By Derrick Ow — Reporter
Students have felt exhausted with the transition to online classes because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pablo Villasenor is not one of those students. He has kept his motivation despite not having a traditional track and field season.
Working three jobs and balancing a blossoming career as a hammer thrower did not stop him from receiving a full-ride scholarship to San Jose State. His dream started 75 miles south of San Jose in Gonzales, Calif.
Trying to find a track facility in his neighborhood was the most difficult part.
“I still found ways to throw at parks and anywhere where there was a piece of cement,” Villasenor said. “I found a way and I was not going to let the pandemic stop me.”
Villasenor has only been a hammer thrower for two years. He has tremendous room for growth according to SJSU assistant track and field coach Christa Youngern.
“He is a diamond in the rough,” Youngern said. “Watching his training videos was like seeing someone kind of finding their passion.”
Villasenor is the first student from Gonzales High School to earn a Division I scholarship since 1997. It has been a long road but the sacrifices he made paid off.
In high school, he would work in the asparagus and spinach fields for pocket money. He never wanted to ask his parents for financial help because they sacrificed so much for him.
Most high school students sleep in during summer vacation. For Villasenor, his workday would start at 5 a.m.
Being a 6-foot-5 athlete working in the fields was the definition of hard work. He got his high school football teammates jobs in the fields as well.
“Some of my friends would last and some would quit,” Villasenor said. “I showed them that if you can practice everyday at 110% then you can do the same here.”
He attended Hartnell Commuinty College in Salinas, Calif., where Villasenor kept that same work ethic. He has worked in a winery and also as a delivery driver for a packaging company and has also volunteered at local food pantries.
He would have to find ways to incorporate training with his tight schedule.
“Between those three jobs, I had to implement my throwing and going to school,” Villasenor said. “I had to find gaps in my schedule to fit my weight room training as well.”
He also has had to take care of his three younger siblings at home. He would be in classes but also had to be a teacher.
“I heard four different teachers while my class was going on,” Villasenor said. “It was a funny experience and we were able to get it done.”
Villasenor was a three-sport athlete at Gonzales High . He was a starting defensive linemen on the football team. He played basketball and tried out for the baseball team as well.
Before that tryout, Gonzales High track and field head coach Margie Daniels thought he would fit as a thrower.
He did not make the baseball team and accepted the offer to join the track team.
“She had me throw this big weight and told me to throw it as far as I can,” Villasenor said. “I threw it and I almost broke the record on one of my first throws.”
Villasenor improved on his shot put and discus during his four years in high school. In his senior season, he broke the school record launching a shot put 52 feet, 11 inches. He would finish sixth in the Central Coast Section Championships.
He also broke another school record with a 158-foot toss with the discus. He was getting recruited to play football at SJSU, but academics held him back in high school.
“I was hard-headed because I was more focused on sports than in the classroom,” Villasenor said. “Something switched in my brain and I went to Hartnell to pick up my grades.”
He lived up to that promise as he earned 3.0 GPA in both years at Hartnell College. Panthers track and field assistant coach Frankie Martinez has seen the growth firsthand.
“Hartnell allowed him to have virtual tutors,” Martinez said. “I think once he got attention from colleges then he knew he had to pick up his academics.”
He came into last season with only two weeks of training. He launched the iron ball 146 feet and 11 inches which put him inside the top 10 in school history.
Coach Youngern knew Pablo would be the ideal fit at SJSU. She admired him for working multiple jobs as a student athlete.
“He has extraordinary work ethic and perseverance,” Youngern said. “I personally love to see recruits who have jobs because that is more rare these days.”
Coach Martinez knows the impact Villasenor can have on his community. A kid who worked in the fields who rose to become a Division I athlete.
“He carries himself and his city very proudly,” Martinez said. “I still see him giving back to his high school and [he] wants to be a beacon of light.”
Villasenor has not given up on his football dream either. He has been offered to walk on and play football for SJSU, but he wants to experience a traditional off-season dedicated to throwing.
He knows that he is paving the way for many student athletes from Gonzales. He encourages them to explore going the junior college route.
“Go to a junior college and do your job,” Villasenor said. “Do not be discouraged and if you want the opportunity to compete at the highest level then just do your job.”
Villasenor has done his job and is the pride of Gonzales, Calif.
Follow Derrick on Twitter @derrickq42