EMMA VILLARREAL
(Courtesy photo/PIISD)
By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
The Port Isabel [PI] powerlifting teams competed at the Viking Invitational this past Friday, Jan. 17. This was the second meet the PI teams participated in. Again, they virtually dominated all of the weight classes
they competed in.
The men’s division saw 47 lifters compete from the following five schools: Port Isabel, St. Joseph Academy, Los Fresnos, Brownsville Riverview IDEA and Brownsville Lopez.
PI powerlifter Arnold Lopez had “bombed out” [BO] in his previous meet, but came back full force this past week. Lopez won gold in the 114-weight class with a total lift of 990 lbs (Squat:360, Bench:245, Dead
Lift:385). Lopez currently holds the 2025 #2 regional ranking for his class.
In other PI men’s lifting results, Giovanni Gonzalez won silver in the 165-weight class with a total lift of 1,125 lbs (Squat:460, Bench:250, Dead Lift:415). Also in the same class, Ivan Callejas came in fifth place
with a total lift of 790 lbs (Squat:290, Bench:155, Dead Lift:345).
In the 181-weight class, Aaron Barerra picked up his second gold medal of the season with a total lift of 1,445 lbs (Squat:510, Bench:420, Dead Lift:515) and retains his #1 regional ranking. Right behind Barerra
was Noah Hernandez who won silver with a total lift of 1,205 lbs (Squat:475, Bench:315, Dead Lift:415).
In the 198-weight class, Jose Galvan won gold with a total weight of 1,250 lbs (Squat:520, Bench:305, Dead Lift:425). Joe Perez won silver with a total lift of 1,245 lbs (Squat:475, Bench:285, Dead Lift:485).
Michael Finona won bronze with a total lift of 1,145 lbs (Squat:485, Bench:245, Dead Lift:415). Finona had the team’s highest improvement from the previous meet with a 110 lb increase in total lift.
In the 220-weight class, Arnulfo Hernandez made his season’s debut securing the bronze with a total weight of 1,175 lbs (Squat:475, Bench:225, Dead Lift:475).
In the 242-weight class, Carlos Cabrera won gold with a total lift of 1,530 lbs (Squat:625, Bench:500, Dead Lift:405), while Mario Nava won silver with a total lift of 1,500 lbs (Squat:585, Bench:475, Dead Lift:
440).
In the 275-weight class, Luis Varela won his second gold with a total lift of 1,635 lbs (Squat:650, Bench:430, Dead Lift:555). Varela has improved his total lift from the previous meet by 100 lbs and maintains his #2
region ranking.
The top three men’s teams were, 1. Port Isabel with 64 points, 2. Brownsville Riverview IDEA 36 points and 3. St. Joseph 17 points.
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