Rangel, Lewis takes first at Belton powerlifting Invitational

The Yoemen and Lady Yoe powerlifting teams competed in the Belton Tiger Invitational this past week in their third event of the young season.  

Cameron walked away from the meet with impressive finishes across the board. Two Yoemen finished best in class, while multiple others were within the top three of their respective divisions.  

For the Yoemen, Joe Rangel won the 132-pound division while Dortavis Lewis topped the 275-pound class. 

Rangel’s 700 total pounds was a 25-pound increase from his performance two weeks ago in Cameron.  Lewis also posted his personal best with 1,385 pounds.

“We came together this week,” said head coach Eric Balch.  “The kids are all getting stronger, and that helps.  The technique is getting better.  We were third place at a really big and competitive meet, so the kids are doing really well.”

Tydrick Williams was second in the 181-pound division with 1,145 total pounds and Adrian Lewis was second in the super heavyweight division with 1,315 total pounds. 

Garrett Roeder was third in the 198 class with 1,105 pounds, Alex Aguillon was fifth in the 165 class with 995 pounds, Kevin Advic came in fifth in the 181 class with 990 pounds, John Santos finished 7th in the 198 class with 1,050 pounds and Dominic Lewis was 14th in the 220 class with 865 pounds. 

The Yoemen totaled 29 points, finishing third overall in the team standings. 

Final boys team standings: 1. Waco (43 points); 2. Belton (41 points); 3. Cameron Yoe (29 points); 4. Temple (16 points), 5. Waco Midway (12 points); 5. Waco University (12 points); 7. Gatesville (11 points); 8. Killeen Ellison (9 points); 9. Copperas Cove (6 points). 

“The bigger schools bring more kids, but it didn't bother our kids a bit,” said Balch.  “They got in there and got right in the mix of it.  They lifted really well and competed hard.  At the end, we came out with a really good result.”

The Lady Yoe also had strong performances all around, with all three lifters finishing within the top three of their weight classes. 

Selene Vargas was second in the 114 class with 545 pounds, Daejanay Bell was second in the 259 class at 765 pounds and Faith Kistler came in third in the 148 class with 525 pounds lifted. 

“Those girls are getting better fast,” stated Balch.  “None of them had lifted before and they were brand new, but by this third week two of them have put 100 pounds on their total and the other put 35 pounds on her total.”

Cameron will take a few weeks off from competition before traveling to the Temple Invitational on Feb. 9.  Meridian (Feb. 23) will be the last qualifying meet on the year. 

“We are going to take a two-week break to get our feet back under us and gain a little more strength and get rested,” said Balch.  “We should gain a bunch (weight) there too.”