Martinez lifts way to medal in first try ever

ROYAL CITY - Power lifting coach Paul Olsufka has been building a program at Royal High School the past couple of years, and his efforts got a big boost from the first girl to compete.

At the first meet of the year at Northwest Christian High School in Lacey, Lesly Martinez earned a second-place red ribbon with a total lift of 535 pounds. She did 100 pounds in the bench lift, 195 in the squat lift and 240 in the dead lift.

Four boys competed for Royal. They were Tony Mercado, Juan Garcia, Derek Alatorre and Guillermo Navarro. There are other team members, but some were unable to make this trip. The next meet is set for March 7 at Snohomish High School.

The lifters compete in three lifts: squat, bench and dead lift. When they aren't competing, they are in the weight room working out.

"Lesly was the first girl we have had compete," Olsufka said.

"She did very well. Lesly is a freshman and will get stronger and hopes to qualify for state."

Mercado took second in the 198 weight class, and Alatorre took fifth in the same division. Mercado had lifts of 345 squat, 235 bench, 415 DL and a total of 995. Alatorre had lifts of 300 squat, 180 bench, 350 DL and a total of 830.

Garcia had lifts of 415 squat, 255 bench, 340 DL and a total of 1010 in his competition. Navarro had lifts of 255 squat, 190 bench, 265 DL and a total of 710.

"Tony competed last year. So he did very well," Olsufka said. "Derek did great for his first time."

The boys who didn't place also did well, Olsufka said. Power Lifting is like golf. You compete at meets, but you are always competing against your history. Success is measured in personal milestones.

"For some of the new participants it was a great opportunity to get their feet wet, so to speak, and see what the competition is all about," Olsufka said. "It was great to have three out of the five place. We qualified four for state last year and hope to have more this year as we build the program."

The Royal power lifters will host a meet on the April 11at the high school. Most of the meets attract about 140 participants and Royal's lifters hope to have a good turnout.

"There are no meets on the east side of the state, and I am trying to get more interest going so we may not have to travel so far to qualify for state in the future," Olsufka said. "I am hoping that other schools may host on this side of the mountains. Omak has had a strong team that will be coming down."

Power lifting meets take a lot of volunteers to run smoothly. It takes about 80 to 100 people to run one. Olsufka is looking for volunteers who may help.

The lifting stations are covered. There will be a group of power lifters from Eastern Washington University making sure the competition is run safely.

Volunteers may contact Olsufka at the high school, call 346-2256 or email polsufka@royal.wednet.edu.