This last week Junior Esai Carrasquillo was honored to be picked as one of the selections for the Statesman Journal Athlete of the Week. 

‍

Every week the Statesman Journal  picks four student athletes in the Salem-Keizer school district to be Statesman Journal Athlete of the Week.

‍

“It was really cool to see that actually my dad sent me so when I saw that I was just really, really happy and really proud. See that I made it on there,” Carrasquillo said.

‍

His family is a huge part of his motivation for success.

‍

“My family motivates me to do better because they see the work I put in and they see the times where I'm not doing good, or I'm feeling down and they're the ones that lift me up so they motivate me,” Carrasquillo said.

‍

He plans on being on the Statesman Journal picks again and works everyday to make himself better than he was the day before, and loves all the support he gets from friends and family. From posting about him on social media, to saying there happy for him all the support he gets he greatly appreciates.

‍

With the season still just starting up and this being his first year at McNary he looks forward to building the connections he can with his teammates and keep performing at the level he did with his first game and said how happy he is with his team.

‍

“I'm looking forward to you know, spending more time with this group of guys. I really love this team. I really like the school. I really feel at home here,” Carrasquillo said.