SMC’s Guillen Makes Athlete Honor Roll:

Esther Guillen of Santa Monica College, the youngest of seven children of immigrant parents, has been named to the Pepsi Scholar, Athlete Honor Roll.Only 20 students earn the honor out of a field of 25,000 community college athletes in California.Guillen has excelled in cross country at SMC the last two years and also ran track in her first season. A 3.5 grade point average is required to qualify for the award that is based on athletic amd academic achievement and leadership. She has a 3.89 grade point average.“Esther has learned to run outside her comfort zone,” said SMC coach Eric Barron. “She has challenged herself to deal with pain while concentrating on performance.”Parents Raul and Maria Guillen were both factory workers in Mexico. Several of the family’s siblings have attended Ivy League schools. Esther is considering UC Berkeley and UC Irvine among others.The awards presentation will be held April 5 in Sacramento at the annual Commission on Athletics convention.