A total of 20 members of the Levelland High School powerlifting team were among the nearly 300 competitors at last weekend’s Region I Powerlifting Meet held at Levelland High School on March 8. The meet included lifters from as far south as Alpine, as far west as the El Paso area, as far east as Eastland and as far north as Perryton. The competition took place in the 3A Division and the 2A-1A combined Division. Levelland won the 3A team title with 29 points, edging out Lubbock Cooper with 26 points. It was the third straight regional win for the Lobo squad.
The top 2 in each weight class advance to the State meet which will be at the Taylor County Expo Center in Abilene on March 29, and Levelland ISD had three state qualifiers. They are as follows: Dusty W 132 Class
JJ V 165 Class
Ruben F 275 Class
JJ V also set new regional records in the bench press (375 lbs.) and his overall total (1300 lbs.) was a new record. He was also awarded the outstanding bench press, deadlift and overall totals awards.
Coach Barry Newton, the LHS coach who is also the Region I Director, had this to say: “It is a very difficult thing to win a regional championship but to do it three straight years is truly remarkable for these kids. Each year the target on your back gets a little bigger because everyone wants to beat the champions, but our kids rose to the challenge and refused to let that happen. Our kids just work extremely hard in the weight room each and every day and compete at a very high level on meet day. I am so proud of them and our coaches for another outstanding year for Levelland Lobo Powerlifting.”
The results of the Levelland lifters are as follows (includes squat, bench press, deadlift and total weight):
132 pound class 2. Dusty W 365-205-385,955; 6. Klay B 315-195-345-855;
9. Dustin S 330-175-285-790
165 pound class 1. JJ V 425-375-500-1300
181 pound class 4. Scott H 430-270-440-1140; 11. Alfredo D 330-240-375-945
198 pound class 4. Jonathan M 455-245-505-1205; 13. Jerry N 385-220-370-975
220 pound class 5. Marcus Z 465-325-420-1210; 6. Cande V 450-265-425-1140;
7. Blake W 400-280-440-1120; 9. Derik P 365-250-410-1025
242 pound class 4. Hector L 460-290-460-1210
275 pound class 2. Ruben F 540-235-525-1300; 3. Aaron G 500-290-420-1210;
9. Mike G 440-255-400-1095