Junior Alex Castaneda qualified for the cross-country state championships on Thursday during the WPIAL finals competition.

Castaneda, who finished with a time of 16:23, said he worked hard for this opportunity to race at states and he got it.

“The key to my success was my team and only my team. They pushed me as hard as they could,” Castaneda said. “I also have to thank Noah Saccani. He really pushed me through the most out there, and without him, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Having never qualified for states before, Castaneda is working hard to prepare.

“I have some one-on-ones with Noah Saccani. He’s going to tell me what I can do better. But other than that, my coaches are going to be talking to me and I’m going to be doing the same thing I keep doing.”

Making his run more difficult, Castaneda had recently injured his eye in gym class.

“It wasn’t my best time. I know I could’ve done better but I had a recent eye injury that made this a little harder,” Castaneda said.

Coach Rich Wright said Castaneda’s strong finish on Thursday shows that he is one of the best in the WPIAL. It also shows that when he focuses on his talents, he can be as good as he wants to be, Wright said.

“He had to make it into the top 23 to go to states and at the end, knowing he was very close, he outran a boy from Butler, which has the best cross country team anywhere,” Wright said. “He focused and did what he had to do.”

Castaneda has the chance to become even better in the future, according to Wright.

“He works very hard. He just needs to get a better grasp of what a champion needs to do and understand that what he did is a major accomplishment,” Wright said. “Working to the best of his abilities, he can advance in track and next year’s cross country.”

Castaneda is not only a runner but also a leader.

“He’s vocally quiet, but his leadership on the course shows the younger runners that they can accomplish much if they put their mind to it and stick with the program,” Wright said.

The state championships are on Nov. 2.