Who are the strongest players for 2024?

<p>The NMAA held the state powerlifting championships last Saturday at the Rio Rancho Events Center. The results from the day-long competition offer us a good indication as to who will be the strongest players in the state for the 2024 football season:</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1118048' first='Kevin' last='Cuomo'], Eldorado (1,435 pounds)</strong>: Cuomo, who competed in the 198-pound class, isn't just the strongest player in the state on a pound-for-pound basis. Instead, he is THE strongest after posting the highest weight total at Saturday's event. Cuomo, a  rising senior, plays defensive end and linebacker for the Eagles. He has 68 tackles and 8 TFL in his first two seasons with the Eagles varsity.  </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1119084' first='Orlando' last='Romero'], Robertson (1,340)</strong>: Romero is a rising senior for the Cardinals, always one of the top teams in Class 3A. He plays OL and DL for Robertson. Romero won the 275-pound title in A-3A (margin of victory was 230 pounds) with his impressive total.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='613059' first='Leandro' last='Salazar'], Espanola Valley (1,325)</strong>:  Along with Romero, Salazar can claim to be one of the strongest players in northern New Mexico for this coming season. Salazar won the 275-pound class title. He plays offensive tackle for the Sundevils.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='510673' first='Ezra' last='Hensley'], Deming (1,315)</strong>: Hensley's brute strength is just another reason why he's one of the heavily recruited prospects in the 2025 class. He won the Super Heavyweight crown for Class 4A. Utah State, UTEP, Eastern Washington, Texas State, Princeton and Cornell have recently expressed interest. Cornell has offered.  </p>   <p><strong>Ignacio Pinon, Hatch Valley (1,265)</strong>: Pinon is still a freshman at Hatch Valley but he's already making his mark as one of the strongest players in the state. He won the state title in the 242-pound class.  He played varsity for the Bears in 2023 as an offensive lineman.  </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1250000' first='Jesus' last='Olvera'], Deming (1,265)</strong>: A rising junior, Olvera is a promising young lineman for the Wildcats. He had 14 tackles and 2 sacks as a sophomore to show flashes of his potential.  </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1266328' first='Brody' last='Clark'], La Cueva (1,235)</strong>: Clark was already deadlifting 500 pounds before his sophomore season began last August. He finished fourth in the highly competitive 220-pound weight class. Finished with 25 tackles for the Class 6A champion Bears. A rising star for La Cueva.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='837139' first='Gabriel' last='Marquez'], Cleveland (1,230)</strong>: Marquez is a rising senior offensive lineman for the Storm. He placed second in the 275-pound class. North Dakota State, North Texas, UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico have expressed interest.  New Mexico Highlands has offered.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853023' first='Luke' last='Matherly'], Centennial (1,225)</strong>: Matherly finished just 5 pounds behind Marquez in the 275-pound class to finish third. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Matherly was an offensive tackle for Centennial in 2023 and earned Second-Team All-State honors but will likely move back to defensive line in 2024.</p>   <p><strong>Ethan Montoya, Sandia (1,220)</strong>: Montoya easily won the 165-pound class in Class 5A by a margin of 75 pounds. He should have a key role on Sandia's offense in 2024.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='613058' first='Valente' last='Herrera'], Lovington (1,220)</strong>: The 6-foot-3, 290-pound Herrera will be one of the top offensive linemen in the state as a senior this fall. Deadlifts over 500 pounds. New Mexico Highlands offered in March. Finished runner-up in the 308-pound class.   </p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1057304' first='Kylar' last='Pickering'], Hobbs (1,215)</strong>: Pickering is a 6-foot-4, 295-pound OL for the Eagles. A rising senior, Pickering grabbed third place in the Class 5A 308-pound class. New Mexico, Stephen F. Austin, Eastern Washington and UT Permian Basin are among the college teams expressing interest. He attended UTPB's Junior day two weeks ago.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='615425' first='Amiri' last='Mumba'], Highland (1,210)</strong>: Besides being arguably the top running back in the Albuquerque Metro Region for 2024, Mumba is also a state champion wrestler and powerlifter. He won the title in the 181-pound class. Mumba eyes utilizing his size, strength, speed and mobility as a senior for the Hornets in the fall.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/EzraHensley5/status/1779353446833111198 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/KylarPickering/status/1779301218818650413 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/MarquezSharky/status/1779595540805672995 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/luke_matherly/status/1779327606300832184 </div></figure>   <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/1779297086489419784 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/kklyps/status/1779637713257336969 </div></figure>

The NMAA held the state powerlifting championships last Saturday at the Rio Rancho Events Center. The results from the day-long competition offer us a good indication as to who will be the strongest players in the state for the 2024 football season: