Nathan Casillas, El Paso cross country coach, dies Tuesday

EL PASO, TX (KVIA) -- Nathan Casillas, the head coach for cross country at El Paso High School, died on Tuesday.

Casillas was named the El Paso Times Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year after leading the Tigers to District 1-5A and Regional 1-5A titles in 2023, their first regional title since 1997.

ABC-7 spoke with Austin High School cross country head coach Manny Rodriguez about the impact that Casillas has left on El Paso cross country.

"I mean, he was just making a name for himself and, a great coach. You know, a colleague, you know? He cared for his kids. Always wanted the best for him. And even after they graduated, he was there for them, guiding them."

Casillas was mentored by Danny McKillip, the legendary El Paso cross country coach who died this past July.

Casillas replaced McKillip as head coach at El Paso High School after being an assistant for many years.

ABC-7 was able to speak with Truman Wills, who was Casillas' head coach in high school at Austin. Wills also knew McKillip during their time coaching.

Wills told us Casillas would always say he worked under McKillip, was ran for Wills, and had the best of both worlds.

Wills and Casillas would always have conversations about their athletes earlier in their career, but after Wills retired, those talks would become about their families.

"I told him how important it was for him to, you know, to always be there for his family. And he said he would always be. And he loved them dearly. And, he loved his athletes. But he also had two of his own that, they're going to miss him dearly."

The Tigers have a district meet tomorrow, where they are expected to compete for the title again.

Rodriguez said the entire community is in mourning, and the runners will go hard tomorrow for their beloved coach.