Record-Breaking Central Runner Makes Ivy League Commitment

LONG VALLEY, N.J. – She’s spent the last three years as a wolf, and beginning in the fall she’ll be a tiger.

Sierra Castaneda, who’s about to start her fourth year as a member of the West Morris Central cross country team, has blazed her own path for the entirety of her high school career. What she’s done on the field is just as impressive as her accomplishments in the classroom, as seen by her recent commitment to Princeton University where she’ll enroll on scholarship this fall.

Castaneda’s course accomplishments have cemented her in the West Morris Central history books. From the school’s athletic department:

Sierra joined the spring track team in her freshman year to stay in shape for swimming (her main sport). After achieving a great deal of success her freshman year, and through some convincing, she decided to join the cross country team at the beginning of her sophomore year. In her first running cross country, she quickly secured a spot in our top 3. She dropped enough time to run the County 5k Course (Greystone Park) in the low 18s. She went on to run at the Meet of Champions, finishing 10th in the State of New Jersey. In Spring 2014, Sierra was able to drop down to a 4:56 in the 1600m becoming to second fastest miler in West Morris track and field history behind Kylene Cochrane (Class of 2014), just ahead of Meghan Lee (Class of 1985).

Since the beginning of her junior year, Sierra has taken over as the number one runner on the team. In cross country, she won the Morris County Championships, the NJAC Championships, the NJSIAA North II Group 3 Championships, and the NJSIAA Group 3 Championships (her junior year). Sierra now holds the record for the fastest time on the Holmdel Park Course (site of Group Championship and Meet of Champions) in WMC girls XC history. She has made 1st team all-county, 1st team all- conference, 1st team all-area, and 1st team all-state both her junior and senior year. She was invited to run at the Nike Northeast Regional Championships in New York, and was in the top 5 both years in their championship race. Sierra received an all expense paid trip (by Nike) to Portland, OR to compete in the Nike National Championships. Her junior year she placed 30th in the Nation with a time of 18:19, and her senior year she placed 47th in the Nation with a personal record of 18:09.

In spring track 2015, she crushed the school record in the 3200m with a time of 10:34.92. She scored the most points on the team (159.25 points) by a large margin from her diversified arsenal of events including the 400m, 800m, 1600m, 3200m, 4x400m, 4x800m, Distance Medley, and Sprint Medley. Sierra was County Champion, Conference Champion, and Sectional Champion in both the 1600m and 3200m. She made it to the Meet of Champions in both the 1600m and 3200m, but only competed in the 3200m to place 5th in the State and re-break the school record.

“Sierra is extremely intelligent, and great at communicating with enthusiasm and team spirit,” said head coach Jay Herrigel. “She’s not only a physically gifted runner, but has a very modest yet charismatic personality. Her humble attitude coupled with an uncanny focus allows her to have an unbelievable work ethic that has lead her to a great deal of success. Since spring of her sophomore year, she has been voted the MVP every running season, and this year she leads the team as Captain.”

Photos Courtesy West Morris Central Athletic Department