Donna North’s Louie Cavazos, Edcouch-Elsa’s Ever Crispin and Edinburg IDEA’s Fabian Solis are bringing back gold medals to the Rio Grande Valley after winning in their respective weight classes at the Texas High School Powerlifting Association State Championships on Saturday at Taylor County Expo Center in Abilene.
Donna North’s Cavazos felt he sent a message with his first lift — a 500-pound squat. He also successfully completed a 260-pound bench and 450-pound deadlift for a 1,210 total.
“After that 500 squat, that set the tone. I guess the guys saw their chances were low, but the competition was still there and anything could happen at any given moment,” he said. “Finishing strong for my senior year was the most important mindset I had for this meet.”
Totals are determined by the combined weight successfully lifted in three events: squat, bench press and deadlift. Team points are awarded for the top five finishes in this manner — 7, 5, 3, 2 and 1.
Cavazos is Donna North’s first boys state powerlifting champion in school history. The Chiefs finished fourth as a team with nine points from Cavazos and teammate Deandre Moody, who earned a fourth-place medal at 114 pounds.
Edcouch-Elsa’s Crispin blew the rest of the 148-pound weight class away with a 1,520 total — 140 pounds more than second place. He also broke a state record with a 625-pound squat.
“Considering the fact that there have been greats before me that have won state, either individually or as a team, it’s a big honor,” he said. “That squat was probably one of the most important lifts of my life. It was something I was looking forward to since I started powerlifting. I didn’t want to leave without winning something, without something I could be proud of other than the state championship, so I know that I left a mark for people to see and hopefully stay there for years.”
McAllen High’s Felipe Garza and Edinburg Vela’s Justin Chapa placed second and third at 114 pounds in Division I with totals of 1,090 and 1,080, respectively. Garza also set a bench press record of 285 pounds.
Edinburg North’s Allan Benavides (165 pounds, 1,410 total), Weslaco High’s Sergio Lerma (181 pounds, 1,680 total), Mercedes’ Roan Galvan (220 pounds, 1,680 total) and Edinburg Economedes’ Abisai Tijerina (308 pounds, 1,765 total) won silver in their weight classes.
Mercedes’ Miguel Jimenez (198 pounds, 1,685 total) and McAllen Rowe’s Ryan Creasy (242 pounds, 1,685 total) both won bronze.
Edinburg IDEA’s Solis tied San Diego’s Michael Longoria for gold in the 114-pound weight class with a 975 total, but Solis weighing 2.8 pounds lighter than Longoria broke the tie in his favor. Solis posted a 390 squat, 225 bench and 360 deadlift to win the Division III title.
Hidalgo’s Juventino Guerrero and Leo Ruiz finished second and third, respectively, at 114 pounds in Division II to earn silver and bronze. Guerrero posted a 940 total with Ruiz right behind him with 930 pounds.
La Villa’s boys powerlifting team won bronze in Division IV on Friday with 11 points from second places by Jerry Reyes in the 198-pound weight class and Jaime Elissetche in the 308-pound weight class, and a fifth place from Jayden Silguero at 148 pounds.
