New records set at Power Clean meet

     By W.G. Ramirez
     View staff writer
      Sheer power -- that would best describe the scene at Las Vegas High School on April 24 during the 1999 Las Vegas Power Clean Championship, which saw six meet records fall.
      The meet, which each lifter paid $12 to enter, is a non-sanctioned event by the Clark County School District.
      "Hopefully it'll be a real big meet some day," said event coordinator Kris Cinkovich, who coaches Las Vegas' football team. "We had some kids who really stepped up, who we're really happy about, and I know some of the other schools had personal records set."
      Although a series of contests take place annually, Cinkovich said the chances of weightlifting becoming a sanctioned-event is "probably slim and none."
      Nonetheless, he said, weightlifting events will continue to take place as an independent, club-like sport.
      "These are kids who train hard during class or after school," Cinkovich said. "We look at it like this, it's more like an intermediate goal to keep kids in the weight room. This gives them something to aim for."
      Cinkovich's bunch won this year's event, outdistancing Cimarron-Memorial 52-35.
      Eldorado came in third with 6 points and was followed by Green Valley (5), Silverado (4), Basic (3), Palo Verde (2) and Cheyenne (0).
      The following are the results from each weight class:
      n 114 1/2 pounds -- Las Vegas' Ricardo Osorio set a new meet record on this platform by lifting 155 pounds. Green Valley's Randy Dexter took second by lifting 135. They were the only participants at that level.
      n 123 1/2 pounds -- Las Vegas was assured a winner at this level, with only four Wildcats competing. Ryan Lewis topped Blake Wells by 20 pounds (170-150), while Tyson Clayton and Mike Miller each lifted 140 pounds. Lewis missed the meet record (175) by five pounds.
      n 132 1/2 pounds -- A tighter battle ensued at this level as Las Vegas' Jeff Sillman edged Silverado's Brandon Shimono by five pounds (205-200). Sillman's lift was a new meet record. Las Vegas' Seante Nesmith came in third, right behind the frontrunners, at 195.
      n 148 1/2 pounds -- Las Vegas swept the field at this level, as Almario Yuzon (235) eked a victory over teammates Kenji Shoeboot (230) and Nick Magnuson (225) and set a new meet record on this platform.
      n 165 1/2 pounds -- Cimarron-Memorial got the best of the field at this level, as Alex Gonzales (235) and Geoff Matthews (230) nabbed the top two spots. Las Vegas' Aaron Weber came in third at 225. Gonzales' lift also set a new meet record.
      n 181 1/2 pounds -- Cimarron-Memorial's Kyler Rushton lifted 255 pounds to win the title, while Las Vegas' Joe Dye and Palo Verde's Joey Fiore each lifted 250 pounds to tie for second.
      n 198 1/2 pounds -- Cimarron-Memorial came away with two of the top three spots at this level as well, with Jason Orians taking the title after lifting a new meet record of 280 pounds and all-state football player Ross Dalton lifted 255 pounds to take third. Las Vegas football standout Curtis Wilson lifted 275 pounds to earn second place.
      n 220 1/2 pounds -- Cimarron-Memorial's fullback Leonard DeRoche, who helped power the state champions' running game, led a trio of lifters who each lifted 285 pounds. Also tying for first was Taylor Miller, also from Cimarron-Memorial, and Las Vegas' Jon Pollard. DeRoche was declared winner of the platform since his body weight (201.7) was less than the Miller's (203.4) and Pollard's (220.5).
      n 242 1/2 pounds -- Eldorado's Billy Joe Murray tied Basic's Chris Byrd, as each lifted 265 pounds, but it was Murray earning first since Byrd outweighed him by 1.1 pounds, 227.5-226.4. Cimarron-Memorial teammates Brandon Garcia and Dustin Tupper each lifted 250 pounds to tie for third.
      n Heavyweight -- Las Vegas' Kevin Morris and all-state football star Kawika Sagapolu, from Cimarron-Memorial, set new meet records after each lifted 310 pounds. Morris, at 248.4 pounds, earned first on the platform; Sagapolu, who will play football for UNLV, weighed in at 306.1 pounds. Phillip Mullins, of Las Vegas, lifted 290 pounds to earn third place.
      For the lightweight divisions, Yuzon was named Outstanding Lifter of the event, while Orians was named Outstanding Lifter for the heavyweight divisions.