BY BRYAN RAMOS | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — The Rio Grande Valley was well-represented at the 2019 Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting Association State Championships in Waco last weekend with several athletes bringing back freshly won hardware.
McALLEN HIGH’S ISABELLA CONTRERAS GOES BACK-TO-BACK
From the outside, one may see Isabella Contreras’ two gold state powerlifting medals and think it was all a breeze, but Contreras battled more than just the competition. She had to overcome obstacles along the way.
Leading up to the 2018 THSWPA state championship, Contreras fell sick, causing her weight to drop. She forced herself to eat to reach her full potential for competition, and that paid off in a big way as she won the gold medal in the 148-pound weight class.
After striking gold, Contreras checked her weight and noticed the number had increased because she was pushing herself after becoming ill. She, along with her coaches, made the decision to move up a weight class during her senior year to the 165-pound division.
She had her doubts and battled depression with the weight gain, but at the end of this year’s state meet, she placed first for a second consecutive year.
“My coach saw that and he said he was going to push me to be the best, like the 148 I was. So I looked into different ways to incorporate gaining weight and muscle mass,” Contreras said. “I gained that confidence in increasing my weight, my body and on the plates, too. So, overall, I overcame that fear of gaining weight and excelled in a new weight class, too.”
Contreras finished the 2019 state meet with Outstanding Lifter, Outstanding Bench and Outstanding Squat awards as she took home first place in the 165-pound weight class by lifting a total of 1,135 pounds — 115 more than the closest challenger. Contreras set state records in her new weight class with a 485 squat, 300 bench press and total of 1,135, giving her six state records across two weight classes.
She wasn’t the only Bulldogs lifter to bring home a medal from the state meet as McAllen High finished third as a team.
Two McHi lifters brought home first and second in the 105-pound weight class as Daniela Echavarria and Sabrina Espinoza lifted 735 pounds and 720 pounds, respectively, to claim the top spots in the division. Katarina Moseley nearly brought home first in the 123-pound class, but fell just five pounds short of tying for state championship.
FLORES FINISHES FIRST FOR MISSION VETERANS
For Brianna Flores, powerlifting is a family affair. As an eighth grader, Flores saw her brother, Adrian Flores, on the Patriots’ powerlifting team. A year later, she was the one with the bar in her hands and on her back, pushing herself to her limits.
“I started to find out about the sport in my eighth grade year when my brother was in it, but I didn’t really like the sport at all because I thought how gross it was because of everybody sweating and everything. But my brother told me to join and I ended up joining my freshman year.”
By the end of her senior year, Flores loved the sport. She put in the work, never took time off, and had the support of her mother and brother, who encouraged her to eat right by cooking for her and giving her an extra push.
As a junior, Flores was supposed to finish in the top five but she admitted the pressure got to her, resulting in a top eight finish. She used that to fuel her fire.
“It made me want to be better so I took no breaks. I always tried working out and I never wanted to rest,” she said. “I just wanted to bring home a medal, and I did cry after deadlift and I shed some tears with my family because everything I worked for in these four years, I never got to take a break. But it was all worth it.”
Flores’ first place finish in the 148-pound weight class gives Mission Veterans its first-ever gold medal winner as she lifted 1,010 pounds with a 410-pound squat and 405-pound deadlift.
SHARYLAND HIGH’S RESENDEZ REDEEMS HERSELF AT STATE
A year ago, Brianda Resendez was well on her way to becoming a state champion as a sophomore. At the state meet, Resendez broke the squat record and tied the bench record, but dropped the bar on deadlift, disqualifying her from the competition.
“I was kind of really heartbroken two weeks after that. My self-esteem had plummeted down. But Coach Joe (Alex) Leal was always there helping me, saying, ‘You have what it takes to be a state champion,’ and those words stuck with me and really encouraged my journey to do what I did at this past state meet,” she said.
Resendez was devastated after the DQ, but with the help of Leal, she rebounded as a junior to win gold in the 132-pound weight class by lifting 1,010 total pounds, earning Outstanding Lifter and Outstanding Squat awards for her performance at state.
Her 420-pound squat was 45 pounds heavier than the second place finisher and is now the state record in the 132-pound weight class, as is her 1,010 total.
Fellow Rattler Ashley Tijerina brought home a silver medal in the 114-pound weight class with an impressive total of 835. Tijerina’s and Resendez’ solid lifts at state helped Sharyland High finish in 4th place as a team as the Rattlers girls team sent a program record five to compete.
PROGRAM HISTORY AT PSJA MEMORIAL
The PSJA Memorial girls powerlifting program never had an athlete crowned state champion. That was until senior Victoria Trevino came along. Trevino brought home first place in the 165-pound weight class in 5A, etching her name in Wolverines history.
“Our school isn’t really known for powerlifting, so it felt good bringing first place home because I was the first one bringing that back and it made everyone proud,” Trevino said.
Trevino competed all four years for the Wolverines’ powerlifting team and qualified for state as a junior. Although that didn’t go as planned, Trevino set a goal during her senior year to bring home a championship and shatter records. And she did precisely that.
Her 445-pound squat on the state stage set a personal record and helped give PSJA Memorial its first-ever gold medal winner. Now that her high school powerlifting career is over, Trevino said her favorite memories are helping build a solid foundation for the future Wolverines to come.
“As the year passed, I talked to more girls trying to make them join, which they did,” she said. “It makes me feel proud because at first we were really nothing. But as we got new girls joining the team, the girls would tell us, ‘Wow, you’re our role models. We want to be like you. Once you leave, we’ll keep the tradition going and grow as a team.’”
DONNA ISD FINISHES WITH TWO STATE CHAMPS
Donna ISD had two girls earn gold at the state meet in Donna High’s Arianna Guerra and Donna North’s Jenacy Avitia.
Guerra medal came from 5A’s 198-pound class as she put up a total of 1,075 pounds. Guerra upped her total by 45 pounds as she lifted 1,030 just two weeks prior at regionals. Her 230 bench press was a personal best and her 410 deadlift set a new state record.
Avitia took home first in 6A’s 123-pound weight class, and it wouldn’t have happened without hitting 200 on bench press. She totaled 820 pounds, just five more than the second place finisher, who lifted 30 pounds less than Avitia on bench.