Seen here are San Benito High School powerlifters. (Courtesy photo)
By CHRISTY CORTEZ
& CARLOS GONZALES
Special to the NEWS
Accomplishment – that’s what junior powerlifter Gina Elizondo felt when, along with junior Alex “Baby Beast” Marmolejo and sophomore Ileana Lopez each brought back a gold medal from the state finals powerlifting meet to San Benito in April.
It’s the first time San Benito has three separate girls return with a gold medal for powerlifting, and the second year in a row the Lady ’Hounds make it to the state round.
For Gina Elizondo, it was that much sweeter after coming up short of a gold metal last year due to a questionable call that forced her to settle for the runner-up (silver medal). Coming back as a returning state athlete, Elizondo would have to drop down to 220 lbs but knew exactly where she needed to set her goals to win the gold medal for her new weight class.
“I worked a lot harder in the weight room this year, stayed dedicated to our practices, and came to summer workouts which helped me improve myself to go farther than last year,” stated Elizondo.
Returning to state with Elizondo was junior Alex Marmolejo, where she obtained her second gold medal in a row, giving her the back-to-back champion title for the 97 lbs weight class. Even though Marmolejo excels in wrestling, this year’s main focus was powerlifting as she dedicated most of her time to getting stronger to make up for her small size.
The last of the three gold medalists and newest to the state finals scene was sophomore Ileana Lopez, who was able to repeat what Marmolejo did and receive a gold medal as a sophomore. Originally a basketball player, Lopez showed signs of potential for powerlifting and was pulled out by varsity coaches so that she could start her training to become a key competitor for the Lady ’Hounds.
“It feels really good to win the gold and awesome because I’m only a sophomore,” stated Lopez, who also attended summer training and even had to drop 10 lbs in a week to reach her class weight of 123 lbs.
Over on the boys’ side, Andre Evans represented San Benito at the state level in the 242 pound division. Andre qualified for state with a third place finish at regionals. Evans is a second year state qualifier and had the best dead-lift in his region with a record of 625 pounds.
A trip to state was a great experience for Evans as his last year in Greyhound Powerlifting. “It was fun for me to represent not only San Benito High School but the Rio Grande Valley as well,” said Andre.
Other regional qualifiers were Ernie Sandell and Mike Benavidez. Benavidez bench pressed a record weight of 425 pounds a best in the region as well.
The boys’ powerlifting team is coached by Mike Evans and assisted by Jesse Treviño. The girls powerlifting team is coached by Laura Gonzalez, but all coaches contribute into building great powerlifters as both teams work together and offer their support and advice to one another. Evans credits success in the bench press for both boys and girls to Trevino.
“Jesse had a big impact on their bench press and got it to where it needed to be,” credited Evans.
Evans has seen the progress both teams and is satisfied with the outcome of this year. “They all did great and improved 100 percent from the previous year. Two years ago we didn’t qualify anyone for Regionals,” said Evans proudly.
Evans is optimistic for next season and expects nothing less than success from both teams. As both teams have a great numbers of returning lifters both teams are sure to be a powerful force next year.
To see this story in print, pick up a copy of the May 22 edition of the San Benito News. Or view our E-Edition by clicking here.
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