When the powerlifting team started in 2022, it was hard to imagine that they would come as far as they have.
“I’d be lying if I said yes,” team coach Rudy Martinez said when asked if he originally thought their level of success was possible. “I knew we were going to do something and make some noise. But I never thought it could get to this level.”
The Española boys powerlifting team went toe-to-tie with the very best at the April 13 state championships in Rio Rancho. They won second place as a team, had three individual champions, and seven Sundevils placed in the top three. Jack Purdy, Leandro Salazar and Bryan Almeida were the individual champions.
“I’m just happy that god put me in this position today, and he just let me do great things,” Purdy said. “Actually, physically doing it, with the crowd, it’s surreal right now.”
The whole team, almost all football players, many of whom have been friends since childhood, are clearly just as close outside of the gym. It’s common to see them all together getting rowdy at basketball games. And Martinez said they have a lot of fun as a team, while pushing each other to get better.
“What I’ve seen is something I’ve never seen in the Valley before,” Martinez said. “I see kids that are fighting, that don’t want to lose, and they are giving everything they have. I’ve never seen kids like these that fight.”
“It should let the kids know, everybody, not just the powerlifters and the football players, but everybody,” Martinez said. “If they put effort in, they have the ability to do whatever they want. We’ve got great kids in the Valley, and they don’t believe in themselves. These kids do. The put the belief in themselves.”
Lovington ultimately won for the second-straight year (and in 2022 and 2021, they were the top 4A team). But the Sundevils battled them hard. In the fall, many of their competitors went literally head-to-head on the lines in the football state tournament, as Lovington won 52-0. Española was seeking to prove they could compete.
The competition has three parts — squat, bench press, and deadlift. Each competitor gets three attempts on each lift, and choose their weight to attempt but cannot decrease. The final score tallies the biggest successful lift on the three events. And team scores are determined by placements within each weight class for the top five.
After the squats, the Sundevils led Lovington by one point. After two rounds, they were tied. But Lovington had a final burst in the deadlifts, and wound up the state champion with 49 total points to Española’s 38. Though they had just one individual champion, the Wildcats had a remarkable six second-place finishers.
“For the first two rounds, their coach, he was sweating,” Martinez said.
But powerlifting is also a collaborative sport in many ways. And the competitors from various schools became friends throughout the day.
Four Sundevils competed at state last year, and all made the top three. This year, while those four all performed incredibly, they had even more contributions than they expected. Sophomore Miguel Galvan lifted 600 total pounds and placed second. Ezekiel Cuevas had a strong meet and finished third. And Jesus Gonzales placed third, right behind EJ Martinez in 242 pounds.
“Everybody here deserves what they got, and so much more,” Salazar said.
But the four returners were the stars of the event, and remain the heart of the team.
Purdy repeated as state champion, this time in the 132-pound class. He lifted a total of 865 pounds, including a personal-best 190 in the bench press. He won his class by 95 pounds, with the outcome hardly in doubt. After receiving his medal on the podium, Purdy was openly weeping.
Almeida, who placed second last year similarly dominated the competition, winning by 90 at the 308 class. He completed a very impressive 550-pound deadlift, and finished with 1310 total.
And Salazar, who finished third a year ago, won his class by a whopping 165 pounds, finishing with 1325 total, the highest across all weight classes for the whole day.
“Chungus,” as he’s affectionately called by teammates, extended his own record in the bench press, lifting 385 on his first try. That is the highest total across all New Mexico weight classes and classifications.
His second and third attempts were at 405, weights he has consistently lifted throughout the season, but on this day he could not finish the weight. He maxed at 410 in local competition, but only lifts from the state meet count as official records. Still, as a junior, he has another year to try to improve his own record.
EJ Martinez weighed in at 212, but has opted this year to compete in the 242-class, thinking it would be easier at the top. But Elijah Duran of Valencia became a surprisingly strong opponent, and finished with a higher total to defeat the defending champion.
In the final round, both needed to set new personal bests for a championship. But Martinez came just short, getting most of the way up before falling over, while Duran converted for the win. Purdy compared it to watching LeBron James block Andre Iguodala in the NBA finals.
Martinez’s total of 1260 was five pounds behind the leaders in 220, and with an easier final deadlift, he likely could have been that weight class’s champion.
“I never began this journey for a medal,” EJ Martinez said. “I began this journey for myself. And this is going to stick with me for my entire life.”
Adrian Fuentes finished fifth at 123 pounds. And fellow juniors Jacob Martinez qualified and finished just outside the top five in 198 pounds.
The state championship also featured team alumni Juan Aldaz and Melorie Martinez as judges for the competition.
A year ago, Rudy Martinez was unable to be at the competition. Partway through the season, he was hospitalized with an illness, and missed much of the season. This year, he was able to be with the team and celebrate their successes.
“Literally, these guys called me up, and I was in the hospital for state last year, and I was crying,” Martinez said.
Martinez clearly has a special relationship with the athletes, beyond just a coach and athlete. He has coached them in football and powerlifting, some in track and field, throughout high school. And joining forces with head football coach Tylon Wilder, who previously coached a strong Silver team, including a 2021 girls state championship, pushed the team to incredible heights.
“Rudy’s like my second dad,” Almeida said.
“For Rudy to be in the building this year, I’m so emotional,” Purdy said through tears. “They’re like fathers to me. I can’t even describe it.”
Sophomore girl reaches podium
The Española team qualified all four of its girls for the state competition on April 12. Despite a challenging day, they placed two competitors in the top five, including Olivia Suazo in second place in the 105-pound weight class.
“I’m feeling great about how I performed today,” Suazo said. “I just felt confident.”
Freshman Nikki Martinez finished fifth in the 198-pound category.
Sophomore Anna Lee Trujillo qualified at 198 pounds, but was sick the day of the competition and had to be scratched. And fellow sophomore Michelle Herrera, at 97 pounds, failed in all three of her bench-press attempts. Martinez said this was likely due to nerves for the first-year competitor, and otherwise she could have finished third.
“They deserve a lot of credit, because it’s hard to be in a gym with all boys and it’s just them,” Rudy Martinez said. “For four out of four girls to make state, I think that’s pretty awesome.”
Suazo nearly had a similar disaster in the bench press. She missed on her first two attempts. But on the third try, she pulled through.
“It just wasn’t my day,” she said. “If I didn’t get that, I would have been completely out. I’m not lifting tomorrow, today’s my last day lifting for the season. I just got to do it. I just was pretending I was back home, lifting with the guys in the weight room.”
For part of the season, Suazo has to balance powerlifting with tennis, where she is the girls team’s top singles player. She had to miss part of a tennis meet while competing for powerlifting at state. After school, she goes to tennis practice from 3:30-5:40 p.m., then hits the weight room until 7 p.m., with the coaches keeping it open for her.
A year ago, as a freshman, Suazo finished third. This year, she improved to second.
“I’m looking for first,” Suazo said. “I’m going to be at the weight room this whole summer.”
Suazo credited the boys on the team with creating an amazing environment, and making every day fun in the weight room.