BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Softball Myli Rude Natalie Warner Caston 16, North Miami 10 (Thursday): Natalie Warner had a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth among her three hits and also drove in three runs as the Caston softball team improved to 2-0 in the Hoosier North with a win over visiting North Miami Thursday. Myli Rude added two singles and a double and four RBIs, and

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Baseball London Herd Triton 6, Caston 4 (Thursday): London Herd singled and doubled and had three RBIs, and Eli Holloway had a hit and an RBI, but Caston suffered a Hoosier North home loss to Triton Thursday. Brodie Howard had a double and a triple, and Gavin Mollenkopf, Parker Zimpleman, Tucker Woolever and Lucius Edson had one hit each. Carson Harness was hitless, but he did walk twice. Harness pitched a complete game, allowing seven hi

Caston’s Colvin, Salisbury go 1-2 in girls high jump BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Harrison Dunwoody PLYMOUTH — The three-way track meet between Rochester, Caston and host Plymouth was rained out Thursday and rescheduled for Monday. Rochester coach Ryan Helt admitted that he forgot that Monday was the National Honor Society induction ceremony. Had he remembered, he said he would have moved it to another day. That meant that the best boys middle distance runner (Grant

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Baseball Logan Mollenkopf Lucius Edson Caston 17, Oregon-Davis 3 (Tuesday): Logan Mollenkopf went 4 for 4 at the plate and also tossed five scoreless innings with one walk and 12 strikeouts for the visiting Comets in a rout of Oregon-Davis in their Hoosier North opener Tuesday. Gavin Mollenkopf singled twice and drove in three runs, and London Herd doubled and had four RBIs. Par

Woolever adds 3 hits, Holloway drives in 3 BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Baseball Parker Zimpleman Eli Holloway Caston 19, West Central 7 (5 innings, Monday): Parker Zimpleman went 3 for 4 with 9 RBIs as the host Comets trounced sectional rival West Central Monday. Zimpleman, a sophomore third baseman, had a three-run double in the first, a two-run homer in the second and a grand slam in the fourth. The ho

M. Mersch, Warner combine on 1-hitter BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Softball Mia Mersch Natalie Warner Caston 15, Oregon-Davis 0 (5 innings, Tuesday): Mia Mersch and Natalie Warner pitched a combined one-hitter for the host Lady Comets as they opened Hoosier North play with a rout of Oregon-Davis Tuesday. The top three hitters in Caston’s lineup – Myli Rude, Alex Mersch and Kylee Logan – went a comb

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Softball Hadlie Coffing Lexie Field Caston 14, Lewis Cass 4 (6 innings, Monday): Freshman Lexie Field had two hits and three RBIs, and Hadlie Coffing went 2 for 2 with two RBIs at the plate and also struck out eight over 5 ⅔ innings for Caston in a home win over Lewis Cass Monday. Natalie Warner also had two hits and two RBIs, and Mia Mersch singled and had two RBIs. Kyle

Triton’s Patrick named conference MVP BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Lane Hook Logan Mollenkopf Ryan Meredith Karston Black Eight RTC area boys basketball players, including three from runner-up Winamac, were selected first-team All-Hoosier North in voting done by the conference’s coaches and released to the media. The eight players included Winamac’s Justin Potthoff, Will Malchow and Jaybin Hines; Caston’s Lane Hook and Loga

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Softball Kylee Logan Carroll (Flora) 6, Caston 5 (Thursday): Kylee Logan went 4 for 4 with two singles, a double and a homer, and she drove in three runs, but the host Lady Cougars rallied from a 5-1 deficit for the win Thursday. Natalie Warner added two hits, and Myli Rude, Hadlie Coffing and Mia Mersch had one hit each. Warner also had an RBI. Logan scored three runs, and Rude scored twice. Coffing started and allowed five runs over six

Caston, N. Miami, Pioneer in same 1A football sectional BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC The Rochester girls and boys basketball teams both lost to Oak Hill in their respective sectional finals, and they might see them again the next two years. They will also remain in the same volleyball sectional with powerhouse Southwood. Those were among the revelations when the IHSAA released new sectional assignments for fall and winter sports for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school yea

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Lane Hook Logan Mollenkopf The Indiana Basketball Coaches Association named Caston boys basketball players Logan Mollenkopf and Lane Hook to their Underclass Honorable Mention All-State team. They were two of 94 players selected statewide. Mollenkopf, a 6-2 sophomore guard-forward, averaged 18.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for the Comets, who went 17-8. Caston f

