The university’s Tower shines burnt orange Monday night, May 6, for three RecSports Sport Clubs. Texas Quidditch, the men’s team from Longhorn Powerlifting and Texas Rock Climbing all won their national championships.
Texas Quidditch won the Quidditch World Cup VI on April 14, in Kissimmee, Fla., defeating UCLA 190-80. Quidditch was made famous in the “Harry Potter” novels and was adapted for “muggles” (non-wizards) by Middlebury College students in 2005. The International Quidditch Association says Quidditch is played at more than 300 universities and high schools in the U.S. and 12 other countries. Watch the championship game replay and read a full recap.
On the same day, the men’s team from Longhorn Powerlifting also took home a national championship, winning the USAPL Collegiate National Powerlifting Championship in Killeen, Texas. The co-ed powerlifting team included 10 All-Americans this year, and the women’s team finished third place. Longhorn Mario Leos won Texas’ first gold medal in the 116 class, Austin Deshane took silver in the 130 and Abel Escamilla won a medal in the 145 class. Texas’ Preston Turner dominated the 264 class and won gold. The Longhorns beat Louisiana Tech, LSU, Texas State-San Antonio and West Point.
The third national championship this spring among Sport Club programs belongs to the Texas Rock Climbing team for their USA Rock Climbing Collegiate Climbing Series National Championship. The team took home the top honors on April 20, in Melbourne, Fla., defeating UCCS, Georgia Tech and 30 other colleges and universities around the country. Texas had three students finish in the top 10 with Danny Aleksovski winning the Men’s Speed competition.
Aleksovski also placed tenth in the Men’s Boulder competition. Will Butcher placed second in the Men’s Sport competition. The women’s team finished strong as well with Sarah Williams coming in second place in the Women’s Sport competition. Christina Nguyen, Payton Grantham and Sarah Williams placed second, sixth and tenth, respectively, in the Women’s Speed competition. The team also won the 2012 National Championship.
The Sport Club program consists of 45 different student organizations that make up the University of Texas Sport Club Association (UTSCA). Each club offers students the opportunity to pursue a higher degree of participation with a group of individuals interested in the same level and type of activity.
