‘Two of the most unselfish players’: Tabor coach remembers students who died in crash
With two of his players tragically killed in a car crash and one facing a long road to recovery, Tabor College’s head football coach says they won’t be forgotten.
On Friday, five days after the deaths of Christopher Castillo and Johnethon Aviles, college president David Janzen and coach Mike Gardner talked about what they meant to the school and the football team.
“They were two of the most unselfish players that I’ve had, ever,” Gardner said. “I could ask either one of them to do anything on any given week. They were more than happy to do that. And they’re gravely going to be missed.”
“They were great locker room guys. They had relationships with everybody. It wasn’t like they were isolated with their particular side of the ball or anything like that. They were truly great examples of what you want in a teammate.”
Castillo and Aviles died in a single-car accident south of Hillsboro early Sunday morning. Their teammate, Jonathan Medina, was seriously injured.
While Castillo and Aviles may have been best known as football players, they were much more than that, Janzen said.
Castillo, a senior from San Juan Capistrano, Calif., would have graduated in May. A criminal justice major from a police family, he had already lined up a job in law enforcement, Janzen said.
Aviles, a junior, would have graduated next year with an agricultural business degree. He had been working in that field already and was looking forward to returning to California and getting a permanent job in agriculture there.
Both were good students and will be awarded degrees posthumously, Janzen said.
The college won’t retire their jersey numbers — Aviles’ 36 and Castillo’s 40. Instead, they’ll allow future players exhibiting outstanding character and leadership to wear those numbers as a badge of honor.
“I’m definitely going to make some kind of a presentation, you know, with their numbers and things like that that we used this year, allowing certain members of our team to wear that to honor them,” Gardner said. “That’s part of how we’re going to honor their legacy here.”
Third Tabor player injured, in Wichita hospital
Gravely injured in the crash that claimed his teammates, Medina remains hospitalized with a serious back injury, Janzen said.
“He did have surgery, he did have a spinal cord injury,” Janzen said. “He does have some movement in his arms and he has some feeling in his legs, so there is a promising prognosis but he has a long road ahead of him.”
His co-workers at the local Wendy’s, where he worked second shift, describe him as a positive force in their lives.
“He was fun to work with, he always kidded around, you know?” said shift manager Pam Dowson, who’s worked at the Wendy’s since it opened 14 years ago and worked with Medina on Friday, two days before the accident.
“He made his job fun,” she said. “It wasn’t boring, that’s for sure.”
Ryan Boldt, his friend and co-worker five nights a week, visited him in a Wichita hospital Thursday.
“It surprised me, because, you know, typical Jonathan, I walked in the room and big old smile on his face,” he said. “We can get so down on ourselves in our everyday life just for small things. We can start to grumble and maybe stress out a little bit.
“I felt silly by the time I walked out of that room because he said: ‘Hey, man, don’t feel bad for me. Pray for me and think of what I’m still going to do. He’s so determined and so positive right now, it’s amazing.”
Boldt said they joked around like it was a typical night slinging burgers and fries.
“I told him first and foremost, “Hey man, the dishes are still waiting for you at Wendy’s,’” Boldt said.
The restaurant has put out a jar to collect donations for Medina and his family and is bringing in about $200-$300 a night, said Rori Salamone, a shift manager.
“I’m really going to miss him,” she said. “I know he’s not coming back here.”
College community works on healing
The healing has just begun, Janzen said.
“Tabor is large enough to be thriving, vibrant, and we attract a lot of students from a lot of places,” Janzen said. “But we’re small enough you can know almost everyone. So a tragedy like this, we feel, it’s personal.
“Students on Monday went into class and there was a seat that was empty that had been occupied the week before.”
Janzen said he and his wife have eaten at the college dining hall every day since the accident.
“On Monday, it was really quiet in the dining hall and a lot of contemplative looks and staring off in the distance,” he said. “Tuesday was a little more lively. By Wednesday night, there was laughter and good conversation that was happening. People are talking about this and they’re processing it, they’re not just ignoring it and moving on. That’s a part of the healing process that’s happened.”
Gardner said his team is also processing the tragedy and trying to heal.
“The best thing we can do is have open communication and dialog with each other about the situation and just realize that everybody grieves differently,” he said. “The thing that has been positive about this is there have been a lot of young men who are on our team who have opened up and talked about different things and expressed feelings and emotions. I think that, in the long run, can be healthy.”
