by MARK CAUL
Lehman’s David Garza gets set to successfully squat an amazing 580 pounds during regionals last weekend. He is one of five Lobos headed to state. (Photo by Jacob Torres)
Don’t look now - but there is a budding new dynasty at Lehman. For the second consecutive year, the Lobos will be well represented in the upcoming State Powerlifting Meet.
Both the Lehman boys and girls squads finished third overall in their respective divisions at the Region II- Division I meet at Dripping Springs High School over the weekend.
As a result, Lehman will send a school record five athletes to state competition.
As expected, senior David Garza, one of the state’s top competitors, had no trouble securing a spot in the state meet by dominating his regional opponents in the 220-pound class with an impressive first place finish.
Joining Garza at the state boys meet, which will be held in Abilene on March 26-27, will be Brandon Alford, who finished second in the 123-pound division behind Del Valle’s Marcus Manley.
“David did exactly what everybody thought he was going to do,” said Lehman head coach Eric Ray. “Everybody knew he was going to take it to the next level and that’s exactly what he did. His goal is to win a state championship and he’s working extremely hard to make that possible. Brandon (qualifying) wasn’t one of the favorites going into the regional meet, but we knew what type of work ethic he had and it has really paid off for him. I’m extremely proud of both of these guys for making it to state.”
Garza is excited to be able to compete for a state title in his final year of competition.
“The goal has always been winning the state championship,” Garza said. “I’ve pushed myself harder than I ever have and it has paid off for me. But I don’t want to be satisfied with just getting there. I want to bring the title home with me.”
Garza completed the meet with 1525 points, outpacing Granbury’s Jesse Hernandez by 60 points.
Senior Jacob Torres narrowly missed a shot at state as he lost a tiebreaker based on body weight after completing the meet tied with Zerrick Merchant of A&M Consolidated in overall points.
Junior Jon Frasier finished third in the 165-pound class.
Burleson topped the team totals followed by Belton and Lehman.
Lehman will also have three members of its girls squad competing on the state level with Michaela Castillo and Sheila Martinez both making a return trip to the girls meet, which will held March 19-20 in Corpus Christi.
Castillo, was the runner-up in the 114-pound level and will join fellow junior Sheila Martinez for their second trip to state.
Newcomer Shelbi Snyder is also among the Lehman contingent who will be competing on the girls side.
Lehman’s Shannon Pickett unfortunately missed out on a state trip by a mere five points.
Ray believes all five athletes will be in the mix for gold at their respective state meets.
“It shows how far our program has come to have five people competing on the state level,” Ray said. “It’s something these kids have worked so hard for all year long. I think they each will have a very good chance to be successful in the biggest meet of the year. It would be awesome to see all their hard work over the past two years pay off.”
