Natalia Powerlifting teams win 1st, 2nd in home meet

The Mustang and Lady Mustang powerlifting teams.

A record 30 Natalia Lady Mustangs hit the hardwood in the 2nd annual Mustang Strong Powerlifting Invitational last Saturday. Natalia’s Julia Owens (105 lb. Weight class), Angelina Zapata (123 lb.) Dezarae Perez (165 lb.) and Jasmine Ramon (198 lb.) led the charge toward a team Championship, with their individual 1st place team finishes.
The Lady Mustangs were able to claim the team title with 56 team points, which edged out 2nd place Cotulla (42), San Antonio East Central (28), Center Point (26), Medina Valley (22), San Antonio Brooks Academy (12), Uvalde (9) and Hondo (3).
“I am extremely proud to say that our girls team placed 1st at our home meet,” Coach Kasey Crowther said. said. “Samantha Sanchez also qualified for Regional for hitting the 595 lb. Total.”
Owens finished in 1st place in her 105 lb. Weight class thanks to a 205 lb. Squat, a 110 lb. Bench press, a 250 lb. Dead lift which equaled a 565 lb. Total.
Zapata used a 265 lb. Squat, a 115 lb. Bench press and a 200 lb. Dead lift to account for a 580 lb. Total and to capture her gold medal.
Perez claimed her 1st place finish thanks to a 270 lb. Squat, a 150 lb. Bench press and a 315 lb. Dead lift which equaled a 740 lb. Total.
Last but not least, Ramon claimed her 1st place finish thanks to a 310 lb. Squat, a 150 lb. Bench press and a 285 lb. Dead lift to account for her 745 lb. Total.
Other finishes are as follows: 97 lb. Wc: Samantha Sanchez (2nd place) 220 lb. Squat, 115 lb. Bench press, 260 lb. Dead lift-595 lb. total.
105 lb. Wc: Emily Wheeler (2nd place) 185 lb. Squat, 110 lb. Bench press, 210 lb. Dead lift- 505 lb. total; Genesis Perez (3rd place) 180 lb. Squat, 75 lb. Bench press, 140 lb. Dead lift-395 lb. total; Jalesca Schorsh (4th place/B team) 120 lb. squat, 105 lb. bench press, 170 lb. dead lift-395 lb. total.
114 lb. Wc: Briana Paredes (3rd place/B) 200 lb. squat, 100 lb. bench press, 205 lb. dead lift-505 lb. total; Sophia Padilla (4th place/B) 175 lb. Squat, 95 lb. bench press, 235 lb. dead lift-505 lb. total; Carolina Tapia (6th place/B) 180 lb. squat, 100 lb. bench press, 175 lb. dead lift-455 lb. total; Katie Curiel (7th place/B) 175 lb. squat, 85 lb. bench press, 195 lb. dead lift-455 lb. total.
123 lb. wc: Angelica Padilla (2nd place) 205 lb. squat, 115 lb. bench press, 220 lb. dead lift-540 lb. total; Hailey Manka (4th place/B) 190 lb. squat, 120 lb. bench press, 200 lb. dead lift-510 lb. total.
132 lb. wc: Reagan Juarez (7th place/B) 240 lb. squat, 115 lb. bench press, 190 lb. dead lift-545 lb. total; Isabella Martinez (8th place/B) 200 lb. squat, 105 lb. bench press, 230 lb. dead lift-535 lb. total.
148 lb. wc: Sofia Almendarez (2nd place) 290 lb. squat, 160 lb. bench press, 260 lb. dead lift-710 lb. total; Gabryelle Contreras (3rd place) 275 lb. squat, 120 lb. bench press, 245 lb. dead lift-640 lb. total; Julie Rivera (4th place/B) 260 lb. squat, 120 lb. bench press, 245 lb squat-625 lb. total; Trista Vera (8th/B) 230 lb. squat, 105 lb. bench press, 220 lb. dead lift-555 lb. total; Kaelyn Lara (10th place/B) 210 lb. squat, 130 lb. bench press, 195 lb. squat-535 lb. total; Kara Chapa (11th place/B) 190 lb. squat, 105 lb. bench press, 200 lb. squat-495 lb. total; Kendall Tanner (14th place/B) 170 lb. squat, 115 lb. bench press, 175 lb. dead lift-460 lb. total.
