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A Mexico native, Emiliano Castilla has announced his decision to come to the United States to compete in the NCAA. This fall he’ll be traveling to University Center, Michigan where he will join the Division II program at Saginaw Valley State University.
“I chose SVSU because I loved the facility, the swimmers and I can’t wait to push myself to the next level! Go Cards!!”
Earlier this year, Castilla competed at a Mexican selection meet, finishing in the top-10 of multiple events during prelims. At the meet, his top finish came in the 1500 free where he took ninth in a time of 16:30.94. He also added a tenth-place finish in the 200 IM during prelims, stopping the clock at 2:13.51. His lone best time of the weekend came in the 100 free where he touched 17th in 54.51.
Top LCM Times (and SCY Conversions)
- 100 free – 54.51 (47.66)
- 200 free – 1:56.93 (1:42.45)
- 400/500 free – 4:07.18 (4:36.95)
- 1500/1650 free – 16:23.07 (16:03.79)
- 100 fly – 59.26 (52.12)
- 200 fly – 2:11.89 (1:56.29)
Castilla will help provide depth to the Cardinals across all of his events, particularly in the distance freestyle races. Last season, his converted time in the 1500/1650 free would have ranked second on the team behind sophomore Ben Wainman. The pair will have two years of overlap after Castilla joins the team this fall.
The SVSU men finished in fifth at the 2023 GLIAC Swimming and Diving Conference Championships. Castilla will give the program an immediate boost, as he would have finished in the top-8 of both the 500 and 1650 freestyles with his converted times.
Saginaw Valley already has a strong Mexican presence on the roster, with a pair of freshman with the program both hailing from Mexico City. Castilla will likely train extensively with rising sophomore Rodrigo Vargas, who swims primarily distance freestyle and fly.
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