Women’s Basketball: Roadrunners have five earn Academic All-State honors

Despite not competing during the 2020-21 women's basketball season, Rio Hondo College student-athletes are still hard at work in the classroom. The Roadrunners, who a year ago were making their postseason run on the basketball court, now continue to excel outside of the gymnasium.

On Tuesday, a total of 116 players from 41 California Community Colleges were named to the 2020-21 California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Association (CCCWBCA) Academic All-State Team, including five from Rio Hondo.

Freshman Sally Smith tops the list for the Roadrunners as she compiled a 3.86 grade point average. Smith was joined by sophomores Amy Navarro (3.82 GPA), Amanda Lee (3.73), and Jessica Barrera (3.71). Also honored was freshman Jocelyn Aquino (3.51).

Navarro, Lee, and Barrera all earned the honor for the second consecutive year. To qualify for Academic All-State recognition, these student-athletes had to compete for a year at their colleges, earn at least 24 units of credit and maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA.

Head coach Rene Herrera is proud of the commitment his team has showed during this difficult time.

"Our group of girls have been really good about prioritizing and taking care of business in the classroom," Herrera said. "They are self-motivated and eager to move forward in life. This pandemic has definitely tested us all. We have been staying somewhat in the loop and in shape with working out on their own and logging in with our Zoom classes but it definitely has been hard.

"Too many distraction with factors that has forced my players to work due to family losing employment, family member getting COVID, and losing loved ones," he added. "I think everyone is in survival mode. I try to remind my players that tough times don't last, tough people do.  We will start our Zoom workout next week for the semester and hopefully we can get the ball rolling. Everyone is looking forward to coming back to campus and start work outs again."