BROWNSVILLE — Brownsville Hanna multisport athlete Aliyah Castillo signed her national letter of intent Monday to join the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley track & field program.
“I am pretty excited,” she said. “These are dreams that I did not think would come true. My sister played soccer for four years, she worked really hard and did not get offers. So, I was thinking that I would not get any either, I was scared, but here we are now. I am blessed and could not do it without the support.”
Castillo competed in volleyball, soccer, powerlifting and track this season at Hanna. In soccer, she helped her team reach the playoffs. She took home bronze at the powerlifting state meet and is the District 32-6A winner in the 400-meter dash.
“She is a hard worker,” said Olaya Teran, Castillo’s track coach. “This girl does multiple sports, she is back and forth, she works hard. She has been one of the toughest girls at Hanna. We had so much adversity with the weather, and she was able to do multiple events. She is a strong runner.”
Earlier this year at Sams Memorial Stadium, Castillo broke Teran’s 27-year-old record in the 400.
Castillo plans on studying civil engineering at UTRGV and will only focus on track while attending the campus in Edinburg. The proximity of the university factored into Castillo’s decision, as well as her father’s help in manifesting it.
“My dad would always say, ‘She is going to UTRGV, she is going to UTRGV,’ Castillo said. “I never thought I would actually be going to UTRGV.”
Castillo thanked her parents, coaches and friends for the support. She also thanked local gym owner Joey Garcia, her trainer since she was in eighth grade.
“I would not have been able to do any of this without him,” she said. “My legs looked like sticks before I went there.”
Parents Christina and Jesse Castillo said their daughter gives her all in everything she does.
“Words cannot express the joy and happiness that I feel,” Jesse Castillo said. “People do not know, but after games and practices she still makes time to work out. Her day does not end when the sun goes down.”
Christina Castillo said her daughter is one of a kind.
“She is just awesome in everything she does, she never takes a break,” Christina Castillo said.
Aliyah Castillo will be competing this week at the Region IV-6A track meet. The senior finished second at the area meet to qualify for the regional meet.
