On March 25th, the Roughneck Powerlifting team captured its second State Championship in a row! This team can forever claim 2021 & 2022 as the year they dominated the powerlifting field in the state of Texas.
“It's really hard to win the first one, but it's even harder to win the second one,” Coach Newton commented. Winning one state powerlifting title is hard, but winning two is even harder and Coach Newton and the guys showed everyone it could be done. This goes to show that hard work and dedication can lead to success, and the guys definitely showed how hard they worked and how dedicated they were the whole year to lead up to another State Championship ring.
Coach Newton stressed to his athletes, “We felt like our competition was ourselves more than anybody else, and we felt like if we took care of ourselves then everything else would fall into place.” There are plenty of things that go into winning a State Powerlifting Meet like being healthy, staying focused, and working everyday to get better. The theme for the year included key words: process, family, and compete. The athletes took those words to heart.
The SHS guys that competed at the State Powerlifting Meet in Abilene are as follows: Michael Salazar-9th place in 114 WT Class, Mark Rubalcava-8th Place 148 WT Class, Kevin Garcia-1st place 181 WT Class, EJ Hernandez-4th place 181 WT Class, Diego Hernandez-3rd place 198 WT Class, Andrew Hernandez-2nd place 220 WT Class, Andy Castillo-1st place 242 WT Class, Dekota Golightly-8th place 242 WT Class, Jeffery Rodriguez-4th place 275 WT Class, Chris Castillo-7th place 275 WT Class, and lastly Konar Alaman-4th place SHW.
Kevin Garcia and Andy Castillo both placed 1st as individuals, setting the tone to help lead the team to another state title with 27 points. Out of the eleven state qualifiers, four finished in the top three of their respective weight classes and made their way to the medal stand.
Putting athletics to the side, Coach Newton teaches his student-athletes how to be better men, how to be better husbands, and how to be better leaders in society. He tells his athletes, “The weight that's on the bar will weigh you down, but life will weigh you down too if you let it.” The main thing Coach Newton tries to preach is to be the best version of yourself.
A week later, on March 30th, SISD hosted a powerlifting celebration, honoring the athletes and coaches, including Barry Newton, Kevin Torres and Sarah Goodman, who will wear another state ring, symbolizing all the hours of sweat and dedication this last year of powerlifting. Sundown is proud of all of you, representing the school and community in true Roughneck fashion!