Christine Castilla is nearing the end of her four-year stint at Oberlin College. During her time at the OC, this religion and sociology major helped lead the field hockey team to their first NCAC championship title in Oberlin history this past fall, and has also had a dramatic impact on the success of the lacrosse team. Christine sat down with Review writer and fellow teammate Leslie Ruster to discuss the aerodynamics of high jump, designer purses and the quirkiness she brings to her sports teams.

LR: Christine, what made you want to go out for the track team this winter after coming off such a long, incredible, successful field hockey season? You seem like a busy woman. Why pick up a new sport your senior year?
CC: I like the challenge. Why not? I got senior Rosemary Mudry to join and I’m working on getting a few other field hockey players to run. I like to think of myself as a hard-working student athlete by day and Paris Hilton by night. No, just kidding...Coach Hudson recruited me.

LR: Paris Hilton is not a pop icon that most Oberlin students would identify with. Do you consider yourself a stereotypical Oberlin student?
CC: Why? What have you heard?

LR: So...what track and field events will you be competing in?
CC: I’m a high jumper. I have this theory that if I can throw myself up into the air and bend backwards, my top-heaviness will carry me over the bar. It’s kind of like those weird foxtail things. You throw them into the air and they do great things. It’s like that. Honestly though, I’ll try anything once. Take that as you will.

LR: Did track Coach Jason Hudson help you establish this theory?
CC: This is not the philosophy that has been taught to me by the coaching staff. With field hockey, track or anything in life, I think it’s important to work with what you are given, be competitive and get the job done.

LR: You have a pretty solid relationship with head field hockey and lacrosse coach Deb Ranieri. Will you be able to form as tight a bond with track coach Jason Hudson?
CC: Well...Deb and I are really close. She can make fun of me for weird things like the size of my butt. It’s pretty small. The other day I was high jumping in practice and my butt kept hitting the bar and knocking it over. I told Coach Hudson that my butt was getting bigger, more muscular and I wasn’t aware of where it was in relation to the bar. Hudson looked like he wanted to die. I realized I don’t have the same relationship with other coaches as I do with Deb. I guess I need to filter more of what I say.

LR: So you won’t be showing up to track practice in inappropriately-worn Oberlin College athletic-issued gear, will you?
CC: Probably not. Once I showed up to field hockey practice in nothing but our black spandex pants pulled up to my shoulders. I don’t think that would fly on the track team, although junior John Shaw reportedly said that field hockey players contribute a lot socially to the track team. I would like to uphold that reputation.

LR: During the field hockey season you had a ritual of stomping your feet and barking like a dog after you scored a goal. Do you have any intentions of incorporating this victory celebration into your track career?
CC: I like to stomp on the competition, literally and figuratively. But there is definitely a time and a place for that kind of behavior.

LR: Are you preparing in any way for your upcoming lacrosse season in the spring?
CC: Well, I like to joke around with my teammates that I would do better at track practice if it involved a stick and a ball. I thought about carrying my lacrosse stick around...I’m not into running for the sake of running, but give me a ball and a stick and I’ll conquer the world.

LR: It’s too bad that Oberlin doesn’t have an indoor baton-twirling club.
CC: What? I don’t know what that is.

LR: Are those sneakers you’re wearing designed specially for running on the indoor track or what? They look kinda funky!
CC: Oh, these? These are my moon boots. It’s what I accurately dubbed my running shoes. I have some feet problems and these are the only shoes I can wear. I actually have a little dance that goes with them. [Jumps out of her chair and starts dancing like an astronaut with her arms in the air.] But whatever, these shoes have made a lot of my dreams happen. It’s frustrating having to wear them with regular clothes, though. It’s not the worst Oberlin style I have seen. At least I don’t wear skirts over pants.

LR: I like wearing skirts over pants.
CC: In retrospect, I don’t know what drew me to Oberlin College. I like designer purses and I’m not a vegan.

LR: Do you any have aspirations for your final semester at Oberlin?
CC: I mean... one day I would really like to fit in. Maybe I’ll become a hipster...although my big moon boots would not look sassy with tight hipster pants.