Victoria Vargas ’17
Kinesiology,
Moore, TX
Meet Victoria Vargas. She’s a class of 2017 kinesiology major and a world-class powerlifter set on breaking records.
Hailing from Moore, Texas, Vargas is a member of the nationally ranked UTSA Powerlifting Team, Roadrunner Powerlifting.
In Spring 2017, Vargas won gold for the second consecutive year at the USA Powerlifting Collegiate National Championships (USAPL). Finishing with the highest recorded powerlifting score for the meet, she went on to set two unofficial world records in her weight class.
The 4’9” Roadrunner lifted a combined 1,091.29 pounds over the course of the USAPL competition, which is an unofficial International Powerlifting Federation women’s world record. At one point, she squatted 413.3 pounds, a record for her weight class.
“My 413.3 pound squat is about 3.6 times my body weight,” said Vargas, who is currently ranked second out of 1,000 female powerlifters in the USAPL’s overall rankings.
Vargas recently traveled to Killeen, Texas, for the International Powerlifting Federation’s RAW World Classic Bench Press Championships. Last year, she took first place in her division at the RAW World Classic by lifting upwards of 330 pounds in her weight class to win the gold. This year, she placed second in her division, and she accomplished a personal best by bench pressing 187.5 pounds during the competition.
“It feels amazing to have such strong and talented people around you who are just cheering you on,” Vargas said. “My fellow Roadrunners and I are trying to be the best that we can be.”
After Vargas graduates, she hopes to earn her personal training certificate and enter a nursing program. She hopes to use her background in exercise science to promote healthy living in her community. She plans to continue powerlifting as long as she is able.