No ceiling to Maples athlete’s success

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This article was published 29/06/2022 (1496 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE MAPLES

One Maples Collegiate student has taken his athletic achievements to new heights.

Zandre Castello, 17, recently competed in the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association’s provincial track and field championships. This event welcomed 1,500 of the top high school athletes from across the province.

There, Castello won a gold medal for the high jump and another for the pentathlon — while setting the provincial high jump record for this five-part competition, soaring 1.9 m (6.2 ft) over a bar.

“I was happy. I was very happy — I broke a record,” Castello said. He added that leading up to the day, he knew that shattering the record was within his reach. “My goal before was to get over two metres and break the actual high jump record.”

Lisa Kowalyshyn, a phys-ed teacher for Maples Collegiate, pointed out that Castello is new to high jump. He only picked up the sport about four months ago.

“His record for indoor was 1.7 metres, which he could continuously jump, but he didn’t have any speed or too much technique. With a little work, he got up to 1.9 metres,” Kowalyshyn said.

The Grade 12 student conditioned for the high jump by focusing on form and speed. Castello worked on his running and spine flexibility leading up to the competition. By studying slow-motion training footage of his high jumps, the athlete was able to hone his movements.

Castello also dominated the pentathlon’s other events, racking up more points than any other participant. While the high jump garnered him the most points, he also excelled in the 200 metre race.

“He blew everybody out of the water,” Kowalyshyn said, “including the club athletes.”

Castello got serious about running in Grade 9 and has kept conditioned by playing basketball and football. All of this training has allowed him to break out onto the track and field scene with such vigour.

Kowalyshyn looks forward to what Castello will be able to achieve once under the mentorship of the University of Manitoba’s Bisons track and field team. Castello will soon begin training with the team’s coaches and plans to attend classes at the university this fall.

One week after the provincial track and field championships, Castello brought home three gold medals and one silver medal at the Manitoba age class championships at the University of Manitoba, a track and field competition for young people.

Looking ahead to the rest of the summer, Castello is eyeing some out-of-province meets. And national competitions aren’t out of the question, either.

The Bisons track and field team will expose Castello to high-level events while equipping him with the techniques to succeed, Kowalyshyn explained. Castello will be under the mentorship of a coach who trained Olympic runners.

This coach has already helped Castello achieve 6.11 (20.04 ft) in the long jump — twice.

“My main goal right now is to get over two metres in the high jump,” Castello said. “Since I’m not going to be in varsity next year, I want to get a little higher than that.”