POWERLIFTING
Former Cotulla powerlifting athlete Jennifer Benavidez took first in her weight class and helped lead her Midland University-Nebraska team to a first place finish at the Texas Collegiate Cup at the University of Texas at San Antonio on December 3.
The event marked Benavidez’ first career collegiate powerlifting meet and she debuted with a first place finish in the 147-lb. weight class. She posted lifts of 451 lbs. in the squat, 203 lbs. in the bench press and 424 lbs. in the deadlift for a total lift of 1,080 lbs. Her lift in the squat also set a new American Collegiate record.
Benavides is a two-time state powerlifting champion at Cotulla, winning titles in 2021 and 2022. In 2022, she broke state standards in five different categories in her weight class, shattering the Class 3A marks in the squat, deadlift and total weight. She also set new state records across all divisions, Class 1A to 6A, in the squat and for total weight.
