KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star
SAN BENITO — San Benito Lady Hounds powerlifter Leann Ramirez has had a successful high school athletic career. She is now guaranteed to continue it into the next level as she signed a letter of intent Thursday morning to lift at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
“Being a part of a collegiate team has always been a dream of mine,” she said. “I have always been involved in sports since I was 5 years old and as soon as I picked up powerlifting, I knew it was something I wanted to do and I set my goals high to accomplish great things.”
Since Ramirez stepped onto the powerlifting scene as freshman, she’s turned heads. In each of her four years, she qualified for the Texas high school woman’s powerlifting meet.
This past season, she was the regional champion and broke the total weight record of 1,085 pounds at the state meet. She also tied for first with a total weight of 1,070. and even broke the record in the bench press by lifting 245 pounds.
Ramirez has also qualified for nationals, which takes place in Washington. Her goal is to one day qualify for the USA Powerlifting Team.
“I’m really excited to get out of my comfort zone and experience life away from the Valley,” she said. “I’m beyond excited to compete in my first collegiate meet next year.”
Ramirez plans to major in biology and get into medical school and specialize in sports medicine.
“Some challenges I think will be being away from home. I have a close relationship with my mom, but as far as my studies go I will continue to work hard in all my classes.”