ASHEBORO – The first class for the Southwestern Randolph Hall of Fame will be inducted this week and it’s quite a blast from the past.
Fourteen individuals were selected for the honor. A ceremony will be held in the school cafeteria Friday prior to the football game vs. Albemarle. The group will also be recognized at halftime of the game.
The fathers of both athletics director Chris Chapman and football coach Seth Baxter are in the induction class.
Charlie Chapman and Donnie Baxter are both still involved with the Cougars on the football coaching staff.
Charlie Chapman was football coach and athletics director for 11 years along with a season as baseball coach. Later, he was back at Asheboro, his alma mater (Class of 1967), as athletics director. But he resurfaced at Southwestern Randolph in “retirement,” spending seven years on the football staff and five on the softball staff with the Cougars.
“I enjoy it,” Charlie Chapman said. “(This school) is a great place to coach.”
He also embraces working alongside his son. “Now, he’s my boss,” he said.
Charlie Chapman has been a conference commissioner of various leagues since 1999.
Donnie Baxter is a former principal (1985-95) at the school. He has been on his son’s coaching staff since 2017.
The elder Baxter has had long involvement with the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, serving various committees. He’s a co-founder of the Randolph Sports Council.
Here’s a look at the other inductees:
** Annette Cain Yates was a four-year player in girls’ basketball and volleyball, receiving all-conference accolades and countless recognitions. She twice as picked as the Player of the Year in Randolph County in basketball on the way to scoring 2,170 career points.
She also spent a season on the softball team and the track and field team. She’s a 1988 graduate.
** G.C. Castelloe Jr. was principal during the early days of the school, making hires for staff when the school opened in 1970. He stayed until 1985. The cultural arts building on campus is named in his honor.
** Jack Castelloe was girls’ basketball coach from 1971-94 after spending time from 1964-70 at Farmer School. His 592 victories as girls’ basketball coach mark a school record.
He also coached football and golf at the school. He was the head football coach when the Cougars won their first football game. He became an assistant principal.
The school’s gym is named after Jack Castelloe.
** Rachel Goad Cagle was a teacher and coach at the school from 1974-2010. Her volleyball teams racked up a 446-169 record with state championships in Class 2-A in 1991 and 1992. There was an eight-year run of conference titles under her watch.
Cagle’s track and field teams won eight championships, with her athletes earning four individual state championships.
** Holly Hill Cogan, a 1993 graduate, was a volleyball, basketball and softball player for the school. She was the Most Valuable Player in Class 2-A championship matches as the Cougars won volleyball crowns in 1991 and 1992.
She received county honors as the top girls’ basketball player three times and as a volleyball player twice. She was also a conference Player of the Year in softball.
This led to her distinction as the statewide Female Athlete of the Year as a senior.
** Greg Lamb, a 1977 graduate, played baseball, football and basketball for the Cougars. He received Most Valuable Player honors in baseball and football.
** Larry Little, a 1989 graduate, was on the varsity baseball team for four years, landing all-conference honors multiple times. He also was an all-conference pick in football. He played one season on the varsity basketball team.
** LuEllen Loflin Morgan was the school’s longtime cheerleading coach, beginning in the 1980s. From 1990-2001, the cheerleaders captured 10 state championships.
** Lynn Nance Jones, a 1983 graduate, excelled in volleyball, basketball, softball and track and field. Her accolades came in volleyball, basketball and softball. She was the county’s top basketball player as a senior and her No. 24 basketball jersey was retired.
** Kathy Sugg Fleetwood, a 1989 graduate, was a Southwestern Randolph athlete and later a coach.
She reached the Class 2-A state semifinals as a senior in tennis, helping coach a three-year run as the team’s Most Valuable Player. Her basketball accomplishments included four-time recognition on the all-county team and she was known as a relentless rebounder. Her No. 30 jersey is retired.
Fleetwood coached the girls’ tennis team from 1993-2003, receiving four conference Coach of the Year honors. She also spent time coaching junior varsity basketball.
** Stevie Taylor was a teacher and coach at the school, guiding the Cougars to three state titles (2001, 2007, 2009) and nine conference titles in softball. The Cougars went 283-52 under his direction.
** Tiffanie Wilson Roach, a 1993 graduate, was a four-year varsity participant in volleyball, basketball and softball, playing on state championship volleyball teams in 1991 and 1992.
Roach has pointed out that her mother, Sylvia Myers Dawson, played basketball for Jack Castelloe and was a member of the school’s first graduating class in 1971.