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC Boys Basketball Player of the Year Logan Mollenkopf It was early in the Caston boys basketball team’s sectional quarterfinal game against North White in which Logan Mollenkopf dribbled quickly down the court and dunked. One could say that it was a microcosm for Mollenkopf’s season. He did things all year that put him head and shoulders above everybody else – literally. And for that, the sophomore guard-forward is our RTC4 Player of th

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC Girls Basketball Player of the Year Kandace Kroft One can tie the improvement with Winamac’s girls basketball program with Kandace Kroft’s improvement as a player. Winamac won four games her freshman year. They won 14 in both her sophomore and junior years. And as a senior in 2025-26, Winamac won 19 games. It was Winamac’s most wins in a season in 14 years. Their team scoring average increased by almost nine points per game. Kroft had

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC4 Boys Wrestler of the Year Hartley Hoover North Miami senior Hartley Hoover is everything one might want in a wrestler. He is strong enough that he can overpower most opponents. And if you are one of the few that can match him in strength, he moves so well that he is a great defensive wrestler. It all clicked to the point where he became the first wrestler in the history of his school to make it to a state championship match. Hoover l

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC Girls Wrestler of the Year Laine Peppler Laine Peppler could have rested on her laurels after her junior year. The Rochester wrestler had just finished sixth at the IHSAA state finals at 170 pounds. Her performance was more than admirable. Instead, she spent more time in the weight room and worked on her technique to become a better offensive wrestler. Matched with her formidable defensive skills and positioning, she went from being o

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Boys basketball Lane Hook The Caston boys basketball team finished a 17-8 season with a 50-42 loss to Tri-County in the Class 1A, Sectional 50 final at Caston Saturday. Here is a look back at their regular season: Winamac 48, Caston 42 (Feb. 24): Lane Hook scored 24 points, and Logan Mollenkopf scored seven of his nine in the second half for Caston in a Hoosier North road loss to Winamac Feb. 24. Justin Potthoff had 13, Jaybin Hines had

Pioneer’s H. Zeigler, 8 area boys players earn honorable mention BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC The Indiana Basketball Coaches Association has named Winamac’s Kandace Kroft, Pioneer’s Mia McKaig and North Miami’s Grace Sailors first-team Academic All-State. They are among 87 seniors – 44 boys and 43 girls – statewide chosen for the honor. In addition, 233 more boys and 181 more girls were recognized as being honorable mention Academic All-State. “The IBCA Academic All-

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Logan Mollenkopf Gavin Mollenkopf Boys basketball Tri-County 50, Caston 42 (Saturday): Logan Mollenkopf scored 20 points, but the Caston boys basketball team fell to Tri-County in the Class 1A, Sectional 50 final at Caston Saturday. Lane Hook added eight, and Carson Harness hit a pair of 3-pointers for six. Tyler Burns led the Cavaliers with 16. Drew Foster went 4 for 4 fro

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Carson Harness Reed Sommers FULTON — Logan Mollenkopf scored 13 points to lead five players in double figures as the host Caston boys basketball team held off DeMotte Christian 64-61 in a Class 1A, Sectional 50 semifinal Friday. Reed Sommers added 12 points, Carson Harness and Lane Hook had 11 each, and Owen Chapman had 10 off the bench for Caston, who improved to 17-7. T

Class 2A, Sectional 38 at Manchester QUARTERFINALS (TUESDAY) Wabash 68, Eastern (Greentown) 62 Oak Hill 73, Manchester 30 SEMIFINALS (FRIDAY) Rochester 47, Wabash 41 Oak Hill 72, Lewis Cass 34 FINAL: Rochester vs. Oak Hill, 7:30 p.m. TODAY Class 3A, Sectional 20 at Columbia City QUARTERFINALS (TUESDAY) Columbia City 75, West Noble 33 Wawasee 49, Tippecanoe Valley 38 SEMIFINALS (FRIDAY) Columbia City 51, Fairfield 41 NorthWood 40, Wawasee 24 FINAL: Columbia City vs. NorthWood,

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Isabel Scales Women’s college basketball Bethel University sophomore Isabel Scales was named first-team All-Crossroads League in voting released Wednesday. Scales, a 5-8 sophomore guard-forward, averaged 13.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. She started all 30 games in which she played and ranked 10th in the conference in points per game and 11th in rebounds per game. She also led all Crossroads League players in free throws

