Bylaws, Policies & Administrative Guidelines
Athletics
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Agriculture, Vocational (2/3/11)
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Athletics (2/3/11)
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Music (2/3/11)
- Valuable Team Player: Numbers Don't Tell Whole Story For Caston's (Allen) Russell (Pharos-Tribune, 9/18/11)
- Playing A Key Role: Brown Provided Big Minutes Off The Bench For Comets (Logansport Pharos~Tribune, 4/2/11)
- 20 Years Ago, Caston Began Unforgettable Sectional Run, Longtime Comet Assistant Reflects On Team’s Three-Peat (Logansport Pharos~Tribune, 3/1/11)
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Rochester Sentinel Athlete Of The Week (2/11/11)
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Herd Is A Key Player In Caston's Improvement (Logansport Pharos~Tribune, 2/3/11)
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CASTON LEADER: Caston senior Alex Herd is this week’s Athlete of the Week. |
Caston basketball fans who have followed the Comets in recent years know how good of a shooter Alex Herd is.
The 5-foot-11 senior guard hoists up 3-pointers at a high rate, and this season he’s made 43 percent of those attempts. He also is shooting 76 percent from the free throw line en route to averaging a team-high 15 points per game.
But Herd can bring it on defense as well according to first-year Caston coach Ben Snyder.
“He’s a guy we can count on for offense but even more importantly count on for defense,” he said. “He’s always in the right spot.
“I’m glad he’s on our team, I would not want to face him. … He’s just a competitor.”
The Comets, at 7-7, already have the most wins in a season since they won 10 games five years ago. They’re in first place in the Midwest Conference at 4-0, with the only other team unbeaten in league play being Winamac at 2-0.
The last three seasons the Comets have won four games each year. Said Herd of the improvement this season: “I’d say the key reason definitely is our defense. Coach Snyder came in with a new defense and it took us awhile to get used to it. Now that we’ve got it down it’s starting to work really well for us.”
Herd described the defense as a switching man-to-man defense.
Herd added another factor of Caston’s improvement was how hard the team worked together over the summer.
“We were all in the gym all summer,” he said. “It made us better as a whole team.”
One factor for the Comets is their size, or lack thereof, as the tallest player on the team is 6-foot-2. Herd said the Comets try to overcome a size disadvantage nearly every game with help defense in the post.
“It’s part of our defense. Coach Snyder knows we don’t have anybody tall, so anybody who gets the ball into the post against us should expect to be trapped. We’ve got to help out in the post because we know we’ll be outsized and teams will be bigger than us, so we’ve got to work as a team to overcome that.”
Caston visits arch-rival Pioneer on Friday night.
“It’s gonna be a battle,” Herd said. “We’ve got to work on defense, that’s the name of the game right there. We’ve got to get stops and hopefully it goes our way.”
The following is a question-and-answer session with Herd.
Q. Of the sports that you play, which is your favorite? Why?
A. I don’t have a favorite. I enjoy playing both basketball and baseball.
Q. Do you have any family members who played sports?
A. I have aunts and uncle that played sports in high school. My cousins Brandon Herrold and Nate and Jordan Champion excelled in sports also.
Q. Who do you try to emulate in your life?
A. I emulate my parents [Ron Herd and Debbie Stanton] because they push me to try my hardest and to never give up.
Q. What is something that not everyone knows about you?
A. I had surgery on my knee after tearing my ACL in basketball my freshman year.
Q. What is your favorite memory of playing sports at your school?
A. My favorite memory would definitely have to be winning sectionals in basketball my sophomore year.
Q. What’s your favorite music, movie, TV show, etc.?
A. Music: Country. Musical artist: Jason Aldean. Movie: Friday Night Lights. TV show: Friday Night Lights. Best basketball player you’ve gone up against: Bruce Grimm Jr., from Rochester. Best baseball player you’ve gone up against: Dylan Sterrett from Frontier. Favorite team: Chicago Bears.
Q. What are your plans for after high school?
A. I plan on going to college to become a physical or occupational therapist.
Each week during the school year the Pharos-Tribune recognizes an athlete from one of five area high schools. The recipients are selected by each school’s athletic department.
