HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK : Casillas Becomes Fast Friends With Winning, Rivals

Whoever says nice guys finish last has not met senior Margarito Casillas of Hoover High.

Within minutes of winning the boys’ Division I title in the state cross-country championships Saturday in Fresno, Casillas was surrounded by well-wishers offering congratulations.

Among those shaking his hand and slapping him on the back were runners from Belmont, Huntington Park, team champion Hart and runner-up Thousand Oaks.

But instead of lapping up the adulation, the modest Casillas asked many of them how they had fared in their races. Had they run a personal record? How had their team done?

“That’s just the way Margo is,” Hoover Coach Greg Switzer said. “He cares about everybody else. He jokes around a lot and cuts people a lot of slack if they’re having a bad day. He’s just a people person. He likes people and they, in turn, like him.”

Casillas, undefeated in 16 races, says there is almost a symbiotic relationship between himself and the runners he calls friends.

“Sometimes during a race when you’re really hurting, it helps when you see all these other runners cheering for you,” Casillas said. “It also makes me feel more comfortable when I’m friends with a lot of the guys I’m racing against.”

His relationship with Agoura senior Ryan Wilson, the state Division II champion, typifies his attitude. Although people constantly are comparing their times in meets and the two shape up as natural rivals, they have become big supporters of each other this season.

The undefeated Wilson is usually one of the first to congratulate Casillas after a win, and Casillas reciprocates.

“It’s awesome,” Casillas said. “It’s great to know that your main competition is pulling for you. We’re both very supportive of each other. I just hope (Saturday’s Kinney West regional meet) doesn’t change things.”

The regional, which also will be held in Fresno at Woodward Park, will mark the first head-to-head clash of the season between Casillas and Wilson.

Five times this year, they have competed on the same course on the same day but in different divisions.

The friendship between Casillas and Wilson is based on more than mutual respect for each other’s running talents. The two are nonconformists and pride themselves on their individuality.

Although Casillas (5-foot-7, 120 pounds) is one of the smaller runners around, he is difficult to miss. He wears a variety of crosses and necklaces when he races, along with a copper arm band in the shape of a snake. “They’re not really good-luck charms or anything,” Casillas said. “They’re just something I feel comfortable running with.”

Feeling comfortable was Casillas’ biggest concern entering Saturday’s race.

Although he won the Southern Section Division I title at Mt. San Antonio College the previous week, Casillas had suffered in the race’s final mile because he went out too fast.

“Margo has a tendency to try and put the opposition away early in a big race when he is expected to win,” Switzer said. “But he learned at Mt. SAC that you can’t do that. He can’t get too excited if someone is ahead of him in the first mile. He has to run his own race.”

Casillas appeared to pace himself perfectly in Fresno, winning in 15 minutes 3 seconds over the 5,000-meter course. While junior Mebrahton Keflezhighi of San Diego led the field through a 4:38 first mile, Casillas bided his time in eighth place (4:42) before surging into the lead at the midway point.

Upland senior Jim Cera ran doggedly at Casillas’ heels through the two-mile mark (9:41), but when Casillas picked up the pace shortly thereafter, the race for first was over.

“I couldn’t believe how easy he looked when he came around that final bend,” Switzer said. “He looked like he was on a 10-mile training run. He told me later that he could have hit another gear if he had needed to.”

Although the Kinney West regional has been billed as a showdown between him and Wilson, Casillas is viewing the meet as a qualifying race for the national championships in San Diego, Dec. 12.

“This is a big meet,” Casillas said. “But it really doesn’t matter who wins. The main thing is to play it smart, and qualify. Nationals are where it really counts.”