STAFF REPORTS
Powerlifters from Pace and Port Isabel struggled to find their grooves at the 2016 Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting Association Class 5A and 4A state meet Saturday at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi.
Port Isabel’s Franchesca Sandoval finished ninth in the 148-pound class in her first trip to the 4A state competition.
The junior squatted 365 pounds in the squat event, put up 150 in the bench press and posted a 330-pound deadlift for a total of 845 pounds. Sandoval tried to get 370 in the deadlift, but she was unable to get the lift to raise her total in the standings.
Sandoval balanced her time between powerlifting and soccer this spring and is already thinking about the next season of powerlifting.
“It was pretty tough competition,” Port Isabel coach Victor Rubalcaba said. “She is already talking about next year, she has a goal to medal. I was proud of her; she worked her tail off for us.”
Jocelyn Padilla was set to compete in the 220+ class at state, but a personal matter kept her from participating during her senior season.
In the 5A meet, Pace’s Perla Hernandez bombed out during her first lift during the competition.
Her coach, Joe Espanoza, said his lifter wasn’t ready for the pressure of the event.
“It was a new experience for her,” he said. “She looked very nervous. We couldn’t get that opener, for some reason we just couldn’t get it.”
Espanoza was optimistic to have more lifters join Hernandez next season.
“Hopefully next year we’ll qualify more girls (for state),” he said. “Hopefully this experience will be for the better (for Hernandez). It wasn’t the same without the rest of the team cheering you on and getting you going.”
The Pace coach remains confident in Hernandez, who put up similar numbers compared to the top three in her weight class.
“She told me, ‘Coach, I’m going to work harder than ever,’” Espanoza said. “We’ll be back.”