COURTESY OF THE SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL
Flanagan's No. 1 cross country runner Sebastian Castillo was discovered on a soccer field.
After being cut from his middle school track team, he went out for varsity soccer his freshman year. Castillo didn't make the soccer team but his running up and down a soccer field left such an impression that the coach told Falcons track coach Benny Cook about him.
Cook convinced Castillo to give track another try. Born in Peru, Castillo played soccer most of his life and never realized he was a natural in running. He made the varsity track team his freshman year and went out for cross country as a sophomore.
Now a junior, Castillo, 16, is the top-ranked cross country runner in the county and among favorites to qualify for his second trip to the FHSAA State 4A Cross Country Finals in November.
The likeable teenager, one of the county's shortest runners at 5-foot-6, turned in his finest performance on Sept. 16 at the 24th annual Spanish River Invitational at South Regional Park in Boca Raton. It was his second meet of the season.
In a thrilling finish in the boys 4A-3A race, Castillo outleaned junior Michael Burke of West Boca Raton to win in a career-best 16 minutes and 7 seconds on a challenging 3.1-mile grassy course. Castillo was tucked in the second pack of runners while Burke had a comfortable lead of 30 seconds.
"I just wanted to get close enough to sprint and win," Castillo said. "I kept telling myself I could do it. I just kept myself motivated telling myself I could catch him and I did in the last two meters.
"I think I can do a lot better this year," Castillo said. "I am working harder and I know more about the sport and how to run a race. I have better stamina and I can kick at the end."
Castillo and his teammates are among favorites for the Oct. 13 BCAA Cross Country Championships at Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek.
Castillo finished second at the county meet last year and went on to win district and region titles. He finished 44th in his state meet debut because of a pulled hamstring injury sustained in travel league soccer which he still plays.
While coaches are tempted to discourage Castillo from playing soccer because of the chance of injury, cross country coach Kathy Halligan knows what cross-training can do for an athlete. She was a five-sport high school athlete in Iowa and earned a basketball scholarship to Creighton University.
Halligan is starting her fourth season as head cross country coach. She has 20 girls and 18 boys on the team, one of the largest in school history. Castillo's success has motivated his teammates who have nicknamed him The Franchise. "Our kids want to be as good as him," Halligan said.
"He is an all-sport athlete who is an active outdoors kid. His running ability comes from his cross-training. He doesn't have the same passion for running as he does soccer, but he can run. He motivates the other kids. Over the summer they got together and put in a lot of miles and hit the weight room. The hard work is paying off for all of them."
Castillo, with a 3.9 cumulative grade point average, is one of the most popular student-athletes on campus. "Everyone knows Sebastian," Halligan said. "You wouldn't expect that in such a big high school where you can get lost. He is an awesome kid and everyone falls in love with him."
Sharon Robb can be reached at srobb@sun-sentinel.com.