By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
On May 17, Port Isabel’s student-athlete April Puente attended her signing ceremony at Port Isabel High School. She signed her letter of intent to compete in powerlifting at the University of Texas San Antonio [UTSA], which is set to join the American Athletic Conference [ACC] in 2023. In the coming school year, the ACC conference will be adding UAB, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice and UTSA to their current eight-team conference. Current ACC schools include East Carolina, Memphis, Navy, South Florida, SMU, Temple, Tulane and Tulsa.
As a multi-sport athlete, Puente has participated in volleyball, softball, powerlifting and cheer. Entering her freshman year, Puente set her eyes on joining the powerlifting team. A decision her parents were uneasy with at first, but after reassurances on the safety of the sport by the powerlifting head coach, Jonathan Bodden, they supported her decision.
Her first year of competing was cut short due to the pandemic as there was no final state meet, but she did manage to come in 10th place at the Region V Division 2 Championships. Her lifts in the squat, bench and dead lift gave her a total weight lifted of 765 lbs. in her first powerlifting season.
In her sophomore year, through hard work and determination, Puente qualified for the state meet. She improved her total lift from the previous year by 140 lbs. and finished in third place at the state meet with a total weight of 905 lbs. This was quite an accomplishment for her second season.
Entering her junior year, Puente had her sight set on the championship. Under the tutelage of coaches Bodden and Jessica Hedrick, Puente qualified for the state meet once again. This time she improved her total weight by another 150 lbs. giving her a total lift of 1055 lbs.. The total weight was enough to secure the 2022 State Championship in her weight class.
Before entering her senior year at PIHS, Puente injured her ACL during the Summer Cheer Camp. It was a devastating ordeal to go through personally, yet she felt uneasy telling her coaches as she was unsure of their reaction. Bodden talked with some colleagues while attending a coaching school in San Antonio and was reassured by them that it was an injury that athletes can come back from, but it depended on the athlete’s mentality. Knowing the person Puente was, Bodden talked to Puente and they decided how they were going to proceed.
It was a tough senior year for Puente as she spent a lot of hours rehabbing her knee. At the beginning of the school year, Puente was not one to just sit on the sidelines.
“She did what was needed. She was the best manager by far I have ever had. She was pretty much the assistant to the assistant freshman volleyball coach. She helped do things I couldn’t and was there every day,” said Hedrick. “She’s a scholar, a leader, a friend and an amazing athlete.”
As the 2023 powerlifting season got underway, Puente recorded a total lift of 965 lbs. in her first meet of the season. The ACL injury had set her back, but she stayed positive and was determined as ever. As the season went along, Puente gradually improved in her total lifts, eventually hitting 1,040 lbs, which earned her a first-place finish at the 4A Division 2 Region V Championships.
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