RIO RANCHO – The 2026 high school powerlifting season comes to an end this weekend at the Rio Rancho Events Center which will host the New Mexico Activities Association’s state championship meet Friday and Saturday.
More than 500 high school athletes across the state qualified for the event, with more than 30 of them representing local and area programs.
This weekend’s competition marks the conclusion of the sixth season of competitive high school powerlifting. In that amount of time, the sport has seen rapid growth. A total of 13 New Mexico high schools sent qualifiers to the first championship meet in 2021, while this weekend’s event features 81 participating schools.
Among the leading qualifiers from San Juan County are Bloomfield High senior Christian Medrano, who led the state’s Class 4A qualifiers in the super heavyweight category.
Medrano, who tops the competition with 1360 pounds lifted this season, will face at least seven other rivals when the boys competition takes place Friday at 10 a.m.
One of Medrano’s opponents in the state Class 4A finals will be Kirtland Central junior Cohen Harvey, who earned a spot in the state championships with more than 1200 lbs. lifted.
Medrano is one of eight Bloomfield participants in the state finals, along with Harley Werito at the 242-lb. division, as well as Ambrose Gonzalez in the 181-lb. category.
Kirtland Central will send seven athletes to the state finals, including senior Ethan Billey, the top Class 4A qualifier in the 114-lb. division and two-time state champion. Billey will face as many as eight rivals on Friday, including Shiprock High junior Arnold Yazzie.
In Class 5A, Piedra Vista is sending 10 athletes to the state championships, including two-time, back-to-back state title holder Haleigh Doyle, a two-time State Champion and State Record holder.
Doyle, in her junior year at Piedra Vista, also holds the national title at the 97-lb. weight class, having won the title at last month’s USA Powerlifting High School Nationals in Killeen, Texas.
Doyle is the top qualifier at the weight class and will be challenged by as many as nine rivals for the state championships on Saturday’s second day of the NMAA finals.
Farmington High will send a pair of athletes to the state finals, including sophomore Paisley Felder, who will be competing in the 123-lb. division on Saturday.
Competition on both days kicks off at 10 a.m. with championships expected to be handed out approximately 6 p.m. at the conclusion of competition. For more information, check out the official page for the event at the NMAA website.