While powerlifting may not be the most prominent sport around, the Rio Grande Valley has had tremendous success at the state level when it comes to throwing around iron.
In fact, the title of back-to-back defending boys state powerlifting champions belongs to the Edcouch-Elsa Yellow Jackets, who won the Division I state team title in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Student athletes across Texas spend their entire years pushing their bodies to the limits, working towards the goal of qualifying for the state meet, but now, their seasons are in limbo.
Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Texas High School Powerlifting Association (THSPA) was forced to postpone its Region IV meet where a number of RGV athletes were set to compete for a spot at state, and the Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting Association (THSWPA) postponed its state meet, which 178 girls powerlifters from the RGV had already qualified for.
The University Interscholastic League issued a suspension of all contests until May 4 at the earliest, but powerlifting isn’t a sanctioned sport by the UIL, which is governed by the THSPA and THSWPA.
Christian Navarro, Edcouch-Elsa’s athletic director, head football coach and THSWPA president, issued a statement saying they will continue to monitor the situation and hope to establish new dates and locations to make things happen.
“We are continuing our efforts to find a new location and dates to host the State meet. Our top priority is the safety and well being of everyone involved including student athletes, coaches, and workers,” Navarro said. “We understand the concern and uncertainty involved in this dynamic situation.”
For La Joya Palmview powerlifting head coach Renzo Tamez and others across the state, the toughest part was telling his team the regional and state meets were postponed when they were just days away from happening.
“It’s tough not having answers. It’s tough to stay positive, stay hopeful, stay optimistic, and it’s tough to see their faces when you tell them they can’t compete. I’ve been coaching for a long time in football and powerlifting. I’ve never had to tell a team or a group of kids, ‘We can’t go compete,’” Tamez said.
At the Division I Region IV meet alone, which is made up of 5A and 6A schools, the Valley had 149 girls punch their tickets to the state meet by finishing first or second in their respective weight class, or hitting the qualifying total mark, which automatically results in a berth to state. In all, 178 RGV powerlifters qualified across all three divisions. Now, they may not compete on the state’s biggest stage.
Tamez said it’s tough on his seniors who have been doing it for four years and had a good chance at winning state.
Two of Palmview’s powerlifters who were ready to put their power to the test at the state meet, which was initially scheduled for March 19 through March 21, are Donna Mondragon and Kassandra Mendiola.
Mondragon won the regional championship in the 123-pound weight class with a total of 985, while Mendiola finished tied for the 148-pound weight class with a total of 980.
“One thing is to qualify for state, another is to win the regional championship in one weight division and tie for the regional championship in another weight division, and having to tell them that we’re not going to be able to go compete,” Tamez said. “And the last time we practiced, we were still improving; we hadn’t hit a peak yet. So to tell them that there’s a chance we may not have the meet, it was tough.”
As for the boys powerlifters, their season was stopped before the Region IV meet, one step shy of state. According to the latest standings, 25 five powerlifters from the Valley were in the top three of their respective weight classes, meaning there was a high possibility they all would have qualified for state.
For PSJA North’s Aaron Alvarez, who ranks No. 3 in the state in the 198-pound weight class with a 1,660 total, it’s been frustrating, but he and the Raiders’ powerlifting team remains focused.
Determined to stay working during the break, Alvarez pulled off some improvisation in his backyard by creating his own makeshift squat rack with a bar, truck tires, free weights and logs to get some repetitions in.
“I had been going to the gym during the break but since everything got shut down, I had a look around my house to see if there was anything I could use to lift some type of weight,” he said. I ended up finding some old tires, a metal bar, 20lb dumbbells, and some logs that we happened to have in the backyard, so I put the tires side by side, put the dumbbells and a log in each tire, and used the metal bar as a squat bar.”
As a senior, Alvarez hopes he gets one more shot to show what he can do.
“It would mean everything to me because I put in so much time and effort into this sport to be able to get to where I am at. And for the meets to be canceled by this outbreak is devastating. So to be able to compete at the regional and state meet one last time would be amazing,” Alvarez said.