by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Phil Castillo is a globetrotter not only as a former world-class runner but also as a military serviceman. He recently concluded a 20.5 yr. Army career as both an enlisted soldier and officer. Phil joined the Army in December of 1998 and competed for the Army World Class athlete program (WCAP).
Phil is from the Pueblo of Acoma, one of 19 pueblos in New Mexico, and he and his family currently live in the North Pole, Alaska. “We have four daughters, three of which are located in NP with me,” said Phil. “Our eldest is in San Antonio working for an Insurance company and Army Reserves. We have two daughters left in school in 8th and 9th grade respectively. Our second eldest currently works on Eielson Air Force base and is raising her son and our first grandson.
“During my stint in the Army, I ran in the 2000 Olympic marathon trials,” Phil said. “Once my running career concluded in 2003, I stayed in the Army and became an Officer in 2004. I was appointed as a Transportation Officer, but later merged into a Logistics Officer. I got to travel all over the world completing missions in Romania, Poland, Israel, Germany, Netherlands, Morocco, Alaska, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Australia, Latvia, and Wales.”
Phil shared his coaching interest: “While in Germany I began to get more involved in coaching and coached elementary and middle school students in the Kaiserslautern school district. It was a volunteer position, but I have about 60 kids that I was coaching in Cross Country and Track and Field. I got the coaching job in North Pole, AK during my 20th year of active service and it worked beautifully when I officially retired from the military. I was then given the head coaching position for Track and Field as well. I just concluded my 2nd season as head coach for CC and we came up 3 points short of qualifying our girls’ team to state. Since the school’s inception in 1976, North Pole has never been to state as a team. My daughter Lia ran for me this season as a freshman and qualified to state as an individual this year. Next year I get her little sister as a 9th grader, so it’s going to be a great season for our team.”
“I have aspirations of coaching in the lower 48 when my daughters’ graduate from high school, but unknown where at this point”, said Phil. “I had an opportunity to coach at my alma mater this past summer while we we’re visiting family in NM, but my two younger daughters are big fans of Alaska and wanted to stay there. I’m still trying to convince them about running in NM but lose that battle every time. Before I retired last summer, they had been to eight different schools growing up, so stability is very important to my wife and I. My two eldest daughters went to 22 different schools before they graduated, so being a military brat certainly has its challenges. On the flip side I believe my girls can survive anywhere they go, as they had to make new friends everywhere we went.”
Phil’s roots are in New Mexico and his foundation of success began on the trails and the track. “I competed for Grants High School in Grants, NM (‘86-‘90), I was a two-time CC state champion (‘88 and ’89) and two-time Track state champion in the 800m and 3200m in ’89 and ’90,” said Phil.
Phil was a 9-time All American at Adams State University including being the 1992 NCAA DII National Cross Country Champion. He was inducted into the Adams State University Hall of Fame in September of 2018. His personal records included the one mile: 4.05, two mile: 8.53, 5K: 14.26, 10K: 29.25, half marathon: 1.06.00 and marathon: 2.19.19.
Colorado is a leader in the number of American Indian mascots that are in the schools and colleges in the state. Not a leader of change but a leader in a high number of ethnic mascots and imagery. Alamosa, CO, home of Adams State University is 60 miles west of the La Veta HS Redskins and 200 miles west of the Lamar HS Savages. Adams State University finally decided to change their team name in 1996 from the Indians to the Grizzlies.
“As a member of Acoma Pueblo, I’ve always been able to take my heritage with me all over the world,” said Phil. “I think the most important thing for me personally was not being phased by outside negativity for being Native. I didn’t care what anyone ever said about me or where I came from. I ran across a lot of negativity in college when I fought the Indian mascot in school. I was the most hated person on campus during my college years (‘90-’95: BA and ‘96-’98: MA) but going back to Adams State to accept my Hall of Fame honor some 22 years later and seeing the change, made it all worth the struggle. I fought the mascot issue for five long years before it was finally decided to change to the current Grizzlies of today. “
“When I arrived on campus, I was greeted by apologies from administration personnel who were there during my time at Adams State. Educating people sometimes comes with hardship and sacrifice, but in the end is the right thing to do no matter what. I still pray today even though I’m not on my reservation and it empowers me to be me and never give up my identity. In Alaska there’s also a large Athabaskan population, so it’s nice to be around native people there as well,” added Phil.
An athlete needs to be a student first. No one has ever heard of an ‘athlete-student’ but have heard of the role ‘student-athlete’. “Athletics don’t pan out unless one gets it done in the classroom first and foremost,” said Phil. “I was certainly never an honor roll student, but I understood the importance of keeping my grades up in order to continue with my running. As a coach I see the same challenges with my student athletes, who sometimes like to shut it down during the offseason. That’s when you have to supersede expectations, because you have more time for your studies. I encourage my student athletes to get tutors and stay ahead of their school work. I also look for my upper academic athletes to tutor their teammates, and that has been real beneficial for my teams. High School has its challenges, but is not hard if you just apply yourself and dedicate that time accordingly.”
Photo Credit: Phil Castillo