Rochester Sentinel Athlete Of The Week (2/11/11)
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| Wednesday, May 25, 2011 | Wednesday, June 2, 2011 |
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| Wednesday, June 8, 2011 | Wednesday, June 15, 2011 |
Rochester Sentinel Athlete Of The Week
(2011-2012)
NEW Beginning
today the most recent Athlete Of The Week will appear immediately below for ease
of viewing. (12/7/11)
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| Wednesday, February 1, 2012 | Wednesday, February 8, 2012 |
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Wednesday, November 30, 2011 |
20 Years Ago, Caston Began Unforgettable Sectional Run, Longtime Comet Assistant Reflects On Team’s Three-Peat (Logansport Pharos~Tribune, 3/1/11)
February 27, 2011
by Beau Wicker
Pharos-Tribune
— Caston has long been one of the smallest schools in the state — and at the same time has a proud tradition of winning sectional championships in boys basketball.
The Comets have six sectional titles to their credit in the sport, and their run began 20 years ago when the Comets went on a string of winning three in a row in the Berry Bowl back in the days of single-class basketball.
“It’s Hall of Fame material, simply because it was single-class basketball and we won three in a row,” said Braden Chandler, who’s been an assistant coach at Caston since 1978.
Chandler became Caston’s JV coach in 1988 in Kent Adams’ first year as head coach and has been in that position ever since. Adams, who is now the athletic director and boys basketball coach at Twin Lakes, was the coach when the Comets won their first sectional title in 1991.
“They were just a real gutty group of kids,” Chandler recalled of the ’91 team. “Coach Adams had them playing pretty quick, we defended pretty well, we scored a lot of points. They were extremely intelligent. They knew the game of basketball.
“There were a lot of second-generation kids on that team. Their dads played for Metea and for Fulton and for Twelve Mile. When they won it was kind of for their dads.”
The Berry Bowl, with a capacity of 5,875 people, was annually filled to the brim for sectional action back when Caston three-peated, and the Comets certainly had their fair share of fans in attendance for those games every year. Bill Green Arena in Marion has a capacity of 7,560, and Chandler recalls that Caston, which usually has 200 to 250 total students in the high school, had its section of the arena filled up during its three regional appearances in the early ’90s.
“It was unbelievable the following those first three years,” he said. “Everybody knew we were going down [Ind.] 25. There were signs on nearly every pole it seemed like. People were sitting out in driveways waiting to jump in behind us, hooting horns and everything. It was just a real great experience for those kids. We did take a lot of fans. I’m assuming that the town of Fulton and the town of Twelve Mile closed up. We have a picture on our wall where we filled up over a quarter of Marion’s gym, that’s the stunning thing.
“This is a great community, and certainly they’ve gotten behind their basketball teams.”
In a Marion Regional semifinal, the 1991 Comets defeated Bellmont 77-69 in what is still to date the their lone regional win.
“I remember walking through the conference room at the hotel, it was quite an experience to do that,” Chandler said.
In the regional final later that night, the Comets were defeated by Marion 67-55.
“We played Marion to a single-digit game for certainly most of the game, and Jerry Freshwater broke our hearts a little bit and hit a couple shots. And it was just more than what we could get over,” Chandler said. “It was a great moment even in the loss. Our fans came out of the stands and just loved all over us while Marion went through yet another regional win. I am not sure that they didn’t leave the floor first.”
The ’91 team had a 20-year reunion for the Rochester game on Jan. 18.
“We’ve been making our present players the last four years know that they’re a part of something bigger,” said Chandler, who credits retired Caston teacher Casey Jones and current athletic director Debb Stevens for their help. “And with that the kids need to know that it’s just not them anymore. It’s everybody.”
Chandler said many players stood out on the teams that won three straight sectional titles in the early ’90s.
“You’ve got a multitude of kids who were on those three teams, but we also had three head coaches. The kids bought in every year because they liked that situation, they liked winning. And they really grew to fill those roles, and they were great kids, great kids,” he said. “We had some great players on all three teams, great in their roles, great as people. That first team you’ve got Monte Babb, who at that time was skinny as a rail. If you know Monte now, he’s not skinny. He’s one strong guy. Todd Boldry who coaches at Knox, Steve King who was just a huge kid in the middle who played extremely hard for us. You just go on down the line.
“You go down to the underclassmen who ended up with the ’92 team who played, you’ve got Ryan Craig, who was another big kid in the middle who just played his heart out. Tim DePoy, who handled the ball. You get into the next year, there’s just so many. You’ve got Seth Zartman, who’s now the baseball coach at Bethel, you’ve got Ryan Hartzler handling the ball, taking care of it. You just have way too many ... they all did wonderful. It was a great group of kids.”
As for the class basketball debate, Chandler is on the side of single class as opposed to the current multi-class system.
“I would still love to be able to go play the big boys. We’ve had some teams that I think could compete very favorably with other big schools because we handle the ball well, we shot the ball well and we could do some things against them that other teams wouldn’t,” he said. “But class basketball is here. It presents the problem of the travel. You’ve always got to go to Tri-County, and that’s always been three trips, and it’s a long trip. It just poses another problem. You’re not playing 6-7, 6-6 [opponents] every night like it’s possible to have done against Logansport, Peru or even Lewis Cass some years, most years, but it does pose different problems.”
The Comets have won sectional titles under the multi-class system in 2000, 2003 and 2009.
There of course has also been some very strong Comet teams that didn’t take home sectional hardware. The 2005 team went 20-0 during the regular season but was stunned by Tri-County in the sectional final. Chandler said an argument could be made that the 1984 team that was defeated in a four-overtime sectional game by Maconaquah may have been the best put-together team in school history.
There are current Caston players who were on the ’09 team that was the second in state history to enter sectional play with just one win to win a sectional title. The Comets won four games in each of the past four seasons but enter tournament play this season having tripled that with a 12-9 record under first-year coach Ben Snyder. The Comets also won a share of the Midwest Conference title with Winamac. It was the Comets’ 11th MWC title and first since it went back-to-back in 2004 and 2005.
“These kids have grown tremendously this year,” Chandler said. “Who would have thought last June — and we knew we were going to be changing coaches, we’re a game out of the cellar of the conference because Alex Herd drained a 3 for us to win at the buzzer at Winamac to put us at the second from the bottom — and here we are [last] Tuesday night playing for it all. And that says a lot for the kids.”
Caston begins its quest for a seventh sectional title when the Comets face Covenant Christian at Tri-County at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
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CASTON LEADER: Caston senior Caleb Brown is this week’s Athlete of the Week. |
Playing A Key Role:
Brown Provided Big Minutes Off The Bench For Comets (Logansport
Pharos~Tribune, 4/2/11)
(This article, by Beau Wicker, originally appeared in The
Logansport Pharos~Tribune on Thursday, March 31, 2011.)
— Every good basketball team needs good role players, and that’s what Caleb Brown provided the Caston Comets this season.
The 6-foot-2 senior forward gave the Midwest Conference champion Comets rebounding and defense every night off the bench, and he also picked good times to contribute offensively.
“He scored 11 points in our win over Manchester, 12 against North White,” Caston coach Ben Snyder noted. “He hit the game-winning shot in our win over Covenant Christian in the sectional. He had a game-changing play against West Central in a key moment.
“We don’t win the conference title without him. He was a very integral part of our team’s success.”
Brown played a similar role as a sophomore off the bench when the Comets won a sectional title.
The Comets went 14-10 this season, more than tripling their win total from the year before and winning two more games than they had the last three seasons combined.
“We had a good improvement over last year,” Brown said. “Our new coach made a big difference. At the beginning it was tough to learn all the new stuff, but I’m happy with how the season turned out. I think everyone was.”
Snyder said Brown will be missed next season.
“He’s a great kid. He’s one who I can not say enough about his attitude. The kids just feed off of that. He’s always positive and always works hard. He’s one kid I know our coaching staff and me personally will definitely miss.”
The following is a question-and-answer session with Brown.
Q. Do you have any family members who played sports?
A. Yes my dad [Patrick] wrestled and played football.
Q. Who do you try to emulate in your life?
A. My grandfather [Jim]. Although he passed away when I was 5, I still remember how great of a person he was. People still often tell me stories about him and how good of a person he was.
Q. What is something that not everyone knows about you?
A. I like working on cars in my spare time. I want to open my own engine machine shop some day.
Q. What is your favorite memory of playing sports at your school?
A. Winning sectionals my sophomore year.
Q. What’s your favorite music, movie, TV show?
A. Music: Country. Band: Slipknot. Movie: Scarface. TV show: Saturday Night Live.
Q. What are your future plans after high school?
A. I plan on going to Marian for business creation and development.
Each week during the school year the Pharos-Tribune recognizes an athlete from one of five area high schools. The recipients are selected by each school’s athletic department.