Caston’s Craig, Douglass, NM’s Donaldson make Underclass Honorable Mention BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Kandace Kroft Madi Douglass Allison Craig Two RTC area girls basketball players were selected Senior Honorable Mention All-State, and three others were selected Underclass Honorable Mention All-State in voting done by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association and released to the media. Winamac’s Kandace

Hook adds 15, hot-shooting Howard has 11 BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Logan Mollenkopf Lane Hook FULTON — The before-school walk-through practices that the Caston boys basketball team has at 7 a.m. are nothing new, but there might be a greater focus to them, according to junior forward Lane Hook. There was no messing around in their Class 1A, Sectional 50 quarterfinal at home against North White W

Class 2A, Sectional 38 at Manchester QUARTERFINALS (TUESDAY) Wabash 68, Eastern (Greentown) 62 Oak Hill 73, Manchester 30 SEMIFINALS (FRIDAY) Rochester vs. Wabash, 6 p.m. Lewis Cass vs. Oak Hill, 7:30 p.m. FINAL, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Class 3A, Sectional 20 at Columbia City QUARTERFINALS (TUESDAY) Columbia City 75, West Noble 33 Wawasee 49, Tippecanoe Valley 38 SEMIFINALS (FRIDAY) Fairfield vs. Columbia City, 6 p.m. NorthWood vs. Wawasee, 7:30 p.m. FINAL, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Clas

BOYS Rochester 56, Maconaquah 48 Elkhart Christian 70, Argos 41 Bremen 65, Culver 22 Tri-County 61, Pioneer 46 Three Rivers Conference boys Rochester 56, Maconaquah 48 Wabash 71, Peru 62 Tri-Central 53, Northfield 45 (nonconference) Southwood 67, Bluffton 52 (nonconference) Mississinewa 48, Manchester 47 (nonconference) Lafayette Central Catholic 59, Lewis Cass 46 (nonconference) Whitko 53, Lakeland Christian 26 (nonconference) Hoosier North boys Elkhart Christian 70, Argos 4

Popejoy, Iverson, Culver’s McCune, Berndt, Caston’s Douglass, Pioneer’s McKaig, Argos’ Bollenbacher also make first team BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Girls basketball Kandace Kroft Winamac senior Kandace Kroft was named the Hoosier North MVP in voting done by the conference’s coaches and released to the media. Kroft averaged 18.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.2 steals per game for the Lady Warriors. She led the team in scoring, assists and steals and guided

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Logan Mollenkopf FULTON — North Miami boys basketball coach Chuck Evans returned to Caston after a 10-year stint as a principal, athletic director and assistant basketball coach. His move did not change the nature of the rivalry. Caston still has North Miami’s number. Logan Mollenkopf scored a game-high 27 points, and Lane Hook added 16 points and 10 rebounds, including the go-ahead basket off a Mollenkopf assist with 1:45 left, as the ho

Valley to see former teammates vs. Wawasee; Caston draws N. White for home sectional while Pioneer gets DeMotte Christian; Argos gets O-D while Culver gets N. Judson; Winamac to face Knox; NM draws Southern Wells BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Rochester was the only RTC area team to receive a bye in the boys basketball draw released Sunday. In addition, the Zebras would not have to face No. 2 Oak Hill until the sectional final. Also, Tippecanoe Valley will not have to

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Logan Mollenkopf FULTON — Caston boys basketball coach Carl Davis spoke of how his team’s February schedule helps prepare it for the postseason on March. Triton is one of those teams that pops up in February on Caston’s schedule every year, and they showed off their Hoosier North supremacy again Saturday in a 46-41 win over the host Comets. Gage Riffle scored 14 points, and Jayden Overmyer added 13, all in the second half, for Triton.  Lo

Douglass leads Caston with 12, scores 1,000th career point BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Mia McKaig Camila Hernandez-Rios Girls basketball Pioneer 34, Caston 29 (Friday): Mia McKaig hit three 3-pointers and scored a game-high 19 points, and Lois Layer added nine as the Pioneer girls basketball team eliminated Caston from the sectional for the second straight year in a Class 1A, Sectional 50 semifinal at

