The largest University of Texas National Weightlifting team to date turned in a stellar performance in Columbus as part of the Arnold Sports Festival.
Thursday
The University of Texas Weightlifting Team started the 4-day competition off with four athletes across two platforms: Eleni Georgiou and Amelia Kushner competed in the 59G session while Blake Gamez and Aaron Xu in lifted in the 55A session. Eleni Georgiou kicked off the UT team with a 4 for 6 day, going 50/64/114. Her performance earned her a top 10 placement in the Women’s 59kg class! At the same time, Amelia Kushner hit a huge 6 for 6 performance, going 50/67/117 and ending in 9th place for the Women’s 59kg class! This was both Eleni and Amelia’s first University National Championships!
On the men’s side, Aaron Xu got things started! After a misload on Aaron’s first attempt, he was credited with 61kg and went on to hit 63kg on his second attempt! His 3 for 3 clean & jerk day ended at 75kg! Aaron swept the silver in the Men’s 55kg class with his huge PR performance at his first ever national competition. Next up, Blake Gamez walked away with a gold medal sweep in the Men’s 55kg class. His 78/105/183 earned him the great distinction of being the University of Texas Weightlifting’s first University National Champion! The final lifter on Thursday evening was Maanas Sathaye! He went 84/113/197 for Competition PRs across the board while competing in the 73kg class!
Friday
On the second day of competition, the Men’s Team continued with Luis Leyva and Chiadika Obinwa in the 81kg and 89kg classes respectively. Both went 6 for 6 with PR performances at their first national competition! Luis snatched 82 and clean & jerked 115 for a 197 total on a perfect day. Meanwhile, Chiadika went 98/120/208 for a massive PR total and a 14th place finish in the Men’s 89kg class!
Saturday
The women’s team continued the competition on Saturday with Maddie Moore in the 71kg class and Brie Gomez in the 64kg class. Maddie had a strong 4 for 6 performance at her 3rd consecutive University National Championships! Her 77kg snatch ties her best snatch in competition. As well, her 92kg clean & jerk was the most she has ever hit in national competition, and her 169 total earned her 6th in the 71kg class. The final lifter on Saturday, Brie Gomez, had a huge PR 6 for 6 performance! Brie went 79-82-84 in the snatch and 95-98-101 in the clean & jerk for a silver sweep in the University National Championships. This performance also earned Brie All-American Honors! Furthermore, Brie’s 185 total booked her ticket to 2022 FISU American Games, where she will represent TEAM USA in Mérida, Mexico this October! To add to this success, Brie’s lifts were team records across the board in the 64kg class!
Sunday
On the final day of competition, Zach Rickmeyer got the team started in typical Zach fashion with a calm and collected 6 for 6 PR performance. At his second in-person national meet and second consecutive University National Championships, Zach went 106/129/235 for PRs across the board! This amazing performance also earned him 8th in the Men’s 109kg class!
The final two lifters of the weekend, Victor Delgado and Jamie Pearce, ended the weekend with strong performances. Victor’s 115/140/255 performance earned him 9th in the 102kg class. On the women’s side, Jamie snatched 69kg, clean & jerked 86kg and totaled 155 for the 4th place finish in the Women’s 87kg class! For Pearce, these lifts earned her team records in the 87kg class!
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All in all, the women’s, men’s and co-ed teams finished fourth in their respective team competitions. The team collected 9 individual medals, including one University National Champion in Blake Gamez, and two silver medalists in Aaron Xu and Brie Gomez!
The 12 member team made 75% of their snatches and 83% of their clean & jerks, with 9 members finishing in the top 10, and 5 members going 6 for 6!