165 lb. wc: Gabby Munoz (6th place/B) 250 lb. squat, 115 lb. bench press, 260 lb. dead lift-625 lb. total.
181 lb. wc: Zita Perez (5th place) 220 lb. squat, 140 lb. bench press, 265 lb. dead lift-625 lb. total.
198 lb. wc: Natasha Dunn (5th place) 310 lb. squat, 150 lb. bench press, 260 lb. dead lift-555 lb. total.
“Our team competed very well with some stand-out performances,” Coach Crowther said.
A big thank you
“I would like to thank the following sponsors who made this meet possible through their financial donations: CD Tire, Eric Smith-North Park Chevrolet, Munoz Brothers Construction, Saldana Construction, Drive Thru Express, Crowther’s, Mustang Electric, Gates Diesel Service, DJ Mayhem and Texas Screen Printers,” Athletic Director Ilyan Martinez said.
“I would also like to thank all former Mustang Powerlifters who came back to volunteers and judge our meet. I also want to thank the Mustang Athletic Boosters, our parents and families that pitched in a hand to assist and all of our kids who came out to spot or load. It was a true team effort,” Martinez said.
Upcoming Meet
Natalia returns to action tomorrow, January 10th as they travel to San Antonio to Texas Strength systems Gym to compete in their 2nd meet of the season.

Mustangs
The Natalia Mustang Powerlifting program got off to a great start to their 2018-2019 season at their 2nd Annual Mustang Strong Powerlifting Invitational last Saturday. The Stangs were led by senior state lifter Manny Padilla who took 1st place in his 132 lb. weight class and was named the top lifter in the 114-148 weight class.
Thanks to the efforts of Padilla and 30+ other lifters, the Stangs were able to finish tied as a team for 1st place, before bowing into 2nd place due to tie-breaker points to the 5A Medina Valley Panthers (both finished with 56 team points). Rounding out team action was Cotulla who finished with 37 points, San Antonio East Central (29), Uvalde (22), San Antonio Brooks Academy (13) and Center Point (1).
“This was the first meet of the season and we didn’t quite live up to our expectation after we were edged out slightly by MV,” Coach Kasey Crowther said. “I am extremely proud of our efforts through and looking forward to the season ahead.”
Padilla was one of three lifters to finish with gold medals, as he did so in his 132 lb. weight class thanks to a 1,175 lb. total. His total included a 475 lb. squat, a 225 lb. bench press and a 475 lb. dead lift.
Michael Martinez was next in line for the boys in blue, as he claimed a 1st place finish in the 220 lb. weight class thanks to 1,275 lb. total. This total included a 570 lb. squat, a 260 lb. bench press and a 445 lb. dead lift.
Rounding out 1st place finishes for the Stangs was Paul Billalobos who captured the gold in the 275 lb. weight class. He used a 270 lb. squat, a 265 lb. bench press and a 510 lb. dead lift to account for his 1,345 lb. total.
Other finishes: (Note: All individuals who have a “B” next to their finish competed as individuals due to limits on the number of participants who could actually compete as apart of the Mustang Team versus the other “team competition”)
114 lb. wc: Wyatt Owens (3rd place) 145 lb. squat, 100 lb. bench press, 260 lb. dead lift-505 lb. total.
123 lb. wc: Donovan Hawkins (3rd place) 255 lb. squat, 150 lb. bench press, 280 lb. dead lift-685 lb. total.
148 lb. wc: Adrian Vasquez )4th place/B) 390 lb. squat, 185 lb. bench press, 425 lb. dead lift-1,000 lb. total; Ryan Juarez (6th place/B) 335 lb. squat, 190 lb. bench press, 405 lb. dead lift-930 lb. total’ Gregorio Bartolo (7th place/B) 390 lb. squat, 185 lb. bench press, 355 lb. dead lift-930 lb. total; Roberto Curiel (11th place) 330 lb. squat, 180 lb. bench press, 355 lb. dead lift-845 lb. total; Chris Saldana (13th/B) 270 lb. squat, 165 lb. bench press, 335 lb. dead lift-770 lb. total; Landon McDole (14th place/B) 285 lb. squat, 185 lb. bench press, 300 lb. dead lift-770 lb. total.
