By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Los Fresnos is back on top in girls powerlifting.
The Lady Falcons won the team title on the strength of five individual titles, including back-to-back state titles for Alle Elizondo in the 114- pound division, and two runner-up finishes at the 2015 Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting Association state meet Saturday at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi .
“It feels great. We ended up doing better than we thought we would do,” Los Fresnos coachMike Evans said. “We weren’t expecting to get five first places and win the meet by that margin, so we’re real excited.”
The Lady Falcons finished with 47 points, 14 better than San Benito (33) which finished second and was followed by Weslaco East (31) in third place.
Elizondo won her second consecutive title in her division with a total weight of 805 pounds, 320 in the squat, a 155 bench and 330 in the deadlift. She said it wasn’t easy to repeat, but she felt relief after getting a good third lift and sealing the title by a margin of 10 pounds.
“Coming into this year was very hard on me. Everyone expected so much from me,” she said. “It was very intense because other coaches know who I am and kept an eye on me to see how I was doing. I feel like I had to work harder to maintain the level I was at and go further than that.”
Teresita Silva claimed the title in the 198-pound division after finishing runner-up last year. Silva finished at 975, 85 pounds better than the second-place finisher. She had a 385 squat, 220 benchand 370 deadlift to win in her senior season.
“To be honest, I’m just glad I placed and I know I did my best,” she said.
Byanka Arreola claimed the title for the 123-pound division. She finished with a mark of 830 (340 squat, 145 bench, 345 deadlift) to win by five pounds. She also was named to the academic all-state elite team for Class 6A and received a $1,000 scholarship for her academic prowess.
Jased Castro took home the title for the 181-pound division. She finished at 990 (425 squat , 220 bench, 345 deadlift).
Sophie Avila won the title for the 105-pound division. She finished at 720 (270 squat, 125 bench, 325 deadlift), also winning by a margin of five pounds. It came down to the deadlift, and she set a personal best to take it.
Lorena Martinez (132) and Julie Torres (165) finished as runners-up in their respective divisions. Martinezfinished at 780 (325-130-325) and Torres had 910 (360-170-380).
Rose Villarreal (148) finished fourth, and Ally Highful (97) took seventh, Stephanie Trevino (165) placed ninth, Joanna Philo (114) was 11th and Julissa Torres (148) was disqualified in her attempts for Los Fresnos.
Other Metro-area finishers were Andrea Botella of Lopez (105), who finished fifth, and Alexandra Chavez of Hanna (148), who was disqualified during in her attempts.
The four seniors for the Lady Falcons — Elizondo, Silva, Villarreal and Arreola — won three individual titles, but winning a team title is more satisfying in their final season.
“I’m just glad we all did what we were supposed to do and ended up on top,” Silva said.
With another title, Los Fresnos continues the rich tradition of the program.
“It’s where we belong,” Evans said. “Los Fresnos has only had three powerlifting coaches, and all three have won state titles. It’s just really good.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.