Following impressive win at Nike Heartland Preview, Castelli seeking first victory by South Dakota prep athlete at Roy Griak since 2006 after taking third last season, before returning home to compete for Lady Knights in soccer

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Libby Castelli and the O’Gorman High cross country team will drive nearly four hours Thursday from Sioux Falls, S.D., to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to compete in the girls championship race Friday in the 37th Roy Griak Invitational.

Castelli, the team’s top runner, placed third overall last year in the Gary Wilson Girls High School Gold race by covering the 5-kilometer layout at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in 18:13.8, and returns Friday among the favorites to win.

Right after Castelli finishes the 5-kilometer race, she’ll cool down, pack up, and make the trek back to Sioux Falls.

As one of the top players on the O’Gorman girls soccer team, she’s got midfield duty Saturday afternoon for the Knights.

Are you tired? For Castelli, it’s just a typical weekend.

“She splits time between soccer and running cross country, so me and the soccer coach, we spend a lot of time working on the schedule, making sure we are all on the same page,” O’Gorman head cross county coach Aaron Strand said. “That’s the biggest concern, we don’t want her burning out, we want her feeling healthy and feeling confident both in soccer and at races.”

So far this fall, she’s excelled both on the turf, as one of the Lady Knights’ leading offensive threats, and on the trails.

Castelli won the Nike Heartland Preview in 17:31.8, breaking the tape by more than 15 seconds ahead of the next competitor Sept. 9 at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls, which will serve as the same course for O’Gorman at conference, state and the Nov. 12 regional race.

“She put down a great time running that course (Sept. 9) and then with conference and state, she’s going to know every inch of it – the mile, 2-mile marker, 400 to go,” Strand said. “Having a fast time on that course gives her the confidence that she knows she can run fast going into Griak.

“It’s a great confidence boost, but we know we’re going to get to see some of the best in the Midwest. It’s going to be interesting to see her get pushed by some other girls, and that’s going to help her run a faster time. She’s going to have to get ready to have some people around her and be confident with that, and that she can finish strong.”

Last year at Roy Griak, Abbey Nechanicky of Wayzata High in Minnesota won in 17:37.9, with Paityn Noe of Ballard Community in Iowa taking second (18:08.1).

Both All-Americans have graduated, which makes Castelli the top returner in a field that is also expected to include Minnesota competitors Sydney Drevlow from Hopkins, Norah Hushagen of Forest Lake, Luna Scorzelli from St. Paul Highland Park, Marissa Long of Chanhassen, Avery Marasco-Johnson from Minnetonka and Jazleen Malherek-Osorio of Wayzata, in addition to Addison Dorenkamp from West Des Moines Valley in Iowa and Anjali Hocker Singh of Olathe North in Kansas.

Despite the rich and successful history of O’Gorman, including current Nebraska sophomore Alea Hardie – the first female athlete in South Dakota high school history to win three consecutive state cross country titles – O’Gorman has never had an individual champion at Griak, with Castelli having the opportunity Friday to become the first female winner from any South Dakota program since Allison Eckert of Sioux Falls Roosevelt triumphed in 2006.

Krista Eckert also won for Sioux Falls Roosevelt at Roy Griak in 2003 and 2004.

“I mean this definitely is a big meet with really good competition, so I want to go and win,” Castelli said. “I want to go out with the top group and once you get in the middle of the race, it’s a lot of hills and stuff, but working through the hills, and at the end hopefully having a good finish.”

Like Heartland, the Les Bolstad Golf Course is familiar territory for Castelli, as this Friday will be her third time competing, improving her time each year.

“It is nice having run it a couple times before,” Castelli said. “The start is pretty flat, but then you get in the middle of the race and you’re tired and you have to go hills, but you have to know what you’re getting yourself into when you race it.”

Castelli, who came to South Dakota in middle school from right outside of the Chicago area in Illinois, started running because of her older sister Katie, who now competes at the University of Santa Clara.

Her older brother, Jack, a senior at O’Gorman, is also a standout distance runner.

Castelli said she took a liking to running and has kept with it as her main sport, while still playing soccer, balancing the two.

“My coaches work really well with each other, so I’ll usually go to cross country practice and if it’s a harder workout, take it easier in soccer, if we have a game that day, I won’t run,” Castelli said.

Quiet, but determined, Castelli has been known to let her play – on both the soccer field, the trails and the track – speak for itself.

Last fall, she earned All-Metro honors, and this season leads the team in goals.

Castelli was second in the Class AA meet last season in cross country. While not having the ending to her fall last season she envisioned at NXR, Castelli had a solid spring season, ending at Nike Outdoor Nationals running the girls mile and was a part of the winning 4x400-meter mixed relay.

Those experiences reframed her goals and what she can accomplish.  

“Libby is kind of a quiet girl,” Strand said. “The first few years I coached her, not much interaction as far as conversation and then over the last year or two, we’ve come a lot closer in coach and athlete. I think this year after she went to Nike (Outdoor) Nationals for track, NXN became a much bigger goal of hers along with becoming a state champion this fall.”

Strand said they’ve cut back on some of her mileage, and readjusted some workouts to realign with her bigger goals, and make sure she’s ready to go, not only on the trails but the soccer field.

“Every year, she’s just gotten stronger and stronger as a runner,” Strand said. “Whether that’s faster times on the track or country course, it’s fun to see her get better and elevate her running and her training. It’s been a fun progression and we are still moving in the right direction and I think she’s looking to finish the year strong.”