Mafnas, Alegre strongest in powerlifting tilt

Inaugural SBD Powerlifting Meet champions Eric Mafnas, third from left, and Jamila Alegre, fourth from left, pose with the rest of the Top 3 winners in the men’s and women’s divisions following the competition Sunday at Gold’s Gym Saipan. At right is Gold’s Gym manager Tyce Mister.(JONATHAN IBAJAN)

Eric Mafnas and Jamila Alegre went to school together growing up and probably played together in jungle gyms. 

Last Sunday they had another thing in common after the former San Antonio Elementary School and Saipan Southern High School students won Gold’s Gym Saipan’s Inaugural SBD Powerlifting Meet held last Sunday.

SBD stands for squat, bench, and deadlift and were the challenges all 11 men and three women who participated performed.

Mafnas, a 23-year-old student at Northern Marianas College, topped the men’s division with a total of 385.06 points.

His best squat was 480 lbs, posted 275 lbs on the bench press, and had a deadlift of 500 lbs for a total lift of 1,255 lbs. Taking into account his weight of 175 lbs, Mafnas earned the most points based on the Wilks Formula.

“I was proud of all the lifters that competed for putting everything they had on the platforms. In fact I was surprised how strong everybody was.”

Asked what was his secret for success on the one-day tournament, Mafnas attributed it to his laser focus on the squat, bench, and deadlift. 

Eric Mafnas, right, and Jamila Alegre won the men’s and women’s divisions of the Inaugural SBD Powerlifting Meet champions last Sunday at Gold’s Gym Saipan. (JONATHAN IBAJAN)

“Lots of percentage-based workouts dealing with my one-rep maxes. Training right, resting up, and eating properly was what I did to prepare for competition day,” he said. 

Mafnas dedicated his victory to his family and little brother, who he also trains at Gold’s Gym. 

“My family has seen how important this event was to me and gave me the support necessary to make this happen. My little brother (Jose Mafnas) was my training partner the whole time and motivated me to step outside of my comfort zone.” 

Coming in second to Mafnas was Joey Calisao who had a squat of 550 lbs, had a bench press of 275 lbs, and lifted 505 lbs on the deadlift. Tipping the scales at 272 lbs, Calisalo finished with 344.71 points despite lifting a total of 1,330 lbs.

Completing the Top 3 among the men was 177-lb Jeffrey Seo who had lifts of 405 lbs (squat), 255 lbs (bench), and 440 lbs (deadlift) for a total of 1,100 lbs for 339.87 points.

For Alegre winning the women’s division despite being the lightest in the field was a testament to her training.

“Being a lightweight lifting heavy is pretty impressive to me. I showed the people watching the reason why I continuously train at the gym. I love being a strong woman!” said  the National Academy Sports Medicine-certified personal trainer and organizer of the SBD Powerlifting Meet.

The 132-lb Alegre topped her class after a squat of 215 lbs, a bench press of 115 lbs, and lifting 265 lbs on the deadlift. She finished with 300.3 points following her total weight of 595 lbs.

“Because it’s an open division and no weight class it was only fair to use the Wilks calculator. Wilks calculator is used to measure the strength of a powerlifter against other powerlifters despite the different weights of the lifters. So, based on Eric’s and my bodyweight and the Wilks calculator we lifted more,” she said.

Finishing second in the women’s category was Christy Aldan with lifts of 265 lbs (squad), 160 lbs (bench), and 335 lbs on the deadlift. The 20-year-old went on to score 286.6 points based on her 221.4-lb bodyweight and 760-lb total lift.

Lalaine Santomin placed third after the 23-year-old lifted a total of 665 lbs (240 lbs squat, 155 lbs bench press, and 280 lbs deadlift) to finish with 281.53 points. Santomin tipped the scales at 170.4 lbs.

The Inaugural SBD Powerlifting Meet was performed with a Rogue Standard Bar and Hampton Olympic Rubber Coated Plates. Under the rules, each lifter was granted three attempts in a standard round-robin flight arrangement. 

The competition was sponsored by Hyatt Regency Saipan, Michelob Ultra, Pure Water, PHI Pharmacy, Megabyte, 670 Rocksteady, and TBar.