Castans ready to guide Red Raiders sports
HUNTLEY — Huntley High School’s Athletic Department will be guided by a new athletic director and a full-time assistant athletic director in 2024-25.
Rita Castens is the new HHS Athletic Director as of July 1, while Matt Landvick was named HHS Assistant Athletic Director in separate Huntley Community School District 158 (D158) Board of Education meetings.
Castans was appointed by the D158 BoE to succeed Glen Wilson as AD, as Wilson will return to the classroom this fall. Landvick’s role is a new position.
Castans described her long-standing interests in sports.
“Athletics has always been a passion of mine,” Castans said. “My long-term goal of getting into administration was to ultimately become an Athletic Director. I learned a lot about the position when I spent five years doing athletic director responsibilities at the middle school level (at Marlowe Middle School). I always knew I wanted to take the next step into high school athletics.”
Castans started her career as a physical education teacher at Marlowe Middle School from 2009 to 2017. She next served as an assistant principal and athletic director at Marlowe until 2022 when she was named Wellness Department Chair of Physical Education, Health and Driver’s Education for grades six through 12, based at Huntley High School.
Landvick has worked for D158 fir nine years, as a special education teacher, a CTE teacher, part-time assistant athletic director and head freshman-sophomore baseball coach.
Castans said the transition has gone well.
“There are a lot of strengths we currently have in the HHS Athletics Department,” Castans said. “We have amazing facilities that are very well cared for. We have amazing coaches who are seasoned and have built their really strong programs from the ground up. We also have a strong Boosters group that really drives a lot of growth and connectivity to the community.”
Castans’ coaching experience includes seventh grade girls basketball, boys basketball and girls volleyball for the Marlowe Mustangs.
“Each team I had I always learned something new from them,” Castans said. “I have always prided myself on knowing the fundamentals of the game and instilling that in all of my players.”
Castans’ sports background began cheering on Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls from her family home in Streamwood. Her dad played high school football and her sister played prep girls hoops.
“I went to every single game and watched the varsity girls play (at Streamwood). I also went to all of the summer league games when I actually got a chance to play as a middle schooler on the high school team if not enough girls showed up to play,” Castans recalled.
“I was also a huge fan of women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers as well as former Duke University men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyszewski. I always enjoyed watching college sports over professional sports. I am a long-time Chicago sports fan, overall, though, when looking at professional sports.”
Castans is an alumnae of Western Illinois University. She holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from American College of Education and a bachelor’s degree in kinesology and master’s degree in sports management from WIU.
Her top playing highlights may have come at the college gym in Macomb, as she was on the member of the Western Illinois University women’s basketball team from 2002-06.
“We had the longest home winning streak in Division I for three seasons. I was team captain for the last two seasons that I played. I received defensive player-of-the-year as well as leading the team in charges taken and 3-point field goals made. Multiple teammates were named conference player of the year,” she said of her Westerwind days.
Castans enjoys hiking, spending time with her family and her two dogs, Dublin and Duke.
