By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
A switch to a different event led Stephanie Castillo to her first state meet, continuing what has come to be a family tradition.
“It was somewhat of a surprise because this time I knew I had to do it, and I wanted to do it for my team, my mom, my brother and my sister,” said Castillo, a junior at Rivera who qualified for state in the 100-yard freestyle. “I just felt like I had a lot of support this year, so I wasn’t as nervous as I was before in the previous years.”
Ryan Shea, swim coach for both Rivera and Brownsville Aquatics, says Castillo comes from a family of “great swimmers,” who he’s coached throughout the years.
Her brother, Jonathan, was a 2009 All-American in the 100 butterfly for Porter, and her sister, Natalie, was a state qualifying swimmer for Hanna all four years in high school.
The junior swimmer may have been surprised when she won the 100 freestyle at the Region VIII meet, but her coach thinks she’s capable of even more.
“She works hard and is very talented,” Shea said. “I still don’t think she’s reached her full potential. She still has a lot left in the tank. She’s got a lot of talent.”
Shea thinks Castillo, who already owns school records in every individual swimming event, is capable of giving even more in the pool.
The switch came as the best way to get her into the state meet, and it’s safe to say it worked.
“This is her first year that we actually did the 100 freestyle,” he said. “We’d been doing the 200 freestyle because she’s very sound with her distance. She has a nice, smooth and consistent stroke. She can swim forever. We did 200 and 500, and she can swim everything. She can do the 100 fly and the 100 back, which she did this year, too.”
“This year we wanted to try the 100 freestyle and see how that worked, and we saw a kind of opening of not that many people out there in the region,” he added. “So we stuck with the 100 free and she did great. I know she can do it, but she even surprised herself when she did it. She’s really impressive. We’re hoping she can go up to state and drop some more time, because I know she has a lot more left.”
Castillo likes the switch to an event that’s not necessarily a sprint but goes by much quicker than some of the others.
“It goes by really, really fast,” she said. “I mean, it’s death but it’s very short. It’s very chill. It’s a shorter time, but you’re killing yourself.”
Joshua McKinney covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.