By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
This past Thursday, January 22 the Port Isabel Early College High School hosted their annual Noah LeBlanc Memorial Girls Invitational powerlifting meet. The meet had 14 different programs competing from throughout the RGV and featured a whopping 135 lifters.
After coming in second place in the two previous meets, Daniela Alonso finally secured her first gold medal competing in the 148-weight class. Her total lift of 845 pounds was a 70lb improvement from her previous meet and she is now ranked #2 in the region.
Returning state champion, Saturn Trejo continues her trek towards another trip to the state meet by claiming the 165-weight class championship with a total lift of 965lbs. Trejo is currently ranked #2 in the region, and there is still room for improvement considering she has a personal best, total lift of 1020lbs, which she accomplished at last season’s state meet.
Also medaling were, Iyary Guzman who won silver in the 242+ class with a total weight of 915lbs. Maria Ale Vasquez who competes in the 123-weight class won bronze with a total lift of 785lbs. Both lifters are currently ranked #4 in their respective weight classes.
Other lifting results include, Isabella Bentancourt (4th place, total lift:715lbs), Brigette Montes (4th place, total lift:740lbs), and Dariadna Garcia (5th place, total lift:720lbs). On a side note, Betancourt had the teams’ largest improvement this week as she improved her total lift by a whopping 135lbs compared to her last meet.
Although the PI program was without a third of its team due to various reasons, it still managed to come in fourth in the team standings. The top three teams order of finish were 1. La Feria, 2. Rio Hondo, and 3. Weslaco.
Asked about the turnout, PIECHS powerlifting head coach, Mark Calvillo felt the meet was a success, featuring a packed house of spectators, strong competition from schools of all sizes, and a great overall environment.
And regarding his team’s performance, “I usually hire judges that they will see at regionals and state so it was tough and great experience for the younger girls. The girls that made it through had great success and improved their numbers and we have our girls ranked in the regional and state so I was very pleased with their effort and competitiveness.” Said Calvillo. “I was just honored to have the LeBlanc family in the house and honor their late son who was a great ambassador to our sport and school. So having a packed gym made it extra special.”
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