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Boys powerlifting: Cuomo, Sandia, Portales highlight competition
Eldorado’s Kevin Cuomo adjusts his belt for the deadlift during the state powerlifting competition Saturday at the Rio Rancho Events Center. Cuomo won the title at 220 pounds and was the top lifter in any weight class.
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RIO RANCHO — The wrestlers, Kevin Cuomo said. If we’re looking to identify the baddest dudes in New Mexico prep sports, maybe best to look to them first.
Keep in mind, Cuomo could probably eat a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich in one hand, while lifting your SUV up and down in his other hand, so there’s that.
Strongest in New Mexico, then.
No argument to be made about that for Cuomo.
The extremely impressive Eldorado High School senior once again left the Rio Rancho Events Center as New Mexico’s best pound-for-pound powerlifter, with dominating showings in all three events Saturday at the state championships.
Cuomo, a linebacker for the Eagles, lifted a combined 1,600 pounds in the squat, bench press and the dead lift.
There wasn’t another boy in any of the three classifications — and we’re talking the state’s most physically imposing male athletes, all of them under one roof Saturday — who lifted as much as even 1,500 pounds.
Orlando Romero of Robertson combined for 1,485 pounds. So did Jesus Ortiz of Hobbs, and Ortiz’s performance will tell you something about Cuomo’s separation, since Ortiz, in terms of overall weight, lifted 115 more pounds than anyone else in Class 5A.
“I got what I wanted,” Cuomo said. “I wanted 16 (1,600 pounds). I wanted the heaviest total.”
Cuomo is actually one of the powerlifting athletes who wants to continue this in college. He said he wasn’t quite sure yet where he’d be, but he has grand designs.
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“I’d like to be a national champion,” he said. He leaves Eldorado as a three-time state champion.
Cuomo’s weight class (220 pounds) was one of the more star-studded. The runner-up was Centennial senior Zaiden Davis, who is soon to be a linebacker at New Mexico State.
The third-place finisher was a sophomore Colton McKibben from Carlsbad. McKibben, who plays inside linebacker for the Cavemen, received a football scholarship offer Saturday morning from the University of New Mexico.
“It was pretty cool,” McKibben said. “Went through and visited, coach offered me on the spot.”
His impression of new UNM coach Jason Eck?
“He was pretty cool. We had a cool talk and he was pretty old school. I liked him,” McKibben said. He’s already got a handful of strong Division I offers.
Sandia won a state powerlifting championship that for the Matadors had them energized after they finished runner-up to Cleveland a year ago. (And of note, Carlsbad, with its new program, finished a close second, 41-38).
Four Sandia seniors — Spencer Hansen-Munro (132 pounds), Devin Weitz (148), Gianni Black (165) and Ethan Montoya (198) — closed out with individual titles.
“We got second to Cleveland. That really hurt us,” Black said. “Everyone just trained really hard over the summer.”
They doubled their state champions, and for those seniors, there was real gratification.
“This is insane the progress we’ve had,” Black said.
Legacy Academy of Albuquerque’s West Side won the Class 1A-3A championship. The Silverbacks’ 21 points were two better than New Mexico Military Institute. For Legacy, Xander Chavez (148 pounds) was its lone state champion. Eros Ramirez of Oak Grove Classical Academy at 165 also won state.
But if you were looking for the most emotional of the three state team champions, that was found in the middle, between Sandia and Legacy.
Class 4A’s Portales edged powerhouse Lovington 35-34 to win a blue trophy. It had been only six days since one of their teammates, junior Xavier Lujan, was killed in a car crash on his way back to Portales.
“This is for our guy,” Rams coach Nathan Chavez said.”This is for X. They rallied behind that. Every one of these kids lifted better than they ever lifted in their life. Every kid got a record.”
Lujan was a multi-sport athlete at Portales, including powerlifting.
Chavez said the program had even planned to ask the New Mexico Activities Association for an honorary medal for Lujan.
“We didn’t need to,” Chavez said. “We got him a state championship medal.”
And when the team returned home, he said they’d visit Lujan’s mother and give the medal to her.
Metro-area boys in 4A to win state titles included two-time state champion Amiri Mumba of Highland at 198 pounds, plus Josh Barajas of Bernalillo at 123 pounds, Jasper Groves of Highland at 165 pounds, and Augustine Griego of Belen at 181 pounds.
Mumba said he didn’t have a great day. He said, smiling, “Luckily I scared the competition away somehow.”
In addition to Cuomo and Sandia’s four state champions, the only other metro-area athlete to walk out with a state title was Rio Rancho’s Jose Zapien at super heavyweight.
2025 NMAA Boys Powerlifting State Championships
A-3A individual champions
- 114 pounds: Colton Wales, Capitan
- 123 pounds: Brandon Avalos, Hatch Valley
- 132 pounds: Aiden Stauffer, Quemado
- 148 pounds: Xander Chavez, Legacy Academy
- 165 pounds: Eros Ramirez, Oak Grove Classical
- 181 pounds: Alex Sanchez, NMMI
- 198 pounds: Matthew Cao, NMMI
- 220 pounds: Elijah Chavez, Jal
- 242 pounds: Abel Luna, Ruidoso
- 275 pounds: Kaeden Iocca, Escalante
- 308 pounds: Orlando Romero, Robertson
- Heavyweight: Nick West, Hot Springs
A-3A team finishes
- 1. Legacy Academy, 21 points
- 2. NMMI, 19 points
- 3. West Las Vegas, 17 points
- 4. Texico, 15 points
- 5. Tularosa, 13 points
4A individual champions
- 114 pounds: Ethan Billey, Kirtland Central
- 123 pounds: Josh Barajas, Bernalillo
- 132 pounds: Julian Bustamante, Deming
- 148 pounds: Tommy Lopez, Portales
- 165 pounds: Jasper Groves, Highland
- 181 pounds: Augustine Griego, Belen
- 198 pounds: Amiri Mumba, Highland
- 220 pounds: Jesus Olvera, Deming
- 242 pounds: Gary Chavez, Grants
- 275 pounds: Leandro Salazar, Española Valley
- 308 pounds: Ezra Hensley, Deming
- Heavyweight: RJ Evans, Portales
4A team finishes
- 1. Portales, 35 points
- 2. Lovington, 34 points
- 3. Deming, 27 points
- 4. Española Valley, 23 points
- 5. Belen, 17 points
5A individual champions
- 114 pounds: Aiden Rodriguez, Carlsbad
- 123 pounds: Matthew Castillo, Roswell
- 132 pounds: Spencer Hansen-Munro, Sandia
- 148 pounds: Devin Weitz, Sandia
- 165 pounds: Gianni Black, Sandia
- 181 pounds: Reenson Akwiembi, Carlsbad
- 198 pounds: Ethan Montoya, Sandia
- 220 pounds: Kevin Cuomo, Eldorado
- 242 pounds: Jeremiah Sonora, Carlsbad
- 275 pounds: Jesus Ortiz, Hobbs
- 308 pounds: Jeremy Vargas, Carlsbad
- Heavyweight: Jose Zapien, Rio Rancho
5A team finishes
- 1. Sandia, 41 points
- 2. Carlsbad, 38 points
- 3. Roswell, 30 points
- 4. Cleveland, 28 points
- 5. Centennial, 16 points
