11
January
2016
|
15:37 PM
America/Chicago

UHD Powerlifters Compete in Annual USAPL Texas Collegiate Regional Championships

The UHD Powerlifting proved they can go toe-to-toe with the major powers of collegiate powerlifting on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2015 in San Antonio, where the UHD Powerlifting men's squad placed second.

However, the day started out a bit rough for the UHD women's squad as two of Coach Hudson's star freshman recruits had difficult outings in their first time on the collegiate competition platform.

Freshman Delicia Garza got the women back on track by winning the very competitive 84 kilo weight class with lifts of 440.7 pounds in the squat, 281 on the bench, and 429.7 in the deadlift for a new Texas collegiate state record total of 1151.9 pounds.

Garza's total was also an unofficial American record for the Teen 3 Division. Seasoned UHD Powerlifters, Yazmin Trujillo at the 47 kilo weight class and Amber Blankemeyer at superheavyweight, had excellent performances — finishing second and third respectively in their weight classes. The UHD women placed fourth behind Texas, UTSA and Sam Houston State.

The men's squad put on a show for the enthusiastic crowd, making up for their lack of full weight-class coverage and depth by winning three out of five contested weight classes.

Coach Hudson had projected a maximum possible score of 53 points, and the men came up with 52, putting them in second place behind Texas, while handing defeats to Texas A&M, Sam Houston State, UTSA, and UHV.

Though the UHD men were unable to overcome the sheer numbers of Texas, it was notable that in any weight class that pitted a UHD lifter against a UT lifter, UHD came out on top — prompting a Texas team leader to remark that "those Gators are dangerous."

Winners for the UHD men's squad were Isaias Gonzalez at the 59 kilo weight class with a total of 1195.9 pounds, including a 330.5 pound bench press; Kenny Nguyen at 66 kilos with a total of 1559.8 pounds; and Matt Frolik at 120 kilos with a total of 1708.6 pounds, including a 655.7 pound squat. Freshmen Jorge Saldana at 59 kilos and Joseph Kelley at 66 kilos each placed third.

The next major event for UHD Powerlifting will be the 2016 USAPL National Collegiate Championships in Providence, Rhode Island, April 2016.

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