Rams powerlifting starts the season with victory

BERNALILLO – The Rams took their talents to Bernalillo this past weekend to compete against seven other schools in the opening powerlifting competition of the season, the Terry Darnell Invite. And wouldn’t you know it, RRHS came out on top.

The boys beat out the host school by nine points (51-42), with Atrisco taking the final spot on the medal stand (39 points).

On the girls side, the Rams were completely dominant. RRHS beat the second-place team (Bernalillo) by a staggering 27 points and cleared the bronze-medal team (Atrisco) by 45 points.

“I love first meets because we can see what we need to work on to get stronger and better using that meet,” said Rams head coach Rocky Ramirez.

The Rams boys were led by five athletes who all got gold: Josiah Largo (132-pound weight class), Jayden Maxfield (148), Colton Anderson (198), Traevon Sewell (220) and Jose Zapien.

The girls had seven athletes take the top spot in their weight: Kahlen Ramirez (97), Arianna Dominguez (105), Madeline McIntyre (101), Hailey Barricklow (132), Kyana Brady (165), Mikayla Elis (198) and Jada Smith (220).

“Not too shabby, in my opinion,” said Ramirez.

The veteran head coach said his squad is ready for the season and ready to see their hard work come to fruition.

“We have 53 total lifters this year,” said Ramirez. “We lost 17 seniors last year, so [we are kind of] starting fresh. Like I tell [the Rams powerlifting team] every day, ‘we can only get stronger’.”

The Rams will get a chance to test their mettle at the NMAA State Powerlifting Championship at the Rio Rancho Events Center Apr. 4-5.

Last year, the RRHS boys finished in 3rd, after taking the title in 2023, 2022, and 2021 (the first year a champion was crowned.) The boys will certainly be looking to reclaim the title (currently held by hometown rivals, the Cleveland Storm.)

The girls, on the other hand, are the current state champs and are looking to defend that title. (They finished 3rd in 2023 and 4th in 2022. They did not compete in 2021.)

Ramirez said he is confident in his team and his athletes believe in themselves. Those are the keys, he feels, that will propel the Rams to another state title.

“Most definitely,” he said of the Rams chances at defending their crown. “We started working in October, and since then every athlete has improved tremendously, and we still have two more months until [the State Championship]. [We are] shooting for that blue trophy in both boys and girls, and a lot of 1st-place medals. I believe, and so do these kids, that they can do it.”

{span style=”text-decoration: underline;”}BHS Powerlifting Invite{/span}

Jan. 25, 2025 @ Bernalillo High School

{span style=”text-decoration: underline;”}BOYS{/span}

1. Rio Rancho, 51

2. Bernalillo, 42

3. Atrisco Heritage, 39

4. Legacy, 22

5. Highland, 18

6. West Las Vegas, 7

7. Alamo Navajo, 0

8. Magdalena, 0

{span style=”text-decoration: underline;”}GIRLS{/span}

1. Rio Rancho, 67

2. Bernalillo, 40

3. Atrisco Heritage, 22

4. West Las Vegas, 17

5. Legacy, 15

6. Highland, 14

7. Capital, 10

8. Alamo Navajo, 0