Fresno State Athletics
Family Woman
10/23/2001 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 23, 2001
By Jennifer Smith, Fresno State cross country student-athlete
It was in seventh grade that Olga Gutierrez found out she could run.
"It was the first day of class. I had a skirt and dress shoes on. The teacher made me run the mile. I ended up beating all the girls and all the boys but one and I ended up running a 6:01."
Gutierrez has kept up with this trend of pulverizing people while running, but now she does it in college on the dusty trails of cross country courses and on the 400-meter oval tracks. She burst onto the running scene last spring in the outdoor track and field season. She had her biggest breakthrough at the California/Nevada Track and Field Championships. In the 3000-meter race, she finished in seventh place with a personal- best time of 10:14.82. In the 5000 meters, she ran another personal-best time of 17:51.99 for sixth place.
By themselves, these times are excellent. But coupled with recent events in her life, they are that much more amazing. Gutierrez came to Fresno State out of Golden West (Visalia, Calif.) High School in the fall of 1998. Technically, this should be her senior year. But she is considered a junior. The reason? Gutierrez's life has taken some unexpected detours.
It is hard enough being a student and an athlete. Two-a-day practices added on to four or five classes that require two to three hours of homework every night. Now try to imagine life as a student, athlete, wife and a mother. This scenario is much more than imaginable for the 22-year-old Gutierrez - it is reality.
Gutierrez was married just after her freshman year in college to Leo Nunez, who she met at church. And it wasn't too long after being married that Gutierrez became pregnant with her now 17-month old son, Naason. And any mention of her son and this proud mom glows with pride.
"My favorite thing about being a mom is when Naason looks me in the eye. And he gives me a big old smile and a kiss. He just looks at me and calls me 'ma, ma, ma.' It just feels so good."
How does she find time to be a mom, wife, athlete and a full-time student?
"It's hard. Oh, it's hard. But I just have to make it. It's hard because I have a full day everyday. By the time I get my baby to sleep, I end up studying until 11 p.m. I never get to bed before 11 p.m."
Despite the detours Gutierrez's life has taken, she only has one more year before she graduates with a B.A. in psychology. Her ultimate career goal is to be a school psychologist.
So from where did this inherent determination come? A lot has to do with her growing up. Gutierrez was born in Mexico and lived there until she was 6-years-old. For the next seven years, she went back and forth between Mexico and California. It was in her eighth grade year that her family decided to stay in the Central Valley for good.
She greatly admires her parents. She considers her parents to be "the most lovable people you could imagine." And her parents instilled a confidence in Gutierrez and her brother that they could do anything or be anything they wanted. It is this confidence that has spilled over to many facets of Gutierrez's life.
"They didn't even graduate from elementary school. They wanted something better for us. They never had a doubt we could do it."
Gutierrez's biggest challenge in her young life was in learning English.
"When I came back for good, the first day of class, I had Advanced English first period. She read us a book and we were supposed to write a summary from it. I just stared at my paper." Gutierrez then looked around and saw a classmate write "the" on their paper. Gutierrez preceded to also write "the" on her paper. And that was the end of Gutierrez's summary.
"I remember telling the teacher 'Yo don't speak.' She then wanted to take me out of class and put me in ESL and I told her 'no.' I had someone interpret for me, 'I am not going to get out of this class because I am going to learn the language and do as good as everyone else.'"
Gutierrez ended up getting a B grade in her Honor's English class. Not bad for someone who couldn't even read, let along speak, the English language.
Gutierrez has come a long way. And now she has her own family. Asked when what three things she wanted to accomplish before she is 94-years-old, she responded without any hesitation, "I want to see my grandchild. I want to see my son and his family succeed. And I want my husband and I to still be together."
Olga is an amazing young woman with a future as bright as the summer sun that shines in the Valley. If Olga can go triumph over adversity, so can anyone. Hey, it worked for Olga.
