RIO GRANDE VALLEY – Austin has been on graduate student thrower Marlene Gutierrez's mind for a while. 
 
Last year, competing for UC Davis, Gutierrez reached the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field West Preliminary Round in the women's hammer throw and finished 22^nd with a mark of 60.19 meters, falling short of reaching the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships by 10 spots. 
 
When she decided to transfer to The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) to compete for one final year, she had one major goal driving her – qualifying for the national championship meet. 
 
"I knew that I wanted more for myself. I know I have a throw in me that can get me to Austin. It's all about the timing and working it out," Gutierrez said. "Having gone to regionals last year and seeing I was very close, I thought, why not shoot for it next year? So, this year has been all about taking the risk and doing what I can to get there. It's the last hoorah. Just do everything you can, trust your process and make it happen." 
 
The first step to reaching Austin, where the NCAA Championships will be held, is punching your ticket to a preliminary meet. Gutierrez completed that step on April 1 when she launched a hammer throw of 61.80 meters at the Bobcat Invitational. That mark placed her 23^rd in the nation, essentially securing her a spot at the NCAA West Preliminary and at No. 1 in program history. 
 
Gutierrez bested her own program record enroute to winning a gold medal at the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championship. She unloaded a massive throw of 62.03 meters, and with that mark will be heading to Sacramento as the No. 23 seed in the event. She'll compete Thursday at 12 p.m. (CT) chasing a top-12 finish to book a trip to Austin. 
 


The NCAA West Preliminary will be a homecoming for the Lindsay, Calif. native. The meet is being held at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium, which is just 20 miles from where her collegiate career began. For the first time all year, her family will be able to watch her compete. 
 
"My family, they're my No. 1 supporters. I think being back home will be what makes this meet memorable because I'm going to get to see everybody, let them hype me up in person and see if I can get one more good throw in so we can go to nationals," Gutierrez said.  
 
Like many hammer throwers, Gutierrez didn't start the event until she got to college. She was recruited to UC Davis as a shot putter, and though hammer made her very dizzy when she first started, Gutierrez fell in love with the event and realized it suited her well. 
 
"Hammer worked out better for my body type. Lower body and core strength is what you need, and it was working better technique-wise for me than shot put, even though I do both and enjoy both. I was able to excel in hammer because of the way I fell in love with the process," Gutierrez said. 
 
To a casual viewer, hammer throw looks like someone is just spinning in a circle and throwing a ball attached to a wire. But it's an extremely technical event, one that takes a lot of control and thought while moving quickly. 
 
There's a lot of dialogue between Gutierrez and UTRGV throws coach Cleopatra Borel before, during and after practice as she prepares for regionals, getting all the attention as the only Vaqueros thrower to advance. 
 
When Gutierrez steps into the circle, Borel gives her cues: accelerate across the circle, stay connected, push it to zero. When the throw leaves Gutierrez's hands, Borel gives her feedback, noticing even the smallest changes in the three fast turns. Little stutter in the third, Borel will say; not as connected from the first push; you overstepped and collapsed a little bit; good finish but you were heavy in the circle; try to take it out a little faster. 
 
But what makes Gutierrez so elite is the way she takes those notes, and her own feel, and can make changes while in the throwing process. 
 
"A lot of athletes will be lost. They don't understand where they are in the circle. Marlene has really, really good awareness of where she is in the circle and she can tell you what she's done correct and what was not so great," Borel said. "She can also make changes in the middle of her throw. She can feel that this didn't go well in the first turn so I need to do this and this in the third turn and she will self-correct in her throw. It's really, truly amazing. It's because she's so consistent." 
 
Gutierrez's consistency has resulted in the graduate student solidifying herself in a short time as one of the top women's throwers in program history. She owns four of the top 10 marks in the indoor record books in weight throw. She boasts seven of the 10 best marks in outdoor program history in hammer, including the top four throws. She claimed seven top-three finishes and three victories in hammer during the outdoor season. 
 
"Coming into this great program helped me a lot. Everyone welcomed me with open arms and I appreciated that so much. It gave me the confidence to push myself here," Gutierrez said. "Our throws group was there for each other and we all wanted each other to excel. I love Coach Cleo. She's an Olympian. She has the experience. She knows what she wants her athletes to learn, and she puts a lot of time and dedication to get us where we need to be. Because she has that confidence in us, and we have confidence in her coaching, and we've grown so much throughout the year." 
 
Borel and Gutierrez have very different personalities as competitors. Borel called herself an aggressive meet-day athlete, one who locked in and wouldn't talk to anyone. Gutierrez is a "silent assassin" at meets, relaxed and kind, helping and supporting her opponents before stepping into the ring and destroying her competition. Gutierrez brought experience, wisdom and a unique form of leadership to a young team and was an asset to the staff. 
 
"Working with an athlete like Marlene made me grow as a coach," Borel said. "She has so much confidence in herself. She works very hard, but she's very kind to everyone. I leaned on Marlene to really be that leader by example. She won't scream, she won't shout, she reassures. She has so much wisdom that she can pass on to her teammates. When our younger athletes hear from Marlene, 'Yeah, my first year was tough,' and they're having a tough year, they're like, 'OK, so in a couple of years I can be like Marlene.' She's put the work in and that's why she's at this level." 
 
Gutierrez has one more level she wants to reach, and she's heading to Sacramento determined to get to nationals. She'll lean on her previous experience at this meet to be mentally prepared to give it all she has. One more big throw will send her where she has always wanted to go. 
 
"There's more of a competitive energy around this meet because everyone there had to meet a certain mark and they're really big throwers," Gutierrez said. "Everyone's on their game, so it puts you on yours. Going out and throwing last year was a great experience and I'm just hoping that this time it's going to be even better." 

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