BISHOP, Texas — Four young ladies at Bishop High School are proving they have the muscle to compete in a sport that has traditionally been dominated by men.
Recently the Bishop team went to the state powerlifting competition in Waco and came back with top honors.
The Bishop Badgers are raising the bar when it comes to the sport of women's powerlifting.
Caitlin Berry, Harlie Guerra, Batrice Garcia, and Raina Rivera are the four young women who make up the entire ladies powerlifting team.
Most of the team's time is spent in the weight room, training and pushing themselves. This past weekend, their hard work paid off.
Berry walked away as a state champ in Division 3 in her 123-pound weight class by lifting a total of 915 pounds.
"It's a great feeling knowing you are the strongest in your weight class out in your division, out of all the regions," Berry said.
Guerra came in second, and as a team, they got third. For the team, it felt more like first place after looking back at just how far they have come.
"When we figured out we got 3rd place team, it was great because there are so many better girls out there," Garcia said. "To know we overcame them as a team it was great. There's only four of us, the other schools and teams have more girls. It's so hard to process how we got third. It's because we worked so hard."
The girls are finding motivation and support from each other, other athletes and their coaches.
"My teammates are like a family, the way they push me," Rivera said. "I'm grateful and thankful, they want to see better and want me to improve."
"These girls and guys, they train together, with support for each other. Not about who lifts more than who, and who is better than who," Coach Fabian Gomez said. "These girls are awesome. They have the good work ethic, and they train hard. They come in here and do what they are supposed to and do it well."
The boys will compete next weekend.
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