For Escalante High School senior Abigail Martinez, learning to powerlift has not been just about competing in a sport. It’s more about gaining self confidence and being able to control her own destiny.
“I had some circumstances growing up that made me feel as if I was weak,” she said. “Weak and not able to stick up for myself.”
But getting into the gym and succeeding in hoisting big weights has changed that perspective.
“Once I got into power lifting, now I no longer feel weak for standing up for myself and I have a lot more empowerment in standing up for myself.”
Martinez is part of a five-member Lobos contingent that will be competing in the New Mexico state power lifting championships Friday and Saturday at the Rio Rancho Events Center.
Española Valley is the only other local school competing in the event and will be sending seven boys and five girls to represent the Sundevils.
Heading back to state for Martinez is also important because at last year’s event, when she was seeded second, she overdid it and injured her hip, an ailment for which she is still undergoing weekly physical therapy.
“It didn’t go how I expected,” she said of last year’s state competition. “When I was doing squat, I injured my hip.”
It didn’t curtail her meet, but it did prevent her from competing at her best.
“I wasn’t able to get the lift I needed to get higher up on the podium,” Martinez said, adding it turned out to be a good life lesson. “I was able to take from it that I shouldn’t push myself as hard. The safety of myself comes first before my lift.”
Her dad, Earl Martinez, is the Lobos coach and is looking for a strong performance not only from his daughter in the 180-pound division, but he also expects big things from senior Kaeden Iocca in the boys 275-pound division, where he is seeded second.
“Kaeden is a rancher kid,” Earl Martinez said. “I coach his little brother in YAFL and told his mom we were doing powerlifting and we talked with Kaeden, we were able to get him to come in and see what he has.”
And the results have been strong.
“He’s unbelievable,” Earl Martinez said. “He’s put up some huge numbers, numbers that we thought were huge. Every time he competes, he moves the mark higher and higher. That says a lot about his dedication.”
Earl Martinez is hopeful he has some athletes standing on the podium when it’s over, but his daughter is just looking forward to the competition.
“I get extremely excited,” she said of successfully lifting her weight. “I look around because it feels like the whole world stops when you do it. Then I start to jump up and down, and I run and hug my dad when I see him.”
For the Sundevils, coach Rudy Martinez is looking for a strong team finish after the Española boys took second to Lovington last season.
“We didn’t do as good as last year because we didn’t get as many athletes qualified,” he said. “But we’ve been very successful. We had three state champions last year and we’ve had a total of eight state champions in four years.”
Still, Rudy Martinez has high expectations for his group.
“Like every coach, I expect a state championship but realistically, we’ll be a top three team, and the girls should be in the top six or seven,” he said. “They should do really well. I’m looking forward to next year when we’ll have a full girls team and I expect them to do very well.”
Rudy Martinez is looking for a repeat title from his big man, Leandro Salazar, who is the state record-holder for popping iron.
“He was the first kid to bench over 300 and now he’s up to 385, and he’s benched over 400 in two competitions,” Rudy Martinez said.
The program is still looking for its first state champion on the girls side, but Rudy Martinez is convinced this season that drought comes to an end.
Olivia Suazo, who also plays tennis for the Sundevils, is top ranked in the 114 division by more than 50 pounds. Her best total for the three lifts is 455 pounds.
“That’s four times her body weight,” Rudy Martinez said.
The team does well, he said, because they enjoy themselves.
“I think the big reason why we’re so successful is the kids want to do it,” he said. “They want to do something different. They have a lot of fun doing it. It’s more like a social club than it is a weight lifting program. They go in, push each other to do better and they have a lot of fun together. You can feel that in the meets and when you talk to them.”
Española Valley qualifiers
Boys: Adrian Fuentes, junior, 114 pounds; Lawrence Carrasco, senior, 148; Lucas Martinez, sophomore, 165; Joshua Ramirez-Carrasco, senior, 181; Jacob Martinez, senior, 220; Jesus Gonzales, senior, 242; Leandro Salazar, senior, 275.
Girls: Michelle Herrera, junior, 105; Taylyne Aragon, eighth grade, 105; Olivia Suazo, junior, 114; Naquita Martinez, sophomore, 198; Anna Lee Trujillo, junior, 198.
Escalante qualifiers
Boys: Darian Ulibarri, eighth, 114; Patricio Lucero, sophomore, 165; Kaeden Iocca, senior, 275.
Girls: Araseli Trujillo, eighth, 105; Abigail Martinez, senior, 181.