Competitors: Gonie Altman, Jacob Cadieux, Victor Delgado, Blake Gamez, Brie Gomez, Maddie Graham, Dillon James, Zach Rickmeyer, Maanas Sathaye
University of Texas Weightlifting Men’s and Women’s team saw an all-time best team performance at the Under 25 National Championships, walking away Team Champions in the Men and Women’s Divisions!
Tuesday
The team was led off by Maanas Sathaye who went 5 for 6 on the day, hitting 83/111/194, earned competition PRs in both lifts and a total PR! Blake Gamez lifted next, sweeping the Men’s 55kg Class. Gamez’s 83/104/187 5 for 6 day brought him gold in the snatch, clean & jerk and total! Jacob Cadieux followed, going 2 for 3 in the snatch with 89kg, and 2 for 3 in the clean & jerk with 117kg competition PR, earning him a Total PR! As well, Jacob’s clean & jerk and total were strong enough to earn those two Team Records in the Men’s 67kg Class!
On the women’s side, Brie Gomez got things started. Brie snatched 77kg to take silver in the Women’s 59kg Class. While clean & jerks didn’t go as well to finish on the podium in the total, Brie’s 77/88/165 day is a 5kg PR in the 59kg class. As well, Brie claimed all 3 of the Team Records in the Women’s 59kg Class with this huge performance!
Wednesday
Dillon James, training with Austin Barbell Club in South Austin, started off the second day of competition for the University of Texas Weightlifting Team! Dillon went 2 for 6, going 95/120/215. His 120kg clean & jerk was a competition PR. Gonie Altman was the next Longhorn to lift. She had a huge 6 for 6 performance with all-time PRs in both the snatch and clean & jerk, turning in a 6kg increase in her total from her last competition at University National Championships in March of this year! Gonie went 63/81/144 on the day.
Also in the Women’s 64kg Class, Maddie Graham followed Gonie Altman’s lead with her own massive performance. With Maddie’s 5 for 6 performance, she earned bronze in the snatch and bronze in the total! Maddie went 72kg, 74kg, 76kg in the snatch for a competition PR, and clean & jerked 86kg and 90kg before be called on a press out at 94kg. Maddie finished the day with a PR 166kg total. This performance earned her the snatch Team Record in her weight class!
The last athlete for Wednesday was Victor Delgado, competing in both the Junior and U25 National Championship. Victor’s 3 for 6 day was hard fought. His 117kg snatch was a competition PR, followed by a huge opener at his previous competition PR of 140kg. Victor’s 257kg day was a total PR! He walked away with two new Team Records in the snatch and total for the Men’s 89kg Class!
Thursday
The final day of competition left only Zach Rickmeyer to lift. Zach played a major role in making sure everyone got where they needed to be the entire week, and ended the long week with a PR-filled performance. Zach went 2 for 3 in the snatch, ending at 101kg and a competition PR, and then went on to go 3 for 3 in the clean & jerk. His clean & jerk performance, hitting 124kg was an all-time PR in the lift, and in the total!
All in all, the team made 74% of their snatch attempts, bringing home 3 medals, 6 competition PRs, and set the stage for impressive performances across the board. In the clean & jerk, the team made 66% of their lifts, bringing home 1 clean & jerk medal, 2 total medals, 5 competition clean & jerk PRs, 6 total PRs, and wrapped up the Men’s & Women’s U25 National Championships!