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Girls basketball Allison Craig (photo provided) Caston 33, North White 28 (Tuesday): Allison Craig hit three 3-pointers and scored 15 points to lead Caston a win over host North White in a Class 1A, Sectional 50 quarterfinal Tuesday. Grace Colvin made all five of her free throws and had seven along with a team-high four assists. Adyson Steininger made two 3-pointers and had six. Madi Douglass, who came in averaging 17 points per game, was

Class 2A, Sectional 38 at Wabash QUARTERFINALS (TUESDAY) Rochester vs. Manchester, 6 p.m. Eastern (Greentown) vs. Wabash, 7:30 p.m. SEMIFINALS (FRIDAY) Lewis Cass vs. Rochester-Manchester winner, 6 p.m. Oak Hill vs. Eastern (Greentown)-Wabash winner, 7:30 p.m. FINAL, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Class 3A, Sectional 20 at Tippecanoe Valley QUARTERFINALS (TUESDAY) Columbia City vs. West Noble, 6 p.m. Wawasee vs. Fairfield, 7:30 p.m. SEMIFINALS (FRIDAY) Valley vs. Columbia City-West Noble

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Girls basketball Camila Hernandez-Rios (photo provided) Carroll (Flora) 58, Caston 32 (Thursday): Madi Douglass scored 14 points and dished out four assists for Caston in a loss to Carroll in their home finale Thursday. Allison Craig hit a pair of 3-pointers and had eight, and Adyson Steininger also hit two treys and had six. Caston shot just 22.5 percent from the field and made just 4 of 11 free throws. By contrast, Carroll shot 52.5 per

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Madi Douglass Grace Colvin Allison Craig Camila Hadlie Coffing Hernandez-Rios Girls basketball Caston 53, Bethany Christian 25 (Jan. 16): Madi Douglass scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double for the Lady Comets in a road win over Bethany Christian. Allison Craig added nine points and five

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC The following sporting events scheduled for Tuesday were postponed due to inclement weather: Girls basketball The Western-Rochester game has not been rescheduled. The Wawasee-Tippecanoe Valley game has not been rescheduled. The Carroll (Flora)-Caston game has been rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Caston. The Caston-DeMotte Christian game scheduled for Thursday has been postponed to Saturday. Start time is 2:30 p.m. at DeMotte Christi

Buschman, Carrington win individual titles, lead Culver to 3rd BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Boys wrestling Led by 106-pound champion Justin Housinger, the Winamac boys wrestling team was the highest finishing RTC area team at the Hoosier North boys wrestling tournament at Triton Jan. 17. Winamac was second with 196.5 points, Culver was third with 142.5, Pioneer was fourth with 121.5, and Caston was seventh with 94.5. North Miami, wrestling one week after winning thei

Valley gets bye; Caston, Pioneer could meet in semis; Culver gets S. Central, Argos draws Trinity Greenlawn; Winamac to play Career Academy BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC The Rochester girls basketball team beat Manchester on Saturday. They found out that they will play them again in the sectional on Sunday. That was among the revelations of the IHSAA draw. In addition: Tippecanoe Valley will not only have the home court advantage in their sectional, but they received

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC The following sites will hosts post season tournaments for the spring sports season: Softball Class 2A, Sectional 38 at ROCHESTER: Eastern (Greentown), Lewis Cass, Manchester, Oak Hill, ROCHESTER, Wabash Class 3A, Sectional 20 at NorthWood: Columbia City, Fairfield, NorthWood, TIPPECANOE VALLEY, Wawasee, West Noble Class 1A, Sectional 50 at North White: CASTON, DeMotte Christian, North Newton, North White, PIONEER, South Newton, Tri-Count

Douglass has 17, Steininger adds 3 treys for Lady Comets BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Adyson Steininger (photo provided) Madi Douglass (photo provided) FULTON — The Caston girls basketball team held North Miami forward Kayden Donaldson scoreless in a 32-30 loss in the Miami County Invitational consolation game Dec. 30. She had much more of an impact against the Lady Comets in the rematch Thursday. Donaldson scored a game-high 20 points, includin

Kiser leads Rochester with 16; Harness has 18 for Comets BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Jack Reffett The Rochester boys basketball team’s rollercoaster ride of a season continues. First, there was the double-overtime win at Twin Lakes in which they trailed by eight points in the fourth quarter, got a Jonas Kiser buzzer beater to send it to overtime before winning in double overtime. Then, there was a loss at Lewis Cass in which they led by eight in the fourth quarter b

