Dedication and perseverance. That is what has led to individual state championships for Luna Antonia Cuevas and Jacky Reyna – both powerlifters at McAllen Memorial High.
Cuevas produced a combined lift of 1,010 pounds at the State Championships in March to win her weight class while Reyna lifted 920 pounds total in her class.
The team, which also included Amanda Soria-Cueto, Lily Contreras and Carolina Herrera, took third in the state (Class 5A Division I).
Cuevas, who finished first in all her meets this year, likes to produce short videos of herself pumping iron. She uploads them to Instagram.
“I want to inspire people,” she said. “It makes me proud of myself (to inspire others).”
She holds the school record in all three powerlifting categories for the 132-pound weight class. She has bench pressed 245 pounds, squatted 450 pounds and dead lifted 355 pounds. This season, she was named to the State Elite Academic All-Star Team.
She attends McAllen ISD’s Achieve Early College High School but competes for Memorial since Achieve does not have athletics. She will be earning an Associates Degree through South Texas College in May – an opportunity available for Achieve students.
“(After graduation), I plan to attend Texas A&M to pursue a degree in economics,” she said.
“Luna is pretty solid,” Memorial Powerlifting Coach Joe Guerra said. “She’s reliable in pressure situations. As a freshman, I think she was ranked 10th or 12th going into the state championship and she told me she was going to get a medal.”
The top five spots receive medals at the state level and Cuevas finished fifth as a freshman to confirm her prediction. She was second in the state as a sophomore but recorded a Did Not Finish her junior year.
Meanwhile, Reyna said she likes powerlifting because of the challenge it poses to the individual.
“I’ve always been an athlete but what I saw differently (in powerlifting) is you’re under that bar, you’re on that platform, you’ve got to make it count,” Reyna said. “(Your) adrenaline is running. You see your hard work pay off at the end of the day.”
Since the state championships were held at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, her family got to see her perform.
“There was a lot of things going through my mind in that moment (at state),” Reyna recalled. “But I think the overall thought was ‘make it count.’ Enjoy your sport. Enjoy your season. It was a very good feeling.”
Now a junior, Reyna competed at the Regional Meet as a freshman and qualified for state as a sophomore. She just missed out on earning a medal by finishing sixth.
“Her work ethic (is excellent) and she’s very competitive,” Coach Guerra said. “She’s always looking for ways to get better. As soon as she’s coming off the platform, she’s already set in her mind. ‘I made this mistake. I need to fix it this way.’ She does not shy away.”
In powerlifting, athletes compete in three categories of weight-lifting: the squat, bench press and the dead lift. Each competitor gets three lifts per category and the best lift in each category is added together for a grand total.
“It’s (powerlifting) not something you can just walk into,” Coach Guerra said. “It takes a person who is very motivated, very disciplined. There are days you don’t feel like training but you do it anyway because you have a goal. Their work ethic has to match their goal.”
In Guerra’s 10 years as the Memorial boys and girls powerlifting coach, six of his girls have earned a state championship. Both programs have a combined total of 34 medals at the state level.
About McAllen ISD
McAllen ISD is a three-time winner of the state’s highest rating, an “A,” and a four-time winner of the state’s Post-Secondary Readiness Distinction. In 2022, McAllen ISD was named the Best Large District in Texas through the H-E-B Excellence in Education awards. The district is home to 31 campuses and approximately 20,000 students. To learn more about McAllen ISD’s schools and programs, contact Student Outreach at 956-687-MISD (6473).
PHOTO CAPTION
At top, Jacky Reyna (left) stands with Luna Antonia Cuevas as they hold up their state championship medals. Middle, Luna sits with her trophies and medals. Below, Jacky shows off her powerlifting medals.