Student Athlete of the Week – Marisa Rodriguez

INDIO, Calif.-

When the gun goes off, and the heart pounds, either four or eight laps later Marisa Rodriguez is often leading the pack to the finish line and hopefully to the State Championships on a June day.

“Nerve wracking thinking about how far you can actually get but overall it is kind of exciting in a way to see how far the coaches think you can go.” senior at Indio Rodriguez said.

“High possibility, she’s healthy. That’s the main concern now, keeping her healthy. That’s it.” Noel Perez, an assistant coach at Indio said.

Either way she’ll be striding the bay at the college level.

“It’s between Cal-State Fullerton and UC-Santa Barbara.” Rodriguez said.

A 4.5 GPA, and setting a standard both on and off the track.

“It doesn’t phase me that people think less of Indio. I know what we are doing is great quality, and our performances show that we are improving in our sports. Especially here in track and field.” Rodriguez mentioned about her school

“She just joined a history of success that we have had here from a track program. Willing to make that transition knowing what we’ve done as a track program.” George Thomas the head track and field coach said.

Once a La Quinta Blackhawk, but then made the decision to head a bit more east to wear the Rajah uniform. A big move that’s paid off in the end for Rodriguez, in fine tuning her skill for the next level.

“Training here is different than at La Quinta, I have prospered in the ending part of my races. I feel like I have achieved a little more here.”