By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald
It should be quite obvious by now.
The Los Fresnos Lady Falcons refuse to lose at state in powerlifting.
The Los Fresnos girls won their fourth straight Class 6A team title at Friday’s Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting Association state meet in Waco.
“It is a joy to watch these girls compete, perform and win,” said Jaime Vela, Los Fresnos’ powerlifting coach. “We always go into the regional meet (two weeks earlier) with the intention of qualifying as many of our lifters as possible for state competition. Then our mindset at state is we’re going to win (the team title). These girls proved it again.”
The Lady Falcons captured their fourth consecutive state crown in decisive fashion by totaling 28 points compared to 20 for runner-up Wylie. Edinburg High (18 points) was third, Edinburg Economedes (17) was fourth and Laredo United South (14) was fifth. Hanna and La Joya Palmview tied for sixth place with 13 points apiece.
Actually, nine of the top 11 teams in the final 6A standings were from the Rio Grande Valley. There were 199 lifters from around the state competing at the meet in the 6A division.
“It was a great day,” Vela said. “The girls competed (well).”
The Lady Falcons were led by individual state champions Aliana Richardson in the 105-pound weight division and Bella Vargas in the 123-pound weight division. Richardson had a lift total of 885 pounds in the dead lift, squat lift and bench press, while Vargas had a lift total of 910 pounds.
Placing third in their weight divisions for the Lady Falcons were Angel Esquivel and Ruby Quintero. Also for the Lady Falcons, earning fourth places were Layla Carrisalez, Leslie Quintero and Mary Jane Maldonado. Rheanne Lopez contributed a fifth-place finish. Other girls going to state for Los Fresnos were Niomi Gamez, Sophia Navarrete, Brittney Berber, Abby Dominguez, Paola Castillo, Hanna Castillo and Vero Martinez.
“The reception we get after these girls come home as state champions is wonderful,” Vela said. “Winning state makes our young girls coming up want to be a part of the team and it keeps our program going (at a high level).”
Hanna was led by individual state champion Ale Escandon in the 114-pound weight division. She took first place with an 835-pound lift total. Teammates Amanda Garcia and Brittany Lozano each finished third in their respective upper weight class divisions.
Other girls at state for the Lady Golden Eagles were Maryssa Lucio, Shelsey Cavillo, Tamara Guerrero, Alexis Alaniz, Karen Ledezma and Alexandra Chavez.
Another Valley state champion in 6A was Leann Ramirez of San Benito in the 181-pound weight division with a total lift of 1,140 pounds. She is the daughter of Lopez coach Hugo Ramirez.
The Class 5A state meet took place Friday in Waco as well with the Lopez girls finishing second for the second straight year behind perennial state champion Port Lavaca Calhoun. The 5A state meet had 211 lifters.
Calhoun, boosted by two first-place lifters and a pair of second-place finishers, captured the 5A team title with 27 points. Lopez had an individual state champion and three runner-up finishers to end up with 24 points. Alice was the third-place team with 19 points.
Leading the way for the Lady Lobos was Liz De La Fuente, who won the 148-pound weight division with a lift total of 1,020 pounds. Teammates Lexi Davila, Alexa Vega and Melanie Quintero took second place in the 105, 114 and 198 weight divisions, respectively. Also for the Lady Lobos, Jennifer Cisneros placed fourth in the 148 weight division.
Other girls at state for Lopez were Esmeralda Saldana, Norma Vega, Annahi Pizana and Julieann Delgado.
Also at state, Madelyne Mckinney was third in the 165 weight division for Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Elexa Silva took fourth place in the 198 weight division for Pace.
The THSPA state meet for boys is scheduled March 24 in Abilene.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess