EDINBURG — Sharyland Pioneer powerlifter Ketny Nicoleau went 4-for-4 in breaking squat, bench press, deadlift and total weight records, in that order, at the Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting Association Region V Division I Meet on Wednesday at Bert Ogden Arena.
Nicoleau squatted 405 pounds, bench-pressed 215 and deadlifted 385 for a total of 1,005 pounds, breaking previous regional highs of 370, 200, 355 and 885, respectively.
“I put in a lot of hard work and it paid off,” Nicoleau said with happy tears rolling down her face after breaking her fourth record of the day.
| Sharyland Pioneer’s Ketny Nicoleau gets a hug from her coach as she broke the regional squat record during a Region V Girls Powerlifting Meet at Bert Ogden Arena Wednesday, March 1, 2023, in Edinburg,Texas. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected]) Delcia Lopez |
Nicoleau was among dozens of Rio Grande Valley powerlifters at the Region V Division I Meet who punched their ticket to the THSWPA Division I State Meet on March 15 and 18 in Frisco.
All eyes were on Nicoleau during each record-breaking attempt. What went through her mind prior to each lift was what matters most to Nicoleau, but during the lifts her focus was on locking it up.
“To be honest, I tell myself that God’s with me and he gives me strength. I’m doing this for him at the end of the day,” she said. “The support system I have goes through my mind — my parents, my coaches, my friends, it’s really a lot that goes through my head, but once I’m on the platform, it’s like, ‘Get it up!’”
Powerlifters qualified for the state meet in three ways: finishing in the top two in their respective weight class at the regional meet, reaching the weight class’ automatic qualifying total at the regional meet or being one of the top two lifters in their respective UIL classification at the regional meet.
Points are awarded for the top five finishes in this manner — 7, 5, 3, 2 and 1. Each lifter goes through three different sets of lifts — squat, bench press and deadlift. The total weight combined from the three lifts determines the winner.
Los Fresnos won the Class 6A regional team title with 54 points, including five first-place finishers. Edinburg High and Weslaco High tied for second in 6A with 23 points apiece.
Victoria West claimed first in Class 5A’s big school division with 36 points, followed by Weslaco East with 33 and Brownsville Veterans with 22.
Los Fresnos was led by first-place finishes from Clarissa Rodriguez (97 pound weight class), Tyler Martin (105 pounds), Hailey Martin (114 pounds), Anette Cardenas (123 pounds) and Kimberly Almazan (198 pounds).
| Los Fresnos Tyler Martin pushes through on her lift during a Region V Girls Powerlifting Meet at Bert Ogden Arena Wednesday, March 1, 2023, in Edinburg,Texas. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected]) Delcia Lopez |
Weslaco East was the only other team with more than two first-place winners in Natalie Martinez (114 pounds), Nayeli Barrera (198 pounds) and Brianna Galvan (259-plus).
Edcouch-Elsa 132-pounder Georgina Alaniz joined in on the record-breaking fun by setting new regional highs of 450 pounds on squat, 405 pounds on deadlift and a total of 1,075.
The two-time state champ Alaniz and teammate Mia Gonzalez (165 pounds) helped lead Edcouch-Elsa to the Class 5A small school regional title with their first-place finishes, which added 14 points to the Yellow Jackets’ team total of 42. PSJA Memorial finished second with 23 points and Roma took third with 20 points.
| Edcouch-Elsa’s Georgina Alaniz squats at the 2022 THSWPA State Championships in March 2022. Alaniz is a two-time state champion. Joel Martinez |
“I’m very proud of my girls. We brought, like, 26 girls to regionals, compared to sophomore year, our actual team was 12 lifters and we competed at every single meet and we placed,” Alaniz said. “I’m proud of my team, proud of my coaches, everybody, we’re all here as family together.”
San Benito’s Jaslyn Estrella starred in the 259-plus class with a 1,205 total, 255 pounds more than the second-place finisher. She squatted 525, benched 270, deadlifted 410 and is headed to the state meet in two weeks as the top-ranked lifter in her weight class in Division I.
“I’ve had a lot of bumps in the road, but it feels good to be here,” Estrella said. “I just wanted to hit new personal records, and I think I did good. My nerves do tend to get to me, but I pushed them aside because I had to do what I had to do.”
| San Benito’s Jaslyn Estrella powers through her lift during a Region V Girls Powerlifting Meet at Bert Ogden Arena Wednesday, March 1, 2023, in Edinburg,Texas. (Delcia Lopez | [email protected]) Delcia Lopez |
Victoria East’s Alyssa Sauceda ran away with the 181-pound weight class in the big school division with a 1,210 total that included setting a new bench press record at 290 pounds.
The THSWPA state meets are scheduled to run March 15-18 at the Comerica Center in Frisco.
Class 6A state qualifiers will compete in the afternoon of March 15. Class 5A DII qualifiers will lift the morning of March 18, with Class 5A DI slated for that afternoon.
A complete list of state qualifiers from Region V Division I can be found at RGVSports.com.