Powerlifters show improvement

By LARRY GAGE
Special to the PRESS

February, 5, 2015

Last Saturday, the Port Isabel High powerlifting team competed in its second meet of the season and improved greatly with higher total lifts recorded by most of the team.

The meet was held at Santa Rosa, and head powerlifting coach Joe Gonzalez took a total of 14 lifters to the one-day meet.

Eight Lady Tarpons competed and they were led by Jocelyn Padilla and Franchesca Sandoval, both of whom won gold medals for the highest total lift in their respective weight divisions.

Sandoval competes in the 148-pound class and her total lift of 685 pounds was good for first place in her class. Padilla’s total lift of 860 pounds was the highest of the 220-pound division.

A lifter’s total lift is arrived at by adding the poundage from each competitor’s best lift in each of the three recognized lifts; the bench press, the squat and the deadlift.

In addition to Sandoval and Padilla, there were several other medalists for Port Isabel. Following are the results of those Port Isabel athletes who competed at Santa Rosa:

Lady Tarpons: Vanessa Ibarra; 165-pound division, third place, total lift, 500 pounds. Glenda Loza, 242-lb. div., third place, TL-735 pounds. Dorelee Turner, 114-lb. div., third place, TL-not available. Ava Gomez, 123-lb. div., fourth place, TL-490 pounds. Theresa Martinez, 148-lb. div., ninth place, TL-410 pounds.

“Jocelyn improved almost 100 pounds in total weight,” Coach Gonzalez said Wednesday. “It was her personal best and she jumped from number four to number one in the region. And it was Glenda’s first meet because she also competes in mariachi. She placed third and she’s ranked fourth or fifth in the region.”

Loza is the fifth-ranked lifter in her weight division in the region. Padilla moves up to first in the rankings and Sandoval currently ranks sixth.

For the guys the lone medalist was freshman Carlos Bocanegra. His total lift of 845 pounds was third best in the 220-pound class. In the 198-pound division John Ray Martinez placed fifth with a total lift of 1,250 pounds.

Here are the other Tarpon lifters and their total lifts: Nelson Mejia, 164-lb. div., TL-818 pounds. Jose Cayetano, 181-lb. div., TL-915 pounds. Juan Mireles, 242-lb. div., TL-1,025 pounds. Frank Hernandez, Super H’wt. div., TL-950 pounds.

As a team the girls scored enough points to place fourth of the 14 teams that were on hand. The guys had the 9th-highest point total for the men.

Coach Gonzalez is passing up this week’s meet in Mission because of other commitments by some team members, and also to allow sore muscles and other minor injuries to heal.

“Muscles need time to recover because they’re going all out at the meets and the muscles need 48 hours to recuperate,” Coach Gonzalez said. “So we’re on an every other day schedule with the workouts.”

The Tarpon and Lady Tarpon teams will compete in two more meets and then those who qualify will go to the regional meet in Pleasanton. The top two placers in each weight class at regionals will advance to the state powerlifting meet, which will take place in March.

Want the whole story? Pick up a copy of the Port Isabel-South Padre Press, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2015/02/06/powerlifters-show-improvement/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.