Austin, TX -- On November 5th, 2022, the University of Texas Weightlifting Team hosted the inaugural Southwest University Regional Championships on the University of Texas campus.
The partnered event with USA Weightlifting was sponsored by Rogue Fitness, and was the first regional collegiate event of its kind to be held. The previous fall, UT Weightlifting hosted the Longhorn Invitational, a collegiate only event that invited lifters from all over Texas to compete on the UT campus, serving as a pilot for a larger event to be held in the future.
The 2021 Longhorn Invitational brought together just under 60 collegiate weightlifters from across Texas, while the 2022 Southwest University Regional Championships hosted 82 lifters from 18 different schools across 5 states! Among these lifters, 16 of them were UT members. At the conclusion, the women's team had earned a team title and the men's team placed runner-up to Texas State.
On the women's side, the team finished with 3 regional champions, 2 regional silver medalists, and 10 competition PRs. Amelia Kushner took gold in the 59kg class with 113 total on a 4 for 6 day; Brie Gomez took gold in the 64kg class, ending with a 181 total and Best Female Lifter; and Maggie Dominguez earned gold in the 87kg class with a 55kg competition PR snatch and 66kg clean & jerk. The two regional silver medalists, Riley Walsh (76kg) and Olivia Jackson (87kg+) both hit big PR performances to earn their podium finishes. Caroline Hittler (64kg), Andrea Spina (71kg) and Maris Green (71kg) rounded out the amazing collective performance with two 4th and one 5th place finish, also recording PRs in one or both lifts.
The men had their own impressive collective performance with one regional champion, 2 regional silver medalists and 18 competition PRs to earn them a second place team finish. Aaron Xu earned the regional championship title in the 61kg class with all-time PRs (67/80/147). The two regional silver medalists, Fernando Miranda- Fred (96kg) and Victor Delgado (109kg) set all new competition PRs with 5 for 6 performances. Rohaan Saripella (73kg), Chiadika Obinwa (81kg), Luis Leyva (89kg) and Tyler Villarreal (89kg) all hit PRs in one or both lifts. The biggest PR performance on the day was from newcomer Joseph Clark (96kg) who went 6 for 6 and increased his total by 22kg from his first meet!
Looking to the future, UT Weightlifting hopes to see this event held on other university campuses across the Southwest University Region, which includes Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas.