Caston community

The Caston Lady Comets softball team’s historic season came to an end on Saturday, June 10, with a loss in the state championship to the Tecumseh Braves. However, the Comets had already become the first Caston sports team to win at the sectional, regional and semistate levels, and in the process captured the hearts of its small, tightly-knit community.

On Thursday, June 8, prior to Saturday’s game, a media event was held at Caston High School, where a crowd of fans gathered with the players and coaches to wish them well.

“This is Caston history in the making,” said Caston Superintendent Angie Miller, who was on hand to help serve food and refreshments to the crowd. “It’s nice to see the community come together.”

Athletic Director Gina Heirlmeier, who next year will hand the reins to incoming AD Trent Tacco, recalled, “Before I was hired Principal Chuck Evans said a very special group of girls was coming through who would be a lot of fun to watch.” He was right.

Samantha Schanlaub, an as- sistant softball coach, basketball coach and former Caston athlete herself, marveled at the girls’ work ethic. “Their determination and grit is unmatched. I’ve never seen anything like it.” As an example, she noted how the team was not taking time out from lifting weights in the week before the championship. “They know that’s what got them here.”

Kinzie Mollenkopf, a senior who would go on to become the first Caston athlete to win the Mental Attitude Award at the state championship, was just one of the players who commented on what made this group special. “There is a family aspect to it,” she said. “Everybody here wants to win. … We get to bring it every game, every practice and play the game we love.”

Mollenkopf’s father coaches the Comets baseball team. “I got to grow up knowing the game,” she said.

Isabel Scales, a junior, noted how many on the team play together in other sports as well. In fact, Scales has already scored 1,000 points in basketball. She and many of the Lady Comets have been driven by the memory of a frustrating sectional loss to North White in 2022.

“We love each other,” said Scales, “and there is a good family atmosphere that helps a lot.”