Hernandez breaks powerlifting record, five girls headed to state

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Last Updated on March 7, 2016 – 12:35 PM CST

Above: Monica Hernandez (114), competing in squats, broke the regional deadlift record of 250 pounds with a 275-pound lift at Fort Stockton on Saturday. Five Dumas girls qualified for the powerlifting meet in Corpus Christi on March 19. (Photo by Liz Moreno)

Monica Hernandez didn’t just beat a regional deadlift record at Fort Stockton on Saturday, she left it in the dirt. Hernandez’s (114) 275-pound lift soared over the previous 255-pound record, and her teammate, Gabby Moreno (165), tied the regional total record of 755 pounds for all three lifts.

“It was a thrilling experience,” Moreno said. “It makes it so much more exciting having to actually push myself to make myself better, and that’s what I’ll be doing for the next two weeks.”

The team claimed three first-place medals, a second place, a third place, two fourth-place finishes and a fifth place. The eight medals pushed the girls to a second-place team finish with 34 points, six behind Plainview’s stockpile of 40. Along with Hernandez and Moreno, three other Dumas powerlifters, Kyla Clark (181), Emilee Courville (198) and Priscilla Zamarron (220-plus) qualified for the state meet in Corpus Christi on March 19.

“There’s going to be about 180 girls from the 5A schools lifting, so it’s going to be tough,” Coach Chuck Atchison said. “To make it down there is one thing, but to make it to the top 10 is really something. I’ll be ecstatic if we can do that. That would be a huge success.”

Atchison said Hernandez “didn’t have a great day on squats,” but she made up for it on bench and deadlift, and it might be why Hernandez said she’s going into the state meet “humbled” but determined to represent Dumas well.

“Last powerlifting season, it would have been nothing but a dream to do half the things I have accomplished this season,” Hernandez said. “All the time, effort and sweat has definitely paid off.”

The regional results are:

114 — Monica Hernandez (225 squat / 100 bench / 275 dead lift, 600-pound total) First Place

148 — Allysa Quintana (215 squat / 95 bench / 260 dead lift, 570-pound total) Eighth Place

165 — Gabby Moreno (310 squat / 125 bench / 320 dead lift, 755-pound total) First Place

165 — Alexis Lafever (300 squat / 110 bench / 265 dead lift, 675-pound total) Sixth Place

181 — Kyla Clark (275 squat / 135 bench / 295 dead lift, 705-pound total) First Place

181 — Mariana Loya (245 squat / 110 bench / 260 dead lift, 615-pound total) Fourth Place

181 — Yesenia Martinez (235 squat / 110 bench / 255 dead lift, 600-pound total) Fifth Place

198 — Emilee Courville (300 squat / 135 bench / 310 dead lift, 745-pound total) 3rd Place

198 — Dah Mu (245 squat / 75 bench / 230 dead lift, 550-pound total) 10th place

220 — Ester Chavez (240 squat / 100 bench / 270 dead lift, 610-pound total) Fourth Place

220-plus — Priscilla Zamarron (305 squat / 135 bench / 335 dead lift, 775-pound total) Second Place