Sophomore standout offers Mustangs bright future

At each stop on her golf journey, Sofia Castelan has experienced success.

In her words, the reason for that is to keep things straight in her thought process.

"Whenever I get to a point where I feel stressed, I just remember the words of (Morningside University head) Coach (Nick) Wanderscheid, my dad, and others who have worked with me," she noted. "I've always been told to keep my head down and push forward. It is amazing how you can get focused on nearly everything that way."

That simple solution has led the Queretaro, Mexico, native to the heights of course excellence. Tracking upward quickly since beginning at age four, Castelan, a true student of the game, was the Mexican national champion by age 11. She brought that school-age success to Sioux City and continues to flourish. Castelan's appeared in 22 tournaments playing 41 rounds to a nearly spotless 78.32 per round stroke average with three medalist honors. She's one of five Mustangs all-time to harbor a sub-80 career stroke mark.

"My dad always played a lot of golf in his free time," she reminisced. "His favorite course was El Campinadio, about five minutes from our home. He would take me to the range from time to time, and his love for golf transcended into mine."

The road to her national championship began on a local juvenile tour that featured girls and boys ages 7-18.

"The top five from each of those tours competes at interzonas at which you represent your home course," Castelan explained. "From there, you compete in four to six tournaments across the country to determine a national championship."

When her time ended on the circuit, Sofia longed to take her studies and golf to the States for more opportunities. The connection with the local Mexican Golf Federation proved valuable, as her mom reached out and talked to them about college possibilities. In that reference, she met Maria Zorrilla, a future Morningside teammate, who was looking for other Mexican women's golfers to join the team.

"(Former head) Coach (Todd) Sapp put me at ease immediately when he told me he had other international players on the team," she said. "I felt comfortable going into that situation due to that fact."

While there have been subtle differences between Mexican and US course layouts with more hills to walk in Mexico and more obstacles to face on American links, Castelan has taken her simple motto and produced more success.

"I have made a lot of good memories and friendships here," Sofia said. It feels normal with so many international students on campus and in golf. Traveling and seeing new places and playing on new courses has been very enjoyable."

With her and her teammates on the brink of keeping the program's Great Plains Athletic Conference championship streak alive, Castelan's future leadership role is kicking into high gear.

"We all have to go out and do this for the seniors," she admitted. "We want to keep making memories and having them with us for a chance at the national meet. It's a matter of each player keeping focus." 

Taking a cue from Sofia's motto toward more golf success.