IronMavs Barbell Club broke records and brought home golds at the USA Powerlifting Colorado State Championships. Marissa Martinez-Quezada broke the state bench press record for the Teen 3 weight class with an 83 lb lift. She started powerlifting in August and is already breaking records and taking home medals.
She was the only person in her weight class so the gold was guaranteed but Martinez-Quezada said she walked into the lift knowing that she was going to break the record. In addition to the record-breaking bench press, Martinez-Quezada squatted 171 lbs and deadlifted 198 lbs.
“I’m jut really competitive so I like winning. So when I broke the record, I felt really good,” Martinez-Quezada said.
This business and entrepreneurship freshman is a Grand Junction native and graduated from Central High School last year. She has been an athlete her whole life and was a state champion wrestler in high school. When she came to CMU she didn’t want to wrestle and found a supportive community with powerlifting.
Junior accounting major Brayan Estrada was another Mav that took home a medal that day and he said he abstained from drinking water the for the whole day before his weigh-in. cutting to 198 lbs.
After his 6 a.m. weigh-in, Estrada ate 20 rice krispy treats, and chugged water and gatorade. He said he wasn’t as responsible as he should have been with his preparation and waited too long to cut his weight and it may have impacted his performance negatively. Estrada competes again in May and said he will be more responsible next time.
Estrada squatted 451 lbs, pressed 291 lbs, and deadlifted 572 lbs.
“My weights, honestly, I didn’t think they were that impressive but they did get me the win,” Estrada said.
Estrada is from Glenwood Springs and said IronMavs gave him a sense of community in a new city. It takes a high level of discipline and routine to make gains and see progress and the other club members all share the same mindset.
The competition in May is a local lift and in April two members qualified for the Collegiate Championship in Louisiana. Hospitality Management senior Addy Davis said she does not expect to get a spot on the podium at this competition. She’s focused on personal goals instead.
“I want to hit a 330 squat, and then I want to hit a 225 bench and a 415 deadlift,” Davis said.
Andrew Trujillo is the club’s advisor and coaches many of the members. Martinez-Estrada said he is very patient and understands how to coach women. She said Trujillo offers coaching for free to members and that his guidance was part of the reason she did well at state. The Western Slope Showdown will be hosted on May 2 on the basketball courts in Rec Center. Registration is open now.
