PATRICK CASTAGNO – a 1983 graduate of Salesianum high school and a 1988 graduate of The University of Delaware where he ran cross country and track. He served as Team Captain at the U of D both in 1987 and 1988. Upon his graduation from U of D, he was ranked #2 all time in the 1500 meters.
He continued his education at U of D with a graduate degree in Biomechanics and performed high level re-search of some of the world’s fastest milers, Olympic bobsledders, professional baseball pitchers, and Olympic figure skaters. After graduate school, his work as the Director of the Gait Analysis Laboratory at the duPont Hospital for Children focused on gait analysis studies on children with cerebral palsy. He has 26 publications on research in the field of Biomechanics, Gait Analysis, and Sports Science. Castagno taught Biomechanics at the University of Delaware for 10 years.
In 2000, Castagno was employed by the Tatnall School to teach computer science and energized the cross country and track programs. Since then, his teams have won 64 team state championships, with 283 individual and relay titles. Eight Tatnall Girls Cross Country teams and five individual runners have qualified for the Nike Cross Country National Championship in Oregon. Two of those teams placed 3rd in the Nation. Four Tatnall relay quartets were crowned national champions in the 4 x mile relay, including his 2025 boys.
Nearly 80 of his athletes have competed at the college level, including an NCAA 10K champion, Juliet Bottorff.
Castagno has been named U.S. Track and Field Coaches Association Coach of the Year five times and Delaware Coach of the Year 15 times. He received the Tubby Raymond Award as state Coach of the Year from the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association in 2005. In 2025, Castagno was inducted into the prestigious New York Armory Coaches Track and Field Hall of Fame and was awarded the 2025 NASF Coaching Legacy Award. In 2026, he was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame.
He currently serves on the Delaware High School Athletic Association Cross Country and Track & Field Committees as well as the Delaware Track and Field Hall of Fame Committee.