Pilot Point powerlifting teams bring home medals
The Pilot Point Bearcats girls and boys powerlifting teams hit the road to compete in their regional meets, with four of the 10 lifters returning home with medals.
The Lady Cats had three qualifiers for the regional meet in Sherman on Feb. 27, with two—Vanessa Escalante and Alliyah Smith—earning medals.
“They were awesome,” head powerlifting coach Robby Perez said. “We’re small. We only had a group of four, and one was an alternate, and even our alternate, [Camilla], worked her tail off all day, helping us with numbers, and that’s vital … [but] I told every single one of them that they should be proud of themselves because this 1A-6A across the entire state of Texas. The fact that they’re here is something to be proud of.”
Alliyah Smith earned the Lady Cats’ first medal of the day, placing fifth in the 220-pound weight class, with a total of 615 pounds lifted.
Smith credited Perez for helping her win a regional medal in her first season of powerlifting.
“It’s all thanks to Coach Perez, who helped me through it, always pushing me towards lifting more weight [and] just pushing me to be better,” she said. “I can’t wait to come back next year and, hopefully, get another medal and go to state.”
Vanessa Escalante earned the team’s second regional medal, finishing fourth in the 123-pound weight class, with a weight total of 560 pounds.
Escalante, who made her second appearance at the regional meet, shared her excitement at capturing her first medal at the event.
“It felt great, and my goal next year is to make it to state and push it as far as I can,” she said.
Lillie Kirby was the final Lady Cat competitor at the event and placed seventh in the 220-pound weight class, with a total of 560 pounds lifted.
The Bearcats sent seven lifters to the regional meet in Decatur on Monday, with two—Cole Krouskup and Garrick Headley—leaving with medals.
Garrick Headley earned the Bearcats’ first medal of the day, placing fourth in the 308-pound weight class, with a total of 1,265 pounds lifted.
Headley, who changed weight classes going into the meet, said he was happy with his performance for his first time on the regional stage.
“I dropped weight classes, and I was an underdog,” he said. “I even went down in ranking, so to get that fourth-place medal felt amazing.”
Cole Krouskup took the Bearcats’ second medal of the night, placing fifth in the 123-pound weight class, with new personal bests on bench press and deadlift and a total of 820 pounds lifted.
Krouskup, who made his third appearance at regionals, said it was a performance he’ll never forget.
“When I started, I got 12th, which is the lowest you can get at regionals,” he said. “The year after I got sixth, and then this year I got a medal, which is really awesome. … I got my personal best on bench and deadlift, and I tied my record on squat, so overall, this was the best meet I've ever had.”
Daniel Madrano placed 10th in the 198 pound weight class with a total of 1,150 pounds.
Lucas Herrera placed 10th in the 242 pound weight class with a total of 1,205 pounds.
Juan Mendoza placed sixth in the 275 weight class with a total of 1,450.
Perez said he hopes the team’s accomplishments this year will inspire more kids to come out for powerlifting and help the program continue to grow.
“I want this to be contagious,” he said. “Seeing the success of these kids, being regional qualifiers and some of them medaling, I hope it lights a fire within the school and that these guys can be our recruiters. I'm not on that campus all the time, so I'm not always walking those halls, but those guys can do that for us and help get this program back to where it once was and where it should be. We want to win a regional championship as a team and then send multiple kids to State.”
