Colorado Springs, Colorado -- The University of Texas Weightlifting Team took to the competition platform at the USA Weightlifting Nationals week. Nine athletes competed across three days with several lifetime performances to bring home individual and team titles.
Tuesday, 27 June 2023
Aaron Xu (61kg) started off the teams week of strong performance with a 6 for 6 PR-laden performance. Following up his 6 for 6 performance in Columbus, OH. at the University National Championships, Aaron held on to his perfect streak on the national stage in 2023. Aaron snatched 63kg, 67kg and 71kg, and then went on to clean & jerk 81kg, 85kg, 89kg. This 160kg PR total was a 6kg increase from Columbus!
Amelia Kushner (59kg) got the competition started for the women. After a slow start in the snatches, hitting only her opening attempt at 56kg, Amelia went on to go 3 for 3 in the clean & jerk, hitting 65kg, 69kg (PR) and 72kg (PR)! Her 128kg total was a competiton total PR!
Wednesday, 28 June 2023
Caroline Hittler (64kg) kept the train rolling for the women’s team at her first U25 National Championships! Caroline opened her snatch with a competition PR at 56kg, then hit another at 59kg on her second attempt, before barely losing her third attempt at 61kg out in front! In the clean & jerk, Caroline opened with another competition PR at 75kg. She pressed out her second attempt at 78kg, but came back to make it convincingly on her third attempt! Her 137 total was a 15kg increase from her performance at University Nationals in Columbus in March!!
Luis Leyva (89kg) and Chiadika Obinwa (89kg) finished up the second day of competition together! Luis competed in both the Junior National Championships and the U25 National championships. His 4 for 6 day increased all his competition bests! Luis snatched 93kg, 96kg (PR) and narrowly missed 99kg. Luis clean & jerked 125kg on his third attempt for another new competition PR and his 221kg total was a 7kg increase! Chiadika had a rough start to his second U25 Nationals, missing his first two snatches before making a clutch 100kg attempt on his third! He then proceeded to record a huge PR clean & jerk and total! Chiadika clean & jerked 125kg, 130kg (comp PR) and then a 134kg PR! Chiadika’s 234kg total was a 5kg total increase from March!
Thursday, 29 June 2023
Joseph Clark (96kg) kept the PR train rolling for the third straight day of competition! Joseph opened his snatch with a competition PR at 114kg before hitting 117kg on his second attempt and 120kg on his third for a 7kg increase. In the clean & jerk, Joseph opened with another competition PR at 136kg, followed by 141kg on his second. Joseph missed his jerk on the third attempt at 146kg, but with his 5 for 6 day and 261kg total, Joseph increased his total by 14kg from University Nationals in March!
Brie Gomez rounded out the women’s competition by competing in the 71kg class at her final U25 Nationals with the University of Texas. Brie’s performance came off a difficult few months, having suffered a shoulder injury at University Nationals in March. Brie went 82/96/178, marking the heaviest lifts she had made since her injury. Her performance earned her silver medals in the snatch and total in the 71kg class!
On the men’s side, Fernando Miranda-Fred (102kg) continued the team’s streak of PRs. Like many of his teammates, Fernando opened his snatch at a competition PR, 112kg. He made his second snatch at 116kg before barely missing 120kg on his third attempt! In the clean & jerk, Fernando opened at another competition PR of 140kg, made his second attempt at 145kg, and narrowly missed the jerk on a PR third attempt at 149kg! With this 4 for 6 performance and 261kg total, Fernando made a 14kg PR increase over his University Nationals total in March!
Victor Delgado (109kg+) closed out the three days of competition for the University of Texas Weightlifting Team with a performance that earned him a national title in the U25 division. Victor opened his snatch at 119kg, then earned gold in the snatch on his second attempt with a PR match at 123kg, before missing a PR attempt at 125kg just out in front. In the clean & jerk, Victor’s opening attempt at 151kg secured him gold in the total and silver in the clean & jerk. He was unsuccessful on his second at 157kg to win gold in the clean & jerk, but came back on his third with an all-time PR at 158kg to secure gold in all three categories! Victor’s 281kg total was a PR and earned him his first ever national championship!
Team Awards & Recap
The University of Texas Men’s Weightlifting Team became Back-to-Back-to-Back Under 25 National Champions! In earning the team title for the third year in a row, every team member increased their competition total while making 76% of their lifts! The Men’s Team had three Top 5 finishes, three gold medals, and one U25 National Champion! The University of Texas Women’s Weightlifting Team placed 2nd in the team competition, after winning national titles the previous two years. All of the team members either hit PR totals or hit the neccessary lifts needed to end up on the podium. The women made 70% of their competition attempts!