By Aniyah Cusseaux — Staff Writer
A pioneer paves her way and makes her mark in San Jose State’s track and field history.
Silvia Gutierrez is the first female hammer thrower in the program’s existence. On top of that, she’s a first-generation college student.
Gutierrez was motivated to start competing in track in order to stay focused on her goals to finish college, have a more stable future and make her family proud.
“It means a lot,” Gutierrez said. “It’s a lot more than just being good at a sport.”
She is currently a junior striving to earn her bachelor’s degree in psychology and later hopes to get EMT certified and go to medical school.
She had two trips to state, placing sixth and eighth in her freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively.
Additionally, she is ranked No. 4 out of the top 10 hammer throwers at De Anza College, which is where her track and field journey began.
Gutierrez’s former coach Bob Bush recruited and convinced her to play for De Anza and introduced her to the hammer throw.
He enjoyed working with Gutierrez and believes that she is coachable, a great teammate and knows how to make adjustments in order to improve her technique.
Bush acknowledges that Gutierrez’s physical strength and speed in the ring are her most dominate assets as a thrower.
“She is one of my top three favorite athletes to coach,” he said. “I wish I had a whole team of Silvias.”
Her teammate Evalina Maas Espinosa says that Gutierrez is very helpful and fun to be around. She does her best to make Espinosa feel like she be- longs on the team.
Espinosa believes that the junior’s leadership, determination and the amount of time that she puts into practice is what sets her aside from most athletes.
She explains how hammer throwing is such a complex and elegant sport that you have to “dance with it” to achieve a successful throw.
The day before a meet she does a pre-meet practice that consists of stretching her back, jogging, sprinting and jumping in order to get her fast-twitch muscles activated.
She winds the ball a few times so she can relax her shoulders, and does at most six practice throws.
Gutierrez mentally relaxes herself for a meet the night before by doing, what she referred to as “TLC,” which means tender loving care — lighting a couple of candles and listening to music.
The highlight of her collegiate track and field career was transferring to SJSU, because she didn’t intend on becoming a Division I athlete.
Her personal record for the hammer throw is 49.99 meters. She aspires to hit 52 meters by the end of the season and make it to finals.
After college, Gutierrez wantsto continue practicing hammer throwing so she can keep up with an active lifestyle.
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