Tiger lifters win Taylor meet

Rockdale’s boys powerlifting season got off to a nice start Saturday, winning the Taylor meet with firstplace finishes for Darren ter, Bryce Flowers and Gavin Cariel Aguilar and a second place finish by Kevin Liu. Dan-Gardiner and Wyatt Smith each placed third.

The Tigers beat out 12 different schools for the top spot. All but three of those other schools were Class 4A or above.

“The level of competition that was there was really high,” RHS coach Ryan Montalvo said. Montalvo also pointed out that

Montalvo also pointed out that one of the teams Rockdale beat, Class 5A Kyle Lehman, won the state meet. Elgin, who was also in Taylor this weekend, finished third at that same meet.

LADY TIGERS—

Top performers for the Rockdale girls were ninth grader Elizabeth Perry, who placed third out of 17 lifters in her division. Lizzie Zinn and Georgina Rodriguez finished the day with sixth-place finishes, while Shakeria Richards and Shelly Segiova ended the meet in seventh and eighth in their weight classes.

BULLDOGS—2021 state champion Hayden Kylberg started the 2022 season on top, winning the 198-pound division with a 550 squat, 400 on bench press and a dead lift of 550 pounds for a total of 1,500. The Thorndale senior made gains on all three of his lifts since his gold medal performance last spring and improved his lift total from 1,425 to 1,500.

Tristan Kerlin also placed, finishing 15th in the 165-pound weight class.

LADY DOGS— 2021 state meet qualifiers Landri Martinka and Emily Owen each placed fourth in their weight classes with totals of 570 and 635 pounds.

Owen improved her total lift weight by 35 pounds since the state competition in March.

Other Lady Dog lifters were Juliette Demaio and Regan Calk, who finished in seventh and eighth in their divisions.

THIS WEEK—B ot h RHS and THS powerlifting teams will compete next on Wednesday, Jan. 26, in Thorndale. The meet will be the first on the new equipment recently purchased by TISD. Due to COVID-19 precautions, no spectators will be allowed.