The 2023-2024 school year at Castaic High School saw both the football team as well as the basketball team make tremendous strides towards progress and success. Included in both of these teams was three-sport athlete Lucas Milan.
Milan is a senior who has attended Castaic High School since he was a freshman. He joined Castaic’s basketball and football teams and played a critical role in propelling both teams towards success, winning five more games than the previous season in football and winning the CIF championship in basketball.
“What better place to make a name for myself and to put this school on the map than at Castaic,” said Milan.
Milan was a key member of Castaic’s rising football team for the 2023 season. He has always performed well in football, but this year he truly shined. As a wide receiver, Milan stood out with 487 receiving yards in his senior year as well as 8 total touchdowns.
As for the team, Milan’s contribution helped improve the team’s overall record to 6-4 and 3-3 in league this season, a major improvement from the team’s 2-8 record from the previous season.
“It was really special to be a part of the football team here at Castaic since the beginning. If you think about it, the team this year compared to last year was pretty much the same team. I think it was just that all of our mindsets changed and the coaches really helped us ball-out.”
Although Milan played football at Castaic High School for all four years, it’s not his main sport.
According to Milan, basketball has been his primary sport ever since he was a little kid.
“I was basically bred into basketball. When I was really young, my dad put a ball in my hands and ever since then, I’ve been playing basketball,” Milan said.
Milan’s efforts on the basketball team helped to hoist them towards winning the CIF Championship against El Segundo, winning by a comfortable score of 63-52.
“I’m still at a loss for words when I think about that game,” Milan added. “I was always really confident with our group of guys. We faced some struggles in the beginning of the season, but we were just determined to keep moving forward.”
According to Coach Ty, one of Castaic High School’s Varsity Basketball coaches as well as one of the safety supervisors on campus, Milan was always seen as the guy who would do whatever it takes to get the job done for his team.
“[Lucas] was a driving force, man. The kid had a lot of tenacity, a lot of grit, a lot of heart,” said Coach Ty. “He’s the guy who would always make the sacrifice for his team. He’s always going to put it all on the line no matter what team he’s playing against, or even what sport he’s playing.”
Not only coaches, but teachers here at Castaic High School have had nothing but good things to say about Milan’s character off the court.
“Lucas was always a hard worker. He’s always been really smart and done well in my classes, but I want to emphasize how hard he works,” said Mrs. O’brien, a 10th grade social science teacher at Castaic High School. “He doesn’t give 50% to anything. He gives 100% effort all of the time.”
Since basketball and football are over for the school year, Milan decided to keep himself busy by joining the track team at Castaic High School, where he runs the 400m.
“It’s been fun. I’m glad I decided to join and be busy for my last semester of high school,” Milan said.
Looking back, Milan is appreciative of his four years at Castaic and all of the opportunities he’s been given during that time. He hopes his time at Castaic High School has made an impact on the sports programs for years to come.
“Opportunity is the word I would use to describe Castaic because it’s the main reason I came to Castaic,” Milan said. “I wanted to be a part of a brand new school and make a name for myself and I felt that Castaic was going to give me the best opportunity to prove that.”
After he graduates Castaic High School in May, Milan plans to attend Pacifica University of Oregon, where he plans to play football and major in criminology.
