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SPORTS
Cleveland powerlifting takes V-Day meet, powers through Hawks and Vikings
Storm powerlifting took home a holiday victory at Valley High
Published
ALBUQUERQUE — Flowers, chocolates and…barbells?
Not an ordinary sight for Valentine's Day, but the norm for the Cleveland Storm powerlifting team, who took first place in the Valley High School “Valentine’s Day Tri Meet” Saturday.
Cleveland had 11 lifters take top spots in the three-team faceoff, tallying 21 athletes who posted a winning position or runner-up finish.
The Storm boys took down Volcano Vista and Valley, 72-44-32, taking victories across divisions, ranging from the 123-pounders to the super heavyweights.
In the 100s, Mario Munoz, Evangelo Hodges and Eli Sanchez all finished first, with Jakob Urioste, Wyatt Lohr and Damion Lopez winning in the 200s and up.
On the girls' side, it was a nail-biter between the Storm and Hawks, but thanks to five first-place finishes, Cleveland was able to best Volcano 58-57 for the weekend crown.
Lailana Martinez, Jade Chavez and Ambree Mason dominated the lighter weights for the electric blue, becoming three champions all under the 114 range. Danielle Ortiz (148) and Elizabeth Cousins (259) would round out the victory with some much-needed points.
It was a deja vu-like weekend for Cleveland. Not just due to another meeting with the Vikings and Hawks, but via another dominating performance. Just two weeks prior, the Storm bested the Hawks in a meet at Volcano, taking both the boys and girls competition in the end-of-January duel.
Six different Storm boys recorded over 1,000 cumulative pounds of weight, between the squat, deadlift and bench press competitions. For the girls, they would take six of the top 10 spots, with three girls lifting over 500 cumulative pounds.
The big-time names for this blue crew? Emilio Perez and Elizabeth Cousins.
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Cousins, the Cleveland girls' recent 259 champion, led the competition in the squat and deadlift categories, including being the only female lifter to squat over 200 pounds.
Perez would follow a similar formula for the boys, being the only one to squat over 400 pounds and post an over 1,100 cumulative pound meet total.
Cleveland may be hitting their stride at the perfect time, as their next matchup will be an important one: hosting Rio Rancho High School in March.
The Rams opened up the competition season with a big win at the Spartan Invite in January, but as spring inches closer, it may be Cleveland’s time to bloom.
