On Monday, Mariah Castillo was announced as the girls winner of the MileSplitCA Greatest Combination Distance Runner of the Decade poll tournament.
Castillo, a 2018 graduate of Saugus HS, is the No. 8 performer in state history for 1600 meters and the No. 15 performer in CA annals for 3200 meters.
She also dropped down to run a fast enough 800 meters that her combined 800m/3200m time ranked third among all girls in the period between 2010 and 2019, and her 800m/1600m combined time ranked eighth. She also had the No. 6-ranked 1600m/3200m combination during the decade.
Her results on the track certainly warranted the voting support that saw her win all but one of her five rounds in the tournament by nearly 75 percent of the vote!
Keep an eye on her two-lap career at Texas Christian University. There, in her last act before the COVID-19 pandemic-related shutdown, she shattered the university's 34-year-old indoor standard for 800m not once but twice on consecutive days at the Big 12 Indoor Championships!!
> Check out a couple highlights from Castillo's senior season at Saugus:
800 Meters - Azusa Distance Meet of Champions (3/24/18)
In this race, Mariah runs her 800m high school PR but needs to overcome a tough start and a strong challenge at the end from Delaney Sacacore. Mariah is wearing her powder blue Saugus singlet, navy blue shorts, dark socks and pinkish shoes. Watch as she gets boxed at the start but fights her way back toward the front and ends with her signature lethal kick.
Azusa Distance Meet of Champions Girls 800m Invitational Results
| VARSITY GIRLS 800 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | WIND | H# | |||
| 1 | Mariah Castillo | 12 | Saugus High School (SS) | 2:10.70 | 1 | |||
| 2 | Delaney Sanacore | 12 | Los Alamitos High (SS) | 2:11.50 | 1 | |||
| 3 | Ashley Johnson | 10 | Mission Viejo High School (SS) | 2:13.10 | 1 | |||
| 4 | Charlotte Tomkinson | 10 | Menlo School (CC) | 2:14.30 | 1 | |||
| 5 | Kyra Pretre | 10 | Menlo School (CC) | 2:14.90 | 1 | |||
| 6 | Gianna Beasley | 10 | South Pasadena Senior High (SS) | 2:15.60 | 1 | |||
| 7 | Emma Arriaga | 11 | Walnut High (SS) | 2:15.70 | 1 | |||
| 8 | Hailey Goodell | 10 | Arroyo Grande High (CS) | 2:16.50 | 1 | |||
| 9 | Sasha Codiga | 11 | Flintridge Prep (SS) | 2:17.90 | 1 | |||
| 10 | Kalea Ibarra | 12 | Polytechnic Riverside (SS) | 2:19.80 | 1 | |||
1600m/3200m - CIF-SS Divisional Finals (5/20/18)
This highlights clip of girls distance events from the CIF-Southern Section all-division finals at El Camino College, features Mariah putting down one of the great doubles in meet history, winning the 1600m in 4:43.73 and the 3200m in 10:06.47 (a PR).
Castillo, who came in as the U.S. leader for 1600m (4:43.69), ran the No. 5 time in the U.S. in the 3200m with Capistrano Valley's Haley Herberg right behind in 10:09.54 (No. 7 in the U.S. at the time).
Castillo's time ended up U.S. No. 6 for true 3200m and Herberg ranked No. 9.
The clip also shows Village Christian freshman Mia Barnett, finishing in 10:27.82. That was the No. 1 time in the 3200m by freshman in the U.S., a ranking that held up through the rest of 2018.
The clip also samples the Great Oak distance team that had four girls score in both the 1600m and 3200m and all advanced to CIF-SS Masters.
2018 CIF-SS Division 2 Championship Results
| VARSITY GIRLS 1600 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | WIND | H# | |||
| 1 | Mariah Castillo | 12 | Saugus High School (SS) | 4:43.73 | 1 | |||
| 2 | Misty Diaz | 12 | Norwalk High (SS) | 4:55.45 | 1 | |||
| 3 | Sophia Hoelzel | 11 | West Ranch (SS) | 4:56.26 | 1 | |||
| 4 | Sofia Ramos | 12 | Ventura High School (SS) | 5:00.22 | 1 | |||
| 5 | Kaela Cleary | 12 | San Marcos Senior High (SS) | 5:00.30 | 1 | |||
| 6 | Lucina Vincent | 12 | El Dorado High (SS) | 5:04.45 | 1 | |||
| 7 | Angie Gushue | 9 | Claremont High (SS) | 5:04.61 | 1 | |||
| 8 | Emma Hicken | 11 | Mission Viejo High School (SS) | 5:06.04 | 1 | |||
| 9 | Amber Rios | 9 | Colony High School (SS) | 5:13.04 | 1 | |||
| VARSITY GIRLS 3200 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | WIND | H# | |||
| 1 | Mariah Castillo | 12 | Saugus High School (SS) | 10:06.47 | 1 | |||
| 2 | Haley Herberg | 12 | Capistrano Valley High (SS) | 10:09.54 | 1 | |||
| 3 | Sara Leonard | 12 | Canyon Anaheim Hills (SS) | 10:29.65 | 1 | |||
| 4 | Sydney Hwang | 11 | Claremont High (SS) | 10:43.42 | 1 | |||
| 5 | Jill Walker | 9 | Simi Valley High (SS) | 10:46.41 | 1 | |||
| 6 | Carly Corsinita | 10 | Capistrano Valley High (SS) | 10:51.85 | 1 | |||
| 7 | Rebecca Schultz | 10 | Westlake High (SS) | 11:04.80 | 1 | |||
| 8 | Nyah Chavez | 11 | Shadow Hills High School (SS) | 11:08.33 | 1 | |||
| 9 | Jacqueline Cascione | 11 | Saugus High School (SS) | 11:08.90 | 1 | |||
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Photos by Ben Crawford.