Valuable
Team Player: Numbers Don't Tell Whole Story For Caston's (Allen) Russell
(Pharos-Tribune, 9/18/11)
September 15, 2011
by Beau Wicker
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Comet Leader: Caston senior Allen Russell is this week's Athlete of the Week. |
— He might not be the leading scorer for the boys basketball team or the leading goal scorer for the soccer team, but make no mistake, Allen Russell has been an important player for Caston varsity squads the last four years.
Russell started as a freshman guard for the basketball team that won a sectional championship in 2009. He was also a key member of last year’s squad that went 14-10, which was two more wins than the Comets had recorded the previous three seasons combined.
“The number do not tell the story when it comes to Allen,” Caston boys basketball coach Ben Snyder said. “Last year he was coming off the bench to start the year, but with the way he was playing, there came a point where we couldn’t afford to keep him off the floor. With his leadership and the things he brings, we can’t afford to have him off the floor.
“He’s a great kid, a competitor — that’s a good word for him. He’s one of those kids who’s not flashy, not one of those kids who care about stats, he’s a team-first kid. ... He hates to lose and does what it takes to win. Any coach would love having him.”
Russell is a versatile player on the soccer field for Comet coach Narcisso Sanchez. The Comets defeated North Miami 7-0 Tuesday to improve to 4-4-1 on the season.
“This year he’s had to take up our defensive anchor for us again, and he did that a lot last year, too,” Sanchez said. “He’s a hybrid player who moves all over the field. He has enough awareness to know when to sit back and when to help push forward. He’s a catalyst to a lot of our buildups.
“As far as ball skills and being an all-around complete player, he, Dylan Johnson and Gui Souza are our top players.”
Russell likes how the Comet soccer team has played of late.
“Starting off we were pretty young. We have a lot of young players and only have two seniors. We started slow but we’re starting to get some things together and starting to pull together,” he said. “By the time sectionals start I think we’ll be a strong team able to hold our own hopefully. We’re on the right path.”
As for basketball this winter, Russell expects the Comets to be strong again despite the loss of three key seniors to graduation, Alex Herd, Brant Hartman and Caleb Brown.
“We had a pretty good summer,” Russell said. “We had everyone in over the summer and no one was absent. We played in a lot of tournaments and a lot of games. We have that team chemistry and have bought into Coach Snyder’s philosophy. We’ll come back and hopefully be pretty strong. We’re not the biggest team but we’ll be the hardest working. Hopefully we can pick up where we left off. We didn’t have the ending we wanted to but hopefully we can change that this year.”
The following is a question-and-answer session with Russell.
Q. Of the sports that you play, which is your favorite? Why?
A. I love both, but if I need to choose it would be basketball. The feeling you get when the band starts playing and you run out of the locker room is something I’ll miss after this year.
Q. Do you have any family members who played sports?
A. My dad [Bruce] played football and basketball in high school.
Q. How do you feel you’ve improved as an athlete since you first started playing?
A. I have learned the importance of the mental aspect of athletics. I’ve learned how having mental focus can give you a competitive edge on our opponent.
Q. Who do you consider your biggest role model? Why?
A. I would have to say Michael Jackson because his passion for music and his talent on the dance floor.
Q. What experiences in sports have made you the athlete you are today?
A. Ninth grade year our basketball team lacked leadership and right then me and a friend decided to step up and be the leaders, and we have kept that role to this day.
Q. What is something that not everyone knows about you?
A. My friends and I enjoy watching SpongeBob on a regular basis.
Q. What is your favorite memory of playing sports at your school?
A. My freshman year when we won the basketball sectional.
Q. What’s your favorite music, movie, TV show, etc.?
A. I like just about every kind of music. Movie: Law Abiding Citizen. TV show: Pawn Stars. Book: Pride and Prejudice.
Q. Who is the best basketball player you’ve ever went up against?
A. My ninth grade year I had to guard Bruce Grimm Jr., and he was a phenomenal basketball player.
Q. What are your future plans after high school?
A. I intend on going to college. Where and for what I have no clue at this point.
Each week during the school year the Pharos-Tribune recognizes an athlete from one of five area high schools. The recipients are selected by each school’s athletic department.