Adkins excited for new challenges with Herd and beyond

WHEELERSBURG — Talking with Cashton Adkins you almost get the idea that one of his idols is Buzz Lightyear.

The Wheelersburg Pirates outstanding senior discus thrower signed a national letter of intent with the Marshall Thundering Herd on Monday, but you could almost hear Buzz Lightyear in the interview.

It was Buzz Lightyear who famously said, “To Infinity and beyond.” In his own way, Adkins was saying, “To Marshall and beyond.”

Signing with Marshall was a difficult decision, but Adkins felt it was the best choice because of his plans for beyond.

“Marshall’s only 45 minutes away. My mom and dad came with me on every visit I made. It really came down to sitting down with them and weighing the pros and cons and what we want for my future and for the family’s future, said Adkins.

“They helped guide me on everything. In 2028 we have the Olympics and in four years we have the World Championships. We’re trying to train beyond Marshall. We have big goals outside of just going to Marshall. We want to take track as far as we can.”

Adkins put up numbers last year that caught the eye of many Division 1 programs. He won the Southern Ohio Conference when he tossed the discus 172-feet, 8-inches, and was third in the state in Division 2 with a distance of 169-11.

South Point’s Derrick Taylor — now throwing at Tennessee — won with a toss of 185-6 and Norwayne senior Brandt Morlock was second at 177-11.

But Adkins said the recruiting process was already underway. It began in his sophomore year as schools began to call.  Among the schools who came calling were Louisville, Appy State and West Point.

“Marshall was close to home. I fell in love with the coaching staff and everything I saw on my visit and stuff and Coach Keith Roberts, Coach (Derek) Stout the throws coach who just recently got hired. I had a good relationship with him,” said Adkins.

“Every school was super compelling. It was the hardest decision I’ve had to make. It’s my first big adult decision I’ve made and I’m very confident in my decision and I feel Coach Roberts and Coach Stout have pretty good plans for me. I’m excited to get in the Sun Belt and make a big impact there.”

While signing to throw at the next level and hopefully beyond, Adkins said the sport of track started as an afterthought and caught fire.

“I’ve been doing this sport since seventh grade. I started out doing this as a side to football just to stay active during the spring. I really fell in love with it. My seventh grade year I was second in the state and eighth grade year I was first in the state, so that carried over into high school,: said Adkins.

Once he got to the high school level, head coach Ryan Brown and assistant coach Steve Sutton began to help develop Adkins into one of the area and state’s top throwers.

“I’ve been training really hard with coach Brown and coach Sutton since my freshman year. A coach out of Wilmington who I drive an hour and a half to and I’ve been doing that for two and a half years. That’s been a big help but that’s the kind of dedication I’ve been putting into it.”

And it’s the kind of dedication that Cashton Adkins expects to take him above and beyond.