HENRY MILLER | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
“Energy” was the most popular word of the day on Thursday in the McAllen Memorial High School library.
The word is one that coaches, friends and teammates used when describing senior Jazaih Escamilla, who signed to be a part of the University of Texas at San Antonio powerlifting team, which won a national championship this season.
“It’s breathtaking,” said Escamilla, who also played football and was a main cog on Memorial’s state championship cheer team in UIL’s Division II. “This has been just a breathtaking experience. The last 24 hours have been nervous and hectic.”
At the end of April, the Roadrunner Powerlifting Club claimed the men’s team title at the USA Powerlifting Collegiate National Championships in College Station. The competition featured 36 collegiate teams from across the nation.
Escamilla, whose scholarship is a combination between athletics and academics thanks in part to a 4.30 GPA, began powerlifting as a sophomore.
“I didn’t even know what powerlifting was as a freshman,” he admitted.
However, he caught on quickly and started to excel.
“We got it right. This is a huge day for us,” Memorial powerlifting coach Joe Guerra said. “He came in and always put a lot of energy into his work. And because of him, workouts changed, and his leadership made it great. They are already a great program at UTSA, and they’re adding another great athlete and person.”
Escamilla, considered one of the top defensive backs in the Valley for Bill Littleton and the Mustangs football team, also had the opportunity to compete in the WABDL (World Association of Bench Pressers and Deadlifters) Magic Valley World Championships. He came home with second- and third-place trophies. His personal bests are a 565-pound squat, a 360-pound bench and a 505-pound dead lift.
That strength also made him a perfect fit for the state championship cheer team.
“He just showed up one day his senior year and said he wanted to do this,” said cheer coach Pedro Alvarez, who is in his 28th year leading the program. “From the start, he was like a ball of energy. He has awesome drive and unstoppable determination, and his spirit is just contagious. We were crowned state champs and he was there, right in the middle.”
Alvarez said powerlifting gave Escamilla an edge in a sport that is filled with stunts and in which explosive strength can only be helpful.
“(For) one of our stunts, he has to throw one of the girls, and he threw her all the way up,” Alvarez said. “We also have a signature stunt called toss chair, and he could almost pick up everyone on the team and toss them. The things that he does in powerlifting complement what he does in cheer; he uses a lot of those skills. Plus, whenever I ask him to do something, he’s always right on it.”
Escamilla said he couldn’t wait to start the next chapter in his lifting career.
“They are the best of the best, so just being around them is going to be exciting,” he said. “I couldn’t be in a better spot or more blessed than I am right now.”