Mineral Wells High School head powerliftingcoach Mike Dills, left,talks to assistant coach John Briggs during the girls Class 4A-5A regional powerlifting meet at MWHS. Dills and Briggs are ready to take seven Lady Rams powerlifters to the state meet in Killeen. Craig Holamon/Index

By Craig Holamon Index Sports Editor

KILLEEN -- The Mineral Wells Lady Rams powerlifting team are the 2005 Class 4A state champions.The Lady Rams won the first state powerlifting championship in the history of the school by the narrowest of margins, according to Mineral Wells head powerlifting coach Mike Dills.Mineral Wells took first place with a team score of 20 points while Corpus Christi Calallen finished in second place with 19 points. Plainview claimed third place with 17 points and Greenville was fourth with 16 points.Dills said his team was shocked when the final standings were announced."We presented medals to our kids and they started announcing the team standings. They called out the third and second place teams. The girls seemed to think we didn't even finish in the top three," Dills said. "When they said Mineral Wells was the state champion, the girls just started looking at each other, they were in shock."Dills said the 2005 girls state powerlifting meet had one of the closest finishes in the history of the event."I thought it was going to be real close and it was. It was the closest girls state meet ever," Dills said."A lot of twists and turns happened behind the scenes before and during the meet. When it was over, we really didn't know how we had done," Dills said. "It was a storybook ending for us.""I have three seniors who have been at the state meet the last four years, it was great to see them end up on a state champion," Dills added. "As a coach, I got everything I've always wanted. This is the first time I've ever had a state champion.""Coach (John) Briggs and I have been coaching together for the last eight years. I came to within one point of winning a state championship before I came to Mineral Wells," Dills said. "We know how special this is and how hard it is to do."Camille Moore won the Class 4A state individual championship in the 198-pound class while Rachel Seay and Maria Menchaca both won medals in the 114-pound and 148-pound classes, respectively.Courtney Shelton finished in fifth place in the 97-pound class while Stacey Evans took eighth place.Kaitlin Derosia finished in seventh place in the 181-pound class while Chistella Moreno was unable to participate in the meet due to an illness."All of the girls did about as well as they could do. Maria Menchaca and Rachel Seay both had career high totals. When Maria finished in third place, it was the first time she had lost in two years," Dills said. "This is a very special group of girls."Dills said Moore, Seay and Menchaca are due to take a week off and then travel back to the Killeen Convention Center for the 2005 National Powerlifting Meet.

PLACE

RAMS PLACE 1ST AT MWHS MEET

RESULTS