were great.
NBA Draft night was a high point as it changed the atmosphere around the Thunder. Oklahoma City selected Chet Holmgren with the No. 2 overall pick, the franchise’s highest pick since moving to Oklahoma City, and then traded two more lottery picks, Jaylen Williams and Ousman Dieng.
While the rebuild is still very much a work in progress, Thunder fans are re-energized about the future potential of the roster the franchise is building.
Losing Holmgren to injury before the season was a big blow, but Shai Gilges-Alexander eased that disappointment. He averages 30 points per game. Hitting game winners. Becoming not just an All-Star, but a budding superstar.
Greatness is fun to watch.
More.How did Shai Gilges-Alexander become an OKC Thunder superstar? Look until July 11, 2019
We’ve seen a lot this year. OU slugger Jocelyn Alo broke the NCAA career home run record, then smashed five homers and hit .667 in the Women’s College World Series. Injured OSU quarterback Spencer Sanders came off the bench to show supreme toughness and rally the Cowboys to a victory against Iowa State. OU sharpshooter Taylor Robertson continues his offense with an NCAA career record 3-pointer. OSU ace Kelly Maxwell strikes out 34 and allows just five earned runs in the WCWS. Top Golfer PGA Championship at Southern Hills.
There were stand-alone performances that blew us away as well.
Jayda Coleman climbs the wall to steal a Texas homer in the WCWS. Griffin Dorsching hits baseballs to distant lands. Gilgeous-Alexander hits a three-pointer to beat Washington. Jason Taylor II hits a one-handed onside kick in the Fiesta Bowl. Marvin Mims catches the ball over and behind a Texas quarterback.
The best play of the year, however, came from the high school ranks.
In a tied Class 4A state championship game, Wagoner kicker Ethan Mullenweg kicked a 36-yard field goal to win the title and beat undefeated Cushing as time expired.
A field goal win for the state title is amazing in itself, but Muhlenweg’s history made it even more incredible. In Wagoner’s 2021 season opener, he tore five ligaments in his left knee, including the ACL. He spent about a year rehabilitating his plantar leg, and when it came time to win a state title, he was ready.
The preparatory series gave us other memorable moments. Toni Papahronis shoots in overtime to clinch the Class 6A girls basketball title over Edmond North. Freshman Sean Davis tells his teammates. “Trust Me,” hit a three-pointer as time expired to lead Millwood to the Class 2A boys basketball title, then became a viral sensation when video of the entire incident surfaced. Eric McCarthy scores two touchdowns in the final 90 seconds of regulation to force overtime in Del City, then wins the game with a two-point conversion run.
Some of the best games of the year were also of the high school variety.
Heritage Hall and Tulsa Metro Christian had a wild game in the Class 3A state football championship game. Heritage Hall won 72-56 in a game that featured two 200-yard rushing performances and an Oklahoma playoff-record 626 yards passing. losing quarterback
Edmond Memorial won the Class 6A volleyball title by defeating defending champion Jenks in a five-set thriller.
More.National Signing Day Tracker. Oklahoma State football signees, 2023 recruiting rankings
However, the game of the year was the Fiesta Bowl. OSU rallied from a 21-point first half deficit to beat Notre Dame 37-35. It was the greatest rally in Cowboy football history, and it came on one of the most spectacular stages the program has ever been on and against one of the most respected opponents it has ever played against.
That 12-win OSU team was spectacular.
It wasn’t the only great team. And what about the OU women’s gymnastics team, which dropped to last place after the first rotation at nationals only to rally and win its fifth national title? Or the OSU equestrian team that won the first national title by any women’s team in OSU history. Or OU baseball could reach the College World Series championship. Or OSU softball in the WCWS Final Four.
There was also the Classen SAS girls basketball team, one of the most dominant teams in recent memory. And the Tushka boys basketball team, the first boys team to ever win a state basketball title.
But as far as teams go, it’s hard to find a better one than OU softball. This was a team full of individual talent. Hello Coleman: Mr. Jennings. Jordi Bahl. Grace Lyons. But after clinching the title in 2021 and 56 games in, reaching that pinnacle seemed pretty difficult.
Then the Sooners went and did it, winning 59 games and joining UCLA and Arizona as the only programs to win titles more than once.
This past year has also seen some people with ties to our state do great things. Carl Albert alum JT Realmuto made the World Series with the Phillies. Norman native Zach Taylor led the Bengals to the Super Bowl. Harrah’s product Brady Manek helped North Carolina advance to the Final Four. Stillwater High product Jackson Holliday was the No. 1 overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft.
Oklahoma also claims the biggest underdog story of the year in sports. Rich Strike wasn’t added to the Kentucky Derby until the day before the race, and then at 80-to-1 odds, the horse owned by Edmond resident Rick Dawson went out and won the Derby.
This wasn’t the only heartwarming story of 2022.
More.Oklahoman’s updated Class of 2023 Super 30 college football recruiting rankings
OSU golfer Madison Hinson-Tolchard hasn’t seen her mother in 16 months because of the COVID pandemic, but her mother made the 16-hour flight from Australia to see her play in an NCAA regional. Then, as her mother watched, Hinson-Tolchard defeated the entire curse.
And what about Zay Jarvis? The 12-year-old from Poto was hit in the head during the Little League World Series, but after getting back up, he went to the pitcher’s mound and comforted the player who had just hit him.
It was a moment of sportsmanship and human compassion that touched millions.
This year we also had some not so pleasant moments. OU and OSU fell on their football faces this fall. After the Sooners beat Nebraska, no less than Colin Cowherd himself declared OU the best team this side of Georgia; two weeks later everything had fallen apart. After the Cowboys beat Texas in October, Mike Gundy called it a cultural victory, and everyone agreed. two weeks later everything had fallen apart. Add that to OU men’s basketball failing to make the NCAA tournament, OSU men’s basketball being ineligible for it, and the Thunder are losing a lot more games than they are winning these days, and this year has not been perfect in the sport.
But (and again, apologies to Mr. Rodgers and Mr. Hammerstein), when defeat stings, when the game stings, when I’m sad, I just remember the things I love, and then I don’t feel so bad.
Jenny Carlson. Jenni can be reached at 405-475-4125 or [email protected] Like her on facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her on twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok and support her and other Oklahoma journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
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