For the second year in a row, the Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) Javelina Powerlifting Club has brought home a trophy from the USA Powerlifting (USAPL) Collegiate Nationals meet.
This year the USAPL Collegiate Nationals were hosted at Texas A&M University (TAMU) in College Station, Texas. Because collegiate powerlifting is not an NCAA sport, USAPL has taken the responsibility of hosting powerlifting meets for universities.
“You will not find a better collegiate powerlifting experience than the one offered by the USAPL, there [is] a massive amount of competition with extremely well run meets,” according to the TAMU powerlifting website.
This competition was one of the meets the Javelina Powerlifting club decided to compete at as a team. Between April 19 and April 22, Javelina powerlifters competed at TAMU against other students from universities across the nation for the title of USAPL Collegiate National champions.
This year was the second time TAMUK’s Javelina Powerlifting team competed at the national competition. At the meet, 18 TAMUK students competed against other students from Division II schools as well as those from Division I and Division III universities. Competitors were divided up by their weight class, gender and “equipped” or “raw” lifting categories. Mark Bocanegra, the Javelina Powerlifting club president, expressed that he enjoys competing at meets such as the USAPL Collegiate Nationals because he meets new people while competing against universities. For him, competing also builds trust within the team.
“What really drives this team, I say, is that everyone knows everyone’s putting in work so we have that trust with each other,” Bocanegra said.
Nico Recio, a member of the Javelina Powerlifting club, and Bocanegra said they felt both nervous and excited while competing.
“You’re excited, you’re nervous, you don’t know what’s going to happen, you’re worried about the rest of your team mates…it’s a crazy meet,” Bocanegra said.
However, despite these nerves, the Javelina Powerlifting team received a 2nd place trophy in the Male Raw Division. Along with the 2nd place trophy, the Javelina Powerlifting club had five individuals place in the top five of their respective weight classes. Thomas Soto placed 1st, AJ Alvarez 2nd, Luis Gonzalez 3rd, Nico Recio 4th and Matt Garcia 5th.
Although, the team was happy they placed, Recio expressed he felt mild disappointment because the team had won first place at the 2017 USAPL Collegiate Nationals. But, for him and other members of the Javelina Powerlifting team, they are more motivated to compete at the 2019 USAPL Collegiate Nationals and once again come back to TAMUK with a first-place trophy.
