Dominguez among state's strongest lifters
Ricebird flies to state powerlifting championships Saturday in Abilene
By KRIS BAGLEY sports@leader-news.com

L-N Photo by Kris Bagley Brotherly Support Mark Dominguez (right) works on his squat lift while his brother Abel (left) helps coach him through the workout.

Mark Dominguez will take his place among Texas' strongest Saturday at the state powerlifting championships in Abilene.

Dominguez, a junior lifter for the Ricebirds, will leave Friday to make the 353-mile drive and take on the state's best. He even has a secret weapon - the help of a former champion.

His brother Abel Dominguez, who won the state championship last year in his senior season, has returned to help Mark keep his focus. The recent El Campo High School graduate acts as another coach for his younger brother.

"Basically, I'm doing this myself, but "Basically, I'm doing he's telling me to work on technique, work on depth and everything," Dominguez said. "(Abel) just points out the necessities."

He points out Mark's strength too.

"Since last year, his bench press has gone up a lot," Abel Dominguez said. "Went up about 60 pounds in bench press. He works a lot harder than he did last year. That's a lot better."

Abel has pushed his brother to get better, but this week is about slowing down. All the hard work is behind him. Come Saturday, Dominguez will see the results of months of workouts.

"If you do too much, you burn out by the time you get to state," Abel Dominguez said. "Then you just mess up. You've got to really pace yourself. Take it easy and then when you get there, lift as hard as you can."

This past week was Dominguez' most difficult training of the year. Now, he said his plans involve smaller tasks like staying in shape and maintaining flexibility.

"During Spring Break, I did my power workouts," Dominguez said. "I did some really heavy squats, benches and deadlifts and a lot of back workouts. This week is just mainly stretching. I've got to rest a lot and drink a lot of fluids."

Powerlifting Coach Lane Tobola said a slow week is exactly what Dominguez needs. With all the hard work he has put in, Dominguez needs to relax in order to perform up to his standards.

"Mark is a consistent hard worker," Tobola said. "You can count on it day in and day out that he's going to come in and get it done. Something that's unique about him that usually isn't labeled on guys like that is that he's also a performer. He's a guy that likes to be up on the stage and get the job done.

"He's a game-time performer. He really has the best out of both worlds as far as what you want out of an athlete. He comes in and works hard every day and when time to lift, he knows how to get the job done. He's a clutch performer mixed in with being a hard worker."

That show-time mentality helps Dominguez succeed in front of big crowds. In the weight room when the powerlifting team practices, however, it's all about work. That is how he has decided to lead the team.

"I tried being a (vocal) leader at first, but I felt like I was being too demanding of my friends," Dominguez said. "I decided just to let them do what they felt like and whenever they needed me, I'd be there for them and point out the things they were doing wrong."

Instead of telling his teammates what to do, Dominguez shows them.

"In my opinion, he's the kind of leader we need more of," Tobola said. "He leads by example. You won't really hear him say a lot. He just goes up there and gets it done. As any coach can tell you, players around him respond to that more than anything else. They know that he's the top of the hill right now.

"Dealing with a sport like this where there are different weight classes, you know that maybe there's a kid who's lifting more weight but he's not performing to the level Mark is. You really know there's true respect involved when a guy is out lifting you but still respects you because of the way you work. In his weight class, Mark is one of the strongest guys there is in the state. As far as around here as a leader, his performance speaks for itself."

Dominguez' goals at state are to improve in all three lifting categories. His best performance this year came at regionals when he made a squat lift of 450, bench press of 265 and a deadlift of 465 for a 1,180-pound total.

Competing in the 148- pound category, he wants to lift 480 on squat, 290 at bench and break the 500-pound mark on deadlift.

Tobola said Dominguez has the ability to achieve any target he shoots for.

"For a young athlete, he is extremely focused on his goals," Tobola said. "He meticulously surveys every aspect of his lift, he always asks questions, he knows his competitors inside and out and he's constantly on guard about his event. I think that extreme focus has really pushed him over the edge when it's mixed with his extreme work ethic."

A top-five finish and an individual medal are in sight for Dominguez, but like any athlete, he wants to win it all.

"Any time you compete, the goal is to win," Tobola said. "That's the thing about a guy like Mark, even as a coach if you try to say, 'Look, you're a junior. Let's go hit this weight mark and just be happy with that and we'll try to come back and get them next year.' He won't accept that. He'll look at you like you're crazy. He fully intends to go in there and win every single event. Then when he's done with his, he'll go compete with the heavy weights and beat them too."