Colisao, San Nicolas, Santos top divisions

Joey Colisao set a new personal best in the clean & jerk by lifting 155 kg in the Northern Marianas Cup Weightlifting Tournament at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium last Saturday. (LEIGH GASES)

Recent Mini Games gold medalists Joey Colisao, Angel San Nicolas, and Raymond Santos stamped their class anew by topping their respective weight classes in the snatch and clean & jerk lifts last Saturday in the Northern Marianas Cup Weightlifting Tournament at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Colisao, who recently made it to the Top 1 of the 2022 Top 10 rankings of the Oceania Weightlifting Federation, broke two of his personal best lifts in the 109 kg+ division and topped it as well with a whopping 281-kg total lift.

Angel San Nicolas topped his 109-kg division with a total weight lifted of 290 kg during the Northern Marianas Cup Weightlifting Tournament at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium last Saturday. (LEIGH GASES)

For the snatch portion, he successfully lifted his personal best of 126 kg, lifted 150 kg in the clean & jerk for a personal best, then proceeded to break that record right after when he lifted 155 kg. 
His other successful snatch attempts were 100 kg and 120 kg, while his first clean & jerk attempt was 120 kg. He failed to hold out long enough to get a successful attempt at 170 kg.

Colisao said after the event that he went really big this time around but that he wasn’t supposed to, but that he got riled up and stayed in the zone. “So I did great overall. I’ve been training especially hard now and seeing this growth is really amazing to me… To see the fruit of my labor is amazing—it really is. I just can’t wait to get to more competitions and train more.” 

Ray Santos topped his 67-kg division with a total weight lifted of 212 kg during the Northern Marianas Cup Weightlifting Tournament at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium last Saturday. (LEIGH GASES)

“Being surrounded by these guys is amazing. I’m grateful for it,” said Colisao about the competition.

Lyle Andrew came in second to Colisao after lifting a total of 170 kg, successfully lifting a 75-kg snatch and a 95-kg clean & jerk. He failed his snatch attempts of 80 kg and clean & jerk attempts of 95 and 100 kg.

David Barnhouse pulled out of the competition after completing the snatch portion so as to not injure himself further after tweaking a muscle during one of his lifts. He lifted 100 kg and 105 kg successfully and failed 112 kg.

In the 109-kg category, San Nicolas successfully lifted five out of his six attempts for a total weight lifted of 290 kg and simultaneously broke two of his personal bests in both the snatch and clean & jerk.

He pulled a personal best of 125 kg in the snatch after lifting 115 kg and 120 kg, while he set a new personal best in the clean & jerk as well after pulling 165 kg for his second attempt. He first lifted 155 kg and failed a 170-kg third attempt.

“Although I did not get a 100%, I gave my 100%. I lifted significantly more than I did in the [Pacific] Mini Games.” San Nicolas said about his lifts.

Santos, who recently ranked No. 2 in the 2022 Top 10 rankings of the Oceania Weightlifting Federation, topped his 67-kg division.

He lifted a total of 212 kg after completing all six lifts. In the snatch, he lifted 70 kg, 86 kg, and 92 kg, while in the clean & jerk, he lifted 90 kg, 106 kg, and 120 kg. 

Young buck John Castro was second to Santos after lifting a total of 63 kg. He lifted a 25 kg and 28 kg snatch and lifted a 35 kg clean & jerk.

Despite lifting all attempts strongly, Santos said “My performance that day was not the best, [but] I am happy that I didn’t miss any lifts that day. It wasn’t the best because I just got back from vacation and haven’t been training consistently. I’ve been focusing on jiu-jitsu at Trench Tech and I think that helps me stay in shape. No PRs this time around, but now I know where I stand with the numbers I lifted that day. I will get back to training and see where it goes from here.”

In the other men’s division results, Emmanuel Aquino was the lone competitor and lifted a total of 200 kg. He successfully lifted an 85-kg snatch after failing two previous attempts, and succeeded in lifting 105 kg and 115 kg for the clean & jerk portion. He failed the 121 kg last attempt as he twisted his ankle and fell.

In the men’s 89-kg weight class, Raymond Olopai topped it with a total weight of 180 kg; second place was Joseph Pangelinan with a total weight of 170 kg; third was Deion Sabino with a total weight of 169 kg; and fourth was youngster Aiden Gimed with a total weight of 120 kg.