Pumping iron for bench press prize

Both anticipation and nervousness were high in the weight room at the Riverside Campus on Nov. 16. More than fifteen people in the room were warming up and quietly talking to each other. This day was when the annual ACC Bench Press Meet was being held, and students from all seven campuses who came to compete were in high hopes of winning the championship.

"I feel nervous and excited to finally be here to compete; I came here to improve myself," said Laura Motal, an ACC student.

Most of the competitors were students in weight training classes who were encouraged by their instructors to compete.

"I came here because of the extra credit opportunity given by my weight instructor, and I also wanted to know how far I could go," said Orlando Rosales, an ACC student who came all the way from Northridge Campus.

Students were asked to sign in and show their student IDs when they arrived at the event. Only ACC students and staff could participate.

"We had people from Texas State University or non students come in and try to compete, but we had to say no to them because this event is for ACC faculty or students only," said Roy Ramos an ACC Kinesiology instructor and founder of the competition.

The competition was divided into nine different weight classes for men and six for women. For men the weight class started at 114-133 pounds. The heaviest weight class was the 275 – 300 pound class. For women the weight classes started at the 99 – 113 pounds class and went up to 243 – 274 pound class.

Those who placed first through third in each weight class received trophies with their ranks on them and everyone else who competed were given participation trophies. The trophies were sponsored by Jamie Stewart, the head of the Kinesiology department.

"This Bench Press Meet is an opportunity to reward those who work out as well as provide ACC students a chance to let their stress out through friendly competition," said Ramos.