Apaches open powerlifting season with broken records, regional qualifiers

Gonzales opened its powerlifting season Jan. 8 by hosting the annual Apache Invitational at a packed Vic Salazar Gym, where school records fell, first-time lifters impressed and the Apaches showcased the depth and growth of a young program competing in front of its home crowd.

Eight teams from across the region filled the gym for a long night of competition that served as Gonzales’ season opener and its only home meet of the year.

“This was really special,” head girls coach David Kypuros said. “It’s our first meet of the season, it’s my first meet as a powerlifting coach, and to have it at home in front of our school and community made all the work feel real. There were nerves, but once the meet started, I was just proud to be standing there with this group of athletes.”

The Gonzales girls placed sixth overall, led by senior Madison Sampleton, who earned a gold medal and qualified for regionals for the fourth straight year. Jazlin Juarez placed second and broke the school bench press record in her weight class, while Alize Miller added a third-place finish.

“The foundation is there,” Kypuros said. “We’re a young team and this meet showed us exactly where we are and what we need to work on. This was just the first step, and now they understand what it takes to compete and improve.”

On the boys side, Daniel Santos and Gustavo Rodriguez each earned gold medals. Santos also broke school records in both bench press and total in his weight class in his first powerlifting meet. Charles Haufler placed second, while Colton Skruhak, Kevin Garcia and Jackson Baca earned third-place finishes. William Miller and Dyllan Sanchez rounded out Gonzales’ medalists with fourth-place finishes.

“This was the first meet ever for some of our kids, and that’s a tough way to start,” head coach Samuel Friedman said. “They were thrown into the fire while we were also running the meet, but they handled themselves really well. What stood out to me was how our experienced lifters stepped up and guided the younger ones — that says a lot about this team.”

Friedman said the numbers Gonzales posted at the meet are only the beginning.

“These are nowhere near what they’ll be by the end of the season,” he said. “A lot of our lifters are going to improve a lot from today, and as a team we’re going to improve a lot from today.”

Athletic Director Lyndon Hamilton credited the atmosphere and community involvement for helping make the meet a success.

“It’s amazing to see our multi-sport athletes volunteering, our administration here supporting our kids and our surrounding towns coming in to see what Gonzales is all about,” Hamilton said. “Our kids competed extremely well, and it was a very well-run event.”

Gonzales will travel for the remainder of the season as athletes work to improve their totals and qualify for regional and state competition.