165 lb. wc: Saul Valadez (6th place/B) 370 lb. squat, 185 lb. bench press, 350 lb. dead lift-905 lb. total; Xavier Vasquez (7th place/B) 340 lb. squat, 195 lb. bench press, 355 lb. dead lift-890 lb. total; Isaac Duenez (8th place/B) 300 lb. squat, 200 lb. bench press, 355 lb. dead lift-855 lb. total; Isaac Rios (9th place/B) 315 lb. squat, 185 lb. bench press, 355 lb. dead lift-855 lb. total; Jared Stallworth (11th place/B) 300 lb. squat, 175 lb. bench press, 315 lb. dead lift-790 lb. total.
181 lb. wc: Joel Rios (3rd place) 410 lb. squat, 245 lb. bench press, 445 lb. dead lift-1,100 lb. total; Brad Martin (4th place) 400 lb. squat, 190 lb. bench press, 330 lb. dead lift-920 lb. total; Matt Contreras (5th place) 380 lb. squat, 200 lb. bench press, 340 lb. dead lift-920 lb. total; Joel Mendez (6th place/B) 360 lb. squat, 215 lb. bench press, 330 lb. dead lift-905 lb. total.
198 lb. wc: Gregorio Mendez (5th place/B) 385 lb. squat, 250 lb. bench press, 400 lb. dead lift-1,035 lb. total; Fabian Ruiz (6th place/B) 395 lb. squat, 185 lb. bench press, 425 lb. dead lift-1,005 lb. total; Jacob Navarro (7th place/B) 405 lb. squat, 195 lb. bench press, 355 lb. dead lift-955 lb. total; Austin Guzman (9th place/B) 300 lb. squat, 190 lb. bench press, 335 lb. dead lift-825 lb. total; Isaiah Santoya (10th place/B) 310 lb. squat, 180 lb. bench press, 310 lb. squat-800 lb. total.
220 lb. wc: Jeremiah Gomez (2nd place) 420 lb. squat, 245 lb. bench press, 460 lb. dead lift-1,125 lb. total; Isaiah Sanchez (5th place/B) 425 lb. squat, 215 lb. bench press, 385 lb. dead lift-1,025 lb. total.
242 lb. wc: Uriel Arellano (2nd place) 495 lb. squat, 340 lb. bench press, 515 lb. dead lift-1,350 lb. total; Dustin Soto (6th place/B) 455 lb. squat, 225 lb. bench press, 380 lb. dead lift-1,060 lb. total; Diego Hernandez (8th place/B) 320 lb. squat, 210 lb. bench press, 335 lb. dead lift-865 lb. total.
275 lb. wc: Juan Vera (6th place/B) 330 lb. squat, 190 lb. bench press, 310 lb. dead lift-830 lb. total.
SHWC: Joaquin Munoz (5th place) 385 lb. squat, 205 lb. bench press, 425 lb. dead lift-1,015 lb. total.
“Our team competed very well and we are back to work getting ready for our meet next Thursday,” Crowther said.
A big thank you
“I would like to thank the following sponsors who made this meet possible through their financial donations: CD Tire, Eric Smith-North Park Chevrolet, Munoz Brothers Construction, Saldana Construction, Drive Thru Express, Crowther’s, Mustang Electric, Gates Diesel Service, DJ Mayhem and Texas Screen Printers,” Athletic Director Ilyan Martinez said.
“I would also like to thank all former Mustang Powerlifters who came back to volunteers and judge our meet. I also want to thank the Mustang Athletic Boosters, our parents and families that pitched in a hand to assist and all of our kids who came out to spot or load. It was a true team effort,” Martinez said.
Upcoming Meet
The Mustangs will be back in action on Thursday, January 17th at Texas Strength Systems Gym in San Antonio.
By Eric Smith