By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
This past Friday, March 27 the Port Isabel Early College High School boy’s powerlifting team traveled to Abilene, TX to compete at the Texas High School Powerlifting Association State Meet.
The PIECHS boys powerlifting team featured a fairly young group this season, led by just two seniors, Arnold Lopez and Joe Perez. Through their hard work and determination, both lifters qualified for the state meet by meeting the state totals required, but they faced a tough challenged as the meet featured 254 of the top powerlifters in the state.
This was the fourth time Lopez managed to reach the state meet. As a freshman he finished in 6th place with a total lift of 850 pounds. Then as a sophomore, Lopez finished in 7th place although he improved his total lift to 940 pounds. Unfortunately, in his third year he “bombed out”- a term used to describe a failed attempt to post a total lift. In his final season, Lopez was set on making this year’s effort count and he did just that by posting a total lift of 1140 pounds, earning a 4th place finish. On a side note, cousins Jerry Lopez (2012 state champion) and Jaden Lopez (2021 state bronze medalist) also had success as Port Isabel powerlifters.
Meanwhile, Perez, who also has been part of the powerlifting program for four years, made his first appearance at the state meet. After the totals have been calculated, Perez finished in 16th place with a total lift of 1450 pounds (Squat:555, Bench:360, Dead Lift:535). Although he was 20 pounds shy of his personal best, he did post a new personal best in the bench press.
With the powerlifting season now over, head coach John Calvillo was pleased how the program improved throughout the season and looked forward to the upcoming seasons. “I am extremely proud of how all of our athletes represented Port Isabel at the state level. Their dedication, discipline, and competitiveness continue to set the standard for our program.” Said Calvillo.