by Michael Martinez
Jaden Castillo has been an eye-catching diver since his freshman year, and he is continuing to grow even more with each passing year. He is showing no sign of slowing down. He even set a new record at El Diamante for a dive meet. His score was 514, and the old record holder held 469. This means Jaden outscored the record holder by 45 points.
“My goals for this season are to qualify for state and not get cut during the state dive meet.” Castillo has a steady mind set and knows what he needs to do to get the job done. “ I’ve been doing dive since I was a Freshman and it’s been going pretty well. I’ve always given it my all and tried to fight through injuries even though I knew I shouldn’t. I did it regardless because I didn’t want to give myself an excuse to give up.” He pushed himself beyond his limits even when his body couldn’t keep up, but he still knew he had to keep going.
Jaden never showed any nervousness at any of his dive meets, even when the competition was tough, and he held his own at all his matches against various schools. Jaden stood his ground to show why he deserved his spot on this team. Jaden has always had the heart and effort, making him a formidable opponent to match up against, but one thing that separates Jaden from any other opponent. This is his attitude, he is confident in his crafts, but not cocky.
When asked about how he felt about setting a new record at the school, Jaden said, “I feel accomplished for setting a new record at the school. It was my goal since sophomore year, and I achieved that goal.” Jaden has always kept his eye on the prize of setting a new record at El Diamante. Having that goal in his mind gave him motivation to keep chasing to improve his work.
Jaden has been an up-and-coming star since his freshman year, and he has been improving the way he performs at his meets. He has been able to mentally keep himself focused and never fails to perform his best. We hope Jaden can continue to break new records, perform at his best, and continue to be that rising phenomenon here at El Diamante.