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC FULTON — The boys basketball rivalry between Caston and West Central has reached must-watch status, and the sectional is still over six weeks away. Logan Mollenkopf scored a game-high 24 points, and Lane Hook added 15 for Caston, but the visiting Trojans pulled out a 51-50 win Saturday on Landon Hughes’ game-winning basket with 3.6 seconds left. The game-winning play appeared to be something of an accident. Brady Bishop tried to drive in

GIRLS Tippecanoe Valley 44, North Miami 26 Caston 53, Bethany Christian 25 Oregon-Davis 55, Argos 32 Culver 39, Triton 30 BOYS Lewis Cass 49, Rochester 45 Jimtown 51, Tippecanoe Valley 43 Argos 53, Oregon-Davis 40 Triton 39, Culver 30 DeMotte Christian 50, Pioneer 33 Winamac 56, North Judson 19 Three Rivers Conference girls (none) Three Rivers Conference boys Lewis Cass 49, Rochester 45 Peru 78, Maconaquah 71 Southwood 65, Whitko 27 Manchester 49, Wabash 41 Tipton 50, Northwe

Colvin adds 3 treys, scores 13 BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Madi Douglass Grace Colvin FULTON — After playing seven straight games away from home, the Caston girls basketball team played their first home game in five weeks Thursday. Refreshed after taking two days off, they came back to trounce Tri-County 57-33 behind Madi Douglass’ 30 points, six rebounds and seven steals and 13 points from Gra

L. Mollenkopf scores 24 in home win over Culver BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Boys basketball Caston 66, Delphi 53 (Saturday): Logan Mollenkopf scored nine of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter, and Lane Hook added 21 for the visiting Comets in a win over Delphi Saturday. Carson Harness added seven, and Gavin Mollenkopof had six. Caston hit nine 3-pointers as compared to Delphi’s five. Caston also outscored the Oracles 9-4 from the foul line. Caston jumped

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Girls basketball Madi Douglass (photo provided) Western 40, Caston 37 (Jan. 6): Madi Douglass scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Caston girls basketball team in a road loss to Western Jan. 6. Caston led 14-13 after one quarter, but Western came back to lead 24-16 at halftime. The game was tied at 30 after three quarters. Grace Colvin added seven for the Lady Comets. Caston made three 3-pointers in 24 attempts. Ellyse Walden

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Boys basketball Caston 60, Frontier 43 (Tuesday): Logan Mollenkopf scored a game-high 26 points, and Lane Hook added 16 for the host Comets in a win over Frontier Tuesday. Mollenkopf scored 12 of Caston’s 15 points in the first quarter. Hook had 12 points in the second half. Reed Sommers and Carson Harness added nine points each. Sommers had a pair of 3-point plays in the second quarter and scored as many points as the entire Frontier tea

Douglass leads Lady Comets with 11, Craig adds 8 BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Brooke Davis Brianna Schlemmer CULVER — Culver girls basketball coach A.J. Neace called timeout with 3:52 left after Brianna Schlemmer hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give his team an 18-point lead over Caston Thursday. Why did he call timeout? He said he just wanted to celebrate how well his players were playing. The iron

Harness leads Comets with 8; Hook makes all-tourney team BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC BUNKER HILL — Zion See scored a game-high 19 points, and the Peru boys basketball team hit 12 3-pointers in a 66-36 rout of Caston in the Miami County Invitational championship game at Maconaquah Tuesday. Jacob Boswell hit five 3-pointers and added 15 points, and Reis Bellar added 12 for Peru, who won their third straight game and improved to 3-6. Kingston Eldridge contributed four

Warner adds 9 points, 9 rebounds BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Madi Douglass Natalie Warner BUNKER HILL — Layla Hampton scored on a layup on an inbounds play with 22 seconds left to give the North Miami girls basketball team a 32-30 win over Caston in the Miami County Invitational consolation game at Maconaquah Tuesday. Hampton’s basket gave North Miami their first lead. They were Hampton’s only poin

L. Mollenkopf scores 27, Hook adds 22, Harness hits 4 treys BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Boys basketball BUNKER HILL — The Caston boys basketball team found the urgency to hold off host Maconaquah in the first round of the Miami County Invitational Monday. Logan Mollenkopf scored 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Lane Hook scored 22 and pulled down seven rebounds, and Carson Harness hit four 3-pointers and scored 13 for the Comets in an 81-72 win. Caston improved