Cynthia Castro Bio - Oregon State University Athletics

Cynthia Castro, formerly Atencio, begins her second year on Oregon State's coaching staff after a collegiate running career that saw her earn Pacific-10 Conference All-Academic honors while at Arizona State. She is working toward her masters degree in Public Health at OSU.

"Cynthia has moved into our top assistant," OSU head coach Kelly Sullivan said. "She wants to be a Division I coach someday, and I'm really excited about the familiarity that the girls have with her in the program."

Castro's career at ASU was hampered by injuries, but as a freshman she placed 46th in the NCAA Championships, the second-highest finish ever by a Sun Devil. Castro graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in Anthropology from Arizona State, and has been a research study coordinator and health services intern at the University of Washington since then.

Castro lettered in both track and soccer at Richland High in Richland, Wash., placing in the state's top five in the 3200 and 1600 meters a total of seven times. She captained Richland to a state soccer title and coached at the Tri-Cities All-Star Soccer Camp.

Castro enjoys traveling, soccer, cooking and the outdoors.