By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Vlad Castillo Jr. felt at peace in his final appearance at the Meet of Champions.
The Montgomery High School senior has always treasured the meet. It brings together the best throwers in a competitive environment that is also supportive as he shares his faith. It’s why he didn’t want it to end.
“Meet of Champions was a difficult meet for me,” Castillo said. “Not just from competitive standpoint, but from a personal one.
“It’s more than just the medal and just the throwing. You get to talk to people. You can understand their issues. I prayed with five people before the meet.”
Then Castillo went out and enjoyed his best finish at the outdoor MOC. He was sixth in the boys discus with a new school record of 172-feet-6. He was 11th in the boys shot put at 53-5.
“I always envisioned myself as a state champion,” Castillo said. “That wasn’t the turnout, and I was surprised how happy I was. I got a lifetime best. It was a blessing to make it to finals. It’s an honor to place. It’s higher than last year and at the end of the day, it’s the improvement that matters.”
Castillo was one of five MHS boys to go home with a medal from the MOC. Patrick Warren was third in the boys long jump at 22-feet-1. The only two ahead of the junior were a pair of seniors who will be graduating.
“I’m definitely happy with that,” Warren said. “At the beginning of the season, I didn’t think of that (medaling) as a goal. Once it happened, I was definitely happy with it.”
Warren also combined with Tyler Young, Jabari Clemons and Michael Simonson to place seventh in the 4×100 in a new school-record 42.74 seconds.
“That was something we were chasing all year and we got it,” Warren said. “It definitely is something special. We were talking about it all year, being able to break the school record. Now it’s a matter of how far we can go with it. We have a lot of chemistry. They’re people I enjoy running with. Anything to make the experience better is something I look forward to.”
The quartet will run for the last time together at the outdoor nationals. Young and Clemons are graduating. They think they can lower the record that they have snapped in each of their last two meets.
“I think we can,” Warren said. “We need to keep working. We’ve had a couple weeks since MOC. Mike and I have football practice. We’re still in tip top shape and think we can go faster.”
The nationals environment will help. Having the top athletes on hand with a sizeable crowd helped for the MOC.
“I think it was definitely the environment,” Warren said. “It’s a big competition. It made me want to compete and be at my absolute best. Being in that environment pushes us to run the times we did.”
The tough competition also helped push Warren to a strong jump in his top individual event. The long jump had strong athletes in it.
“Throughout the whole competition, it was a lot of going back and forth with me and couple kids,” Warren said. “We were in contention for third, fourth and fifth. On my second jump, I got the 22-1 that put me in third.
“That was one of my goals to be able to consistently jump 22. Knowing that’s something I did, it’s something I’m happy with.”
Two more Cougar seniors had the chance to compete at the MOC. Mark Hillsamer was 19th in the boys javelin with a throw of 165-10. Calista Reynolds tied for 21st in the girls pole vault with a clearance of 10-feet.
Warren is looking to build off his MOC showing at nationals. In addition to the relay, he will compete in the long jump again, and he is aiming to jump 23 feet and medal like he did at the MOC.
“It was a really great experience,” Warren said. “To come in and be able to compete in the relay and long jump. It was amazing to see the best athletes in New Jersey and be one of them.”
Castillo will close his MHS career at nationals as well. He will compete in the championship divisions of the discus and shot put.
“Right now,” he said, “I’m in a love relationship with discus and I’m in a hate relationship with shot put.”
Castillo had spent the final weeks of the season focused more on discus and it paid off with a best in the biggest meet. It was just the sort of progress that he wanted.
“Every year has changed for me,” Castillo said. “Freshman year, I was looking to peak at the Freshman/Sophomore meet. Then I was looking to peak at sectionals sophomore year, then at groups last year.”
Castillo finished with a medal that had eluded him some years. He made the most of his final MOC.“It’s a good ending to this chapter,” he said. “It’s a new chapter.”
Castillo will still be in green and gold, but it will as a thrower for William and Mary. He will be practicing with all the throws until he narrows his focus for his new coach, who has produced top throwers in college.
“Seeing their success makes me excited for what comes next year,” Castillo said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to gain a little weight and exert that in my throws.”
