Who is the state’s strongest HS football player?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Who is New Mexico's strongest high school football player for the 2022-23 academic year?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Based on the results from Saturday's state powerlifting championships, the unofficial winner is 2023 Rio Rancho OL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='541104' first='Jase' last='Smith']</strong>, who lifted a combined 1,370 pounds to capture the title in the 308-pound division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rising Rio Rancho junior (2025) <strong>Jose Zapian</strong> was second behind Smith in the 308-pound division with 1,255 combined pounds. A pair of Sandia players finished second (<strong>Nicolas Solis</strong>) and third (<strong>Franklin Finch</strong>) behind Rio Rancho's Aiden Foutz in the super heavyweight division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Finch has signed with Eastern New Mexico.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 Rio Rancho prospect <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1118245' first='Ronald' last='Thomas']</strong>, who played the 2022 season with the Rams' JV team, won the 275-pound class with a combined weight of 1,210 pounds. 2024 Volcano Vista OL/DL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='590180' first='Zachary' last='Markham']</strong> was third with 1,195 pounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 Cleveland OL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='340188' first='Ben' last='Linfoot']</strong> won the 242-pound class with a combined weight of 1,315 pounds, making him one of the strongest players in the state on a pound-for-pound basis.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Five Lovington lifters won individual titles at this weekend's state powerlifting championship in Rio Rancho, many of whom play football.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 Lovington DT <strong>Daniel Wall</strong> easily captured gold in the heavyweight division (308 pounds) in Class 4A with a combined weight of 1,340 pounds, most of any 4A lifter at the state championships.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 Lovington OL/DL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='270223' first='Ezekiel' last='Guzman']</strong>, who is committed to NMMI, lifted the second most combined weight on Saturday (1,280 pounds) competing in the 242 pound division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 Lovington OL/DL <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='138046' first='Brennan' last='Garcia']</strong> won the 275-pound division with a combined weight of 1,250 pounds. New Mexico State has offered Garcia the opportunity to join the program as a preferred walk-on, and he is considering the invitation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Multiple returning Wildcats excelled as well. 2024 OL/DL <strong>Jayden Bosquez</strong> finished second in the Super Heavyweight Division with a combined weight of 1,155 pounds. 2025 OLB/WR <strong>Ryan Weiser</strong> won the 148-pound division with a combined weight of 915 pounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 Portales OL <strong>Nick Lavalle</strong> won the super heavyweight division with a combined weight of 1,240 pounds. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West Las Vegas QB <strong>C.J. Perea</strong>, one of our top prospects in the 2025 class, finished tied for second in the Class A-3A 242-pound division with a combined weight of 1,045 pounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rising junior DT <strong>Troy Lopez</strong> (2025) from Santa Rosa won the super heavyweight division in the A-3A competition with a combined weight of 1,100 pounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/lvt_ad/status/1642281585771700224?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/lvt_ad/status/1642281585771700224?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/CoachGonzo96/status/1642304943364382720","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/CoachGonzo96/status/1642304943364382720 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Fabiannr_88/status/1642586774437519360","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Fabiannr_88/status/1642586774437519360 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/jarmaine94/status/1642276526849937408","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/jarmaine94/status/1642276526849937408 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/BulldogCityFB/status/1642303922688905216","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BulldogCityFB/status/1642303922688905216 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/CoachCobos77/status/1642613407923965953?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/CoachCobos77/status/1642613407923965953?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->