Castille rekindles career in Olympic Trials

LOUISIANA La. — If you’re an American distance runner, then Eugene, Oregon, is the place to be.

That’s what Lafayette’s Kevin Castille decided late last year, and the move has yielded big dividends for the former Acadiana High and University of Louisiana athlete.

Castille will toe the line with 25 other select runners tonight in the 10,000-meter run at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Sacramento, Calif., completing a long personal journey at least as lengthy as the trip from Lafayette to Eugene.

“For the last couple of years — it will be two years in October — I have been working with Tom Hopkins, an ex-UL runner,” Castille said. “He got me back to basics.

“I began to get my mileage in and decided that I had some good times. I made the decision to move to Eugene the first week in January, and to stay for six months to take me through the Trials.

“The first 10K I ran on the track in March, I had a provisional qualifying time for the Trials. That was pretty amazing.”

The 10,000 will be the first final event of the Trials, with tonight’s session scheduled to air on USA Network beginning at 10 p.m., Lafayette time.

“My goal was just to make the Trials, period,” Castille said. “I’ll be able to compete with the top runners in another year or so. These guys have been at this level for 6-7-8 years, and I’ve only been there for six months.

“Realistically, I won’t be able to compete with them. But I wanted to get into the race and enjoy it. Like the others, I deserve to be here.”

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com