Sioux Falls O’Gorman’s Libby Castelli is the 2024-25 Gatorade South Dakota girls track and field athlete of the year. 

The 5-foot-4 senior middle-distance and distance talent broke the tape in the 800-meter run with a personal-best and meet-record time of 2:10.35 at the Class AA state championships this past season, leading the Knights to seventh place as a team. Castelli also won individual state titles in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs and anchored O’Gorman’s sprint medley relay quartet to a gold medal, earning Class AA track MVP honors in the process.

She was even more impressive on the regional and national stage, highlighted by her third-place finish in the mile at California’s Arcadia Invitational, where she crossed the line in a personal-best 4:42.21, which ranked as the nation’s No. 15 clocking at the time of her selection. She also PR’d in the 3200 (10:11.66) at the Howard Wood Dakota Relays, which ranked No. 22 in the country, and she set a state record in the 1600 (4:48.85) at the same meet, which ranked No. 71 nationally. 

Castelli, who maintained a 4.0 grade point average, will compete at the University of North Carolina next season.