Delaware's top team relishes its time in the national spotlight

As you walk through the gymnasium doors and past the broom closet slice of a space that poses as Tatnall coach Patrick Castagno’s office, you get an immediate sense of the history. You can’t help but notice the massive display case filled with mementos and memorabilia. The colorful charts, indicating school records and past results, the framed press clippings, the autographed shoes left behind by each of the school’s individual state champions, join an endless array of awards, chronicling a program with a long string of success.

The montage is impressive, to that there is no doubt. But the indelible image, the snapshot that replays constantly in your mind with the duplicity of a late-night infomercial, long after you leave this tiny Wilmington, Delaware campus is the toothpaste commercial worthy smiles on every member of the team.

The school numbers approximately 300 students. Therefore, the 16-member girls’ cross country team, currently ranked No. 4 in the latest MileSplit poll, is appropriately sized.