Columbus, OH — The University of Texas Weightlifting Team took to The Arnold for the 2023 University National Championships. With 11 athletes across 4 days of competition, the team looked for individual and team awards.

Thursday, 2 March 2023

Aaron Xu got things started for the men’s team at the University National Championships, and his performance foreshadowed how well the men’s team would lift, going on to hit 90% of their competition lifts! Aaron snatched 62kg, 66kg, and then 70kg for a 3kg all-time PR, and then clean & jerked 84kg for a an all-time clean and jerk PR. Aarons 154kg total was a 7kg increase over his previous best, and placed him 5th in the 61kg class at University Nationals!

On the women’s side, Amelia Kushner got things started with her second time competing at the University National Championships and another top 10 finish! Ultimately, Amelia didn’t have the day she wanted on the platform, but she put together some good lifts to contribute to a strong team showing. Amelia snatched 51kg and 54kg before missing 56kg on her third attempt. In the clean & jerk, Amelia successfully hit 62kg, but was unable to lock in the jerk at 66kg on her second or 67kg on her third. She finished with a 116kg total, which is only 4kg under her best, and a ninth place total in the 55kg class.

Friday, 3 March 2023

Caroline Hittler’s first time on the national platform! Caroline snatched 51kg on her opener, 54kg on her second to match her competition best, and missed a 56kg all-time PR match on her third attempt. In the clean & jerk, Caroline hit her opener at 68kg, was red-lighted on her second attempt at 71kg, and was unable to stand up the clean on her third. While not the end result Caroline was looking for, she still totaled 122kg, which is her second best total, behind only her huge PR performance over the winter to qualify for University Nationals.

Andrea Spina’s first time on the big stage featured a 5 for 6 day, a PR performance, and squat jerks! Andrea snatched 52kg on her first attempt, 55kg on her second attempt to match her competition PR, and then missed her third attempt at 57kg! In the clean and jerk, Andrea successfully debuted a new jerk, hitting all three attempts at 60kg, 63kg, and and a 3kg competition PR at 66kg! Andrea’s big day resulted in a competition total PR of 121kg, a 4kg increase over her last meet in December!

Brie Gomez took silver overall in the 64kg class for the the second straight year at the University National Championships! Brie earned a silver medal in the snatch with 90kg, matching her personal best. She also earned a bronze medal in the clean and jerk with a 104kg competition PR! Her 194kg total earned her silver overall and a new PR total! As well, Brie became the team’s first ever All-American last year when the standards were first introduced. She received this honor again for the second straight year.

Back on the men’s side, it was a perfect day for Chiadika Obinwa! PR snatch, PR clean & jerk, PR total, and a 6 for 6 performance! Chiadika followed up last year’s 6 for 6 performance at University Nationals with another 6 for 6 day at this year’s University Nationals. Chiadika snatched 96kg, 100kg for a competition PR, and 103kg for an all-time PR! In the clean and jerk, Chiadika hit 118kg, 122kg, and an all-time PR 126kg! His 219kg total was a PR, and 9kg higher than the PR total he hit one month prior!

At his second University National Championships, Luis Leyva struggled to get a feel for his lifts, but that didn’t stop him from fighting through and still totaling 1kg below his all-time best. Snatches were an adventure, but Luis was able to hit 89kg on his first attempt, and 92kg on his second attempt, before missing a PR attempt at 95kg. In the clean and jerk, Luis missed his opening clean at 115kg, then hit his second attempt at 117kg, before hitting an all-time PR clean and jerk at 121kg! Luis’ travels around the platform earned him a 213kg total, still only 1kg below his previous best, set at the Texas State Championships in January.

Saturday, 4 March 2023

Tyler Villarreal’s first University Nationals appearance was another huge success for the team. Tyler left Columbus with a new clean and jerk PR and a new total PR! Tyler snatched 83kg on his first attempt, and 86kg on his second attempt, before missing a competition PR 89kg attempt on his third. In the clean and jerk, Tyler hit 102kg on his first, 106kg on his second, and an all-time PR 110kg on his third! Tyler’s 196kg total was a new personal best and topped the previous total PR he hit in February by 2kg!

Joseph Clark smashed his first University Nationals with a 5 for 6 day and a Top 10 finish in the 96kg class! Joseph snatched 109kg on his opener, missed 113kg on his second, and then came back to hit 113kg on his third attempt for a 3kg competition PR! In the clean and jerk, Joseph hit his opener at 125kg, smashed 130kg and his belt on his second attempt, and then hit 134kg for a 4kg all-time PR on his third! Joseph’s 247kg total was a 7kg increase over his previous best total set last month, and placed him 9th in the 96kg class!

Sunday, 5 March 2023

Fernando Miranda-Fred had a perfect 6 for 6 day! All of Fernando’s snatches were competition PRs, hitting 103kg on his first, 107kg on his second, and 110kg on his third! In the clean and jerk, Fernando hit 130kg on his first, 134kg on his second, and an all-time PR 137kg on a wild third attempt! Fernando’s 6 for 6 day resulted in a 247kg total, a 10kg increase over his PR total from a month earlier, and placed him 5th in the 102kg weight class!

Victor Delgado put together a huge PR shattering performance to sweep bronze in the 109kg+ category! Victor went 6 for 6, snatching 116kg, 120kg to earn bronze, and then a 123kg competition PR and all-time match! In the clean and jerk, Victor opened at 147kg, then hit 152kg to lock-in bronze in the total, and then 156kg to secure bronze in the clean & jerk, and an all-time PR! Victor improved his total by 13kg and earned his first ever national medals!

Recap

The men strung together an impressive number of made lifts, making 90% of their competition attempts and four top 5 finishes to earn third best male team at the 2023 University National Championships!