James “Chico” Hernandez of Washburn traveled to Nebraska and was one of more than 600 athletes from 27 states who competed at the Nebraska State Senior Games Powerlifting and Track and Field Championships, held August 1-2 at Kearney’s Cross Fit and on the campus of University Nebraska-Kearney.
The 70-year-old took three gold medals in his division in the squat, bench press and dead lift in the field of 25 competitors, mostly from Nebraska, Iowa and Nevada.
His 245-pound squat was the men’s heaviest in any age or weight division. He also had the highest net total weight lifted in all three disciplines of the meet.
Hernandez also won five medals in track and field, along with two silver medals in the shot put and high jump and three bronze medals in the discus, javelin and long jump. He finished fifth in the softball throw.
“I thought it was hot when I was competing in the Arkansas senior track and field games last September in 97-degree heat, but in Kearney the temps were 100-plus and hotter on the track,” Hernandez said.
He worked out and practiced throughout the last month at Aroostook Fitness in Presque Isle, and prepared for track and field events all summer at the Gehrig Johnson field at Skyway Middle School.
For the competition, he flew to Newark and then to Kansas city, driving four and half hours to Kearney, Nebraska, without the help of a GPS. Along the way he drove into a severe cluster of thunderstorms and 90-plus-mph winds.
“It was a little scary driving into those storms, which knocked out power in Omaha and Lincoln for over 300,000 residents and a few tornados in the area, but I got to Kearney around 9:30 p.m.,” he said.
Hernandez is better known for his many national, international and world wrestling championships. He has competed in many senior track and field competitions in Maine, Vermont, Arkansas and Nebraska, and has earned 55 state medals since 2011.
He considers himself a better wrestler than track and field athlete, but the National Senior Games Association has added powerlifting to their event menu, he said.
He has qualified for both powerlifting and track and field for the 2025 senior games championships, which will be held in Des Moines, Iowa.
In June, he competed at the Vermont State Senior Track & Field Games held in Burlington and brought home silver in the shot put and two bronze medals in the high jump and discus.
He lost first place by 5 inches to a competitor he beat back in 2021 by 2-1/2 inches, he said.
“It’s still a very humbling feeling, and the people [and] athletes you meet along the way are always a fun experience for me,” he said.
