EDINBURG — Edcouch-Elsa is ready to compete for a fourth straight Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting state title.
The Yellow Jackets won the Class 5A Region V DII team championship Wednesday at Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg with a total of 51 points, 20 points higher than the second-place finisher.
“It feels good,” Edcouch-Elsa junior Kaylee Beltran said about winning a regional title. “But what I think is more important for me and for my team is winning a state title.”
Beltran, along with Addie Anzaldua and Natalyn Reyes, finished first place in their respective weight classes for Edcouch-Elsa on Wednesday. The Yellow Jackets graduated a couple of key lifters who helped them win a state title last year, but they return one of the best finishers from last season.
Anzaldua finished second at state in 2023.
“It was definitely hard to get here, it took a lot of dedication for the team,” Anzaldua said. “Everyone had to come together. It is hard to rebuild, but we got through and got what we wanted.”
Yellow Jackets junior Katie Contreras finished second in the 97-pound weight division Wednesday to help pick up key points, along with Leslie Torres at 123 pounds and Isabella Gaspar at 165.
“I think we have a good chance of winning state,” Contreras said. “Our team is pretty close … we are doing pretty good.”
The Rio Grande Valley had a dominant showing in the morning. Only one weight class was not won by a Valley lifter.
Mission Veterans had three regional champs with Jackie Mora, Kaitlynn Ocanas and Deseray Rodriguez. Roma’s Briseida Robles and Kayleen Perez took home titles.
Brownsville Porter’s Heaven Castro, PSJA Southwest’s Miranda Montez and Sharyland Pioneer’s Alexci Gallegos also came in first in their divisions.
Mission Veterans Memorial finished second as a team with 31 points, and PSJA Southwest came in third with 28 points.
In the afternoon, Victoria East won the Class 5A DI title, beating out McAllen Memorial and Brownsville Veterans. Victoria East and West combined for a few individual champions as well, but the Valley still littered the top spots in the afternoon.
Brownsville Veterans’ Alexas Alaniz won the 105-pound title, La Joya Palmview’s Dinorah Galvan finished first at 114 and Edinburg Vela’s Jennifer Escalante is the regional champ at 123.
McAllen Memorial’s Luna Cuevas is the 132-pound champ, McHi’s Kaedyn Pulido won the 148-pound division and McAllen Memorial’s Alejandra Calderon easily won at 181. McHi also had Yaresi Ozuna win at 242-plus.
Weslaco East also had two regional champs with Dayana Hernandez and Kayleen Garcia at 220 and 242, respectively.
Check on the weekend for a full list of all state qualifiers.
