Through months of preparation, senior Vincent Lopez’s hard work has finally paid off and is now an official Claremont Lifter. To get into this program, Lopez needed to take a test. On average, Claremont Lifters start preparing for the test during their freshman year or become involved with sports that require them to exert their body for preparation.

“I didn’t know until the first day of second semester when Coach Campy [Campuzano] called me into the coaches’ office and showed me my shirt,” Lopez said.

Lopez is one of three seniors who tried out to become a Claremont Lifter this year. Lopez began wrestling during his freshman year, but was not seriously committed to weightlifting. However, this changed during Lopez’s junior year when Joe Marchillo became the new wrestling coach at CHS. Marchillo’s influence allowed Lopez to appreciate weightlifting more, although he was still not sure whether to test for the Claremont Lifter Program. So, that summer, Lopez began working out more seriously to figure out if he was really interested. When Lopez began training, he found inspiration with P.E. teacher and weightlifting enthusiast Ryan Campuzano. As a result, Lopez worked hard in every lift earning 200 lb in his max bench press, 570 lb in his leg press, and 85 lb in bicep curl.

“I feel like he deserves to be a Claremont Lifter having seen him work very hard to reach this point,” senior Malik Webster said.

Another lifter that was interested and admitted into the program was girls’ Assistant Varsity Soccer coach Nicole Giles. Giles was named Female Lifter of the year in 2001, lifting 80 lbs in the bicep curl, bench pressing 120 lbs, and leg pressing 420 lbs. Some advice she gives to current and future lifters are to never get discouraged no matter where one starts because as long as one practices, there is always a way to improve.

“I’m definitely going to continue lifting. I love it and I am so glad that I got bodybuilding again this semester. I plan on lifting with Coach Joe after I graduate,” Lopez said.

This year, Lopez has joined some of the best lifters in Claremont history. Becoming a Claremont Lifter is not an easy accomplishment. Everyday, participants, including Lopez, push themselves to train for the ultimate prize of the title and t-shirt. Lopez is one out of three seniors to earn the Claremont Lifters title this year and is proud that his hard work ethic and endurance led him to success.