Izzy Harris
Equinox Staff
For 19 years, the Keene State College 200 meter dash stood unbroken before sophomore Brandon Castor finally cracked it.
On Saturday, Jan. 26, Castor shaved off .03 seconds from the previous 200 meter with a speedy 22.92 time.
“It was exhilarating—best way to describe it. I’ve been looking at the record since I came here. It was definitely a big accomplishment. My coach was happy for me, my teammates were happy for me, overall it was just exciting,” said Castor.
Head Track and Field Coach Tom Pickering said, “It’s meaningful for the individual and to see something on the record board, especially a record that has stood for a long time. It’s always meaningful when that’s a goal, to put your name up there in that event, to be the fastest athlete that we’ve ever had [at] this college in this sport.”
“He’s a really good guy, respectful of the sport, he takes it seriously but I think he also enjoys it,” said Pickering.
Assistant Coach Nick Athanasopoulos said, “Records are meant to broken, so I have no doubt he’ll keep that going and continue to improve, and not be satisfied [with] where he’s at.”
Athanasopoulos said in the future he also expects Castor to, “Potentially [break] a school record in the 400, which is certainly attainable.”
“It takes a lot of consistency, based on our schedules and the students’ schedules [we] have to move practice times around quite a bit … he wants to be there all the time,” said Athanasopoulos.
Although breaking this record is a big accomplishment, Castor is already looking to set new goals. “My next goal to keep breaking it, really, since right now I’m only a sophomore. I have two more years, and this season isn’t even over yet.”
Pickering said he expects, “Mainly that he keeps working hard to be a growth-minded, positive member of the team.”
Castor said that he has been running since his freshman year of high school.
“I love the idea of hard work and the idea of waking up in the morning and having to go work out and having to go push yourself to do better. No one enjoys getting up at 6:20 every day, but you do because you love the sport and you love what you do. It makes me feel better, it makes me feel stronger,” said Castor.
Nicole De Almeida is a junior on the women’s track and field team, and practices frequently with Castor. “I admire how much effort he puts into everything he does,” said De Almeida.
Athanasopoulos said Castor is—, “…someone who always gets after it. He leads by example, he’ll do anything we ask him to do. Sometimes there’s reservations but he gets over those fears quickly. Just an overall great kid and fun to work with.”
Castor said that for anyone trying to break a record—, “The biggest thing I would say is trust the process. A lot of people don’t wanna take that extra step or don’t want it—that extra lap or that last minute cool down, definitely take everything and do it 100 percent. And if you don’t, I feel like you’re missing out on the small aspect.”
Izzy Harris can be
contacted at iharris@kscequinox.com
