Decatur senior Samantha Gam won a state title in the 114 class at the Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting Association’s 4A Division I meet Friday at the Bert Ogden Center in Edinburg, lifting a total of 865 pounds. Gam’s title win was the third for her family, as her father, Jesus, earned back-to-back championships in 1996 and 1997. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
Decatur senior Samantha Gam returned to the floor of the Bert Ogden Center in Edinburg last week — the site where she experienced a heartbreaking finish to her junior campaign that left her devastated.
Heading into her final event, Gam — a 2025 regional champion — was at the top of the 114 class standings, and looked poised to take home the gold last season. However, a miscommunication an issue with her suit ultimately led to Gam to bomb out.
“I guess they were trying to make the meet go faster, so they moved the flight one before me to a different rack, and I never heard them say that,” Gam said. “I pulled my deadlift suit out of my bag and realized that my water bottle spilled. The suits are super hard to get on, so I knew it was going to be a struggle. I did my first lift stiff-legged and missed it, and I just got into my head. Then I missed the second one. We thought I locked out the third attempt, but they said that the bar stopped.”
Fighting through anger, sadness and disappointment, Gam chose to use her emotions to fuel her final run — a decision that paid off as she overpowered the competition and climb to the top of the podium, earning a state championship March 20.
“I just kept telling myself that I never wanted to feel like I did last year again,” Gam said. “I took some time off, but over the summer, I worked my butt off every day. No matter what I had to do or what [Decatur coach Mark Zimmer] had us doing, I did it, and I made myself stronger. I tried not to be such a mental midget, as well as overcome the thoughts in my head telling me that I’d never win state.”
On her run to the state title, Gam opened the meet with a 350-pound squad. She then tied the class regional record in bench press with 225 pounds, and capped off the win by deadlifting 290 pounds.
Gam outlifted Port Lavaca Calhoun’s duo of Carington Osornia (855) and Marley Desoto (850) by 10 and 15 pounds, respectively. Gam’s championship medal was presented to her by her father, Jesus, who has served as a THSWPA state judge for 28 years.
“It was just a rush of excitement, along with the feeling that I finally accomplished my goal,” Gam said. “It was a huge weight off of my shoulders. I asked my dad to hand me my medal. Obviously, my entire family’s going to be cheering for me, but this was something that my dad and I have both been wanting for a while. It was just very emotional, but I was overjoyed at the fact that I was able to come out on top despite what happened last year.”
The win by Gam now stands as the Lady Eagles’ fourth individual state title and the program’s ninth overall. It’s also the third gold medal for the Gam family, as Jesus — a Class of 1997 graduate of Decatur High School — claimed Decatur’s first two titles back-to-back in 1996 (114 class) and 1997 (123 class).
“Of course, you want your kid to do good in whatever the do, but when they choose something that you’ve done and that you were successful in, it really means a lot,” Jesus said. “She came up short last year, but she still did her best and competed. That really got her focused on this year [and] looking at things she needed to work on. It came down to the last pull between her and [Osornia], and that’s the way we wanted it. When you’re competing against the best, you don’t expect anything less than a struggle and a fight to do more than you’ve ever done.”
Undeterred by competing in a heavy-lifting sport with a smaller body frame, Gam’s interest in powerlifting began in middle school by former coach Scott Warner.
“Coming into powerlifting, I wanted to do what my dad did, and to do even better than him,” she said. “Having that history really started a spark in me. But I also wanted to do this for myself. Powerlifting’s really shaped me into who I am today… and helped me to overcome my own insecurities and doubts.”
Gam entered high school with a passion for the sport, and eventually built a bond with Zimmer, who took over the program her freshman year.
“[Zimmer] is like my second dad. He’s truly built me and I give all of my thanks to him because he’s believes in me since Day 1,” Gam said. “Having a coach that believes in you — especially in a sport that’s mostly all mental — is definitely the most important thing. He’s helped me take a step back from those thoughts from Edinburg last year. There’s been bad days in the weight room — of course, on deadlift — and there’s been walls I couldn’t get over. But he’s helped me overcome everything. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him.”
With her state title in hand, Gam hopes to use her gold medal as a springboard to draw interest from collegiate programs.
“I talked to Texas A&M after the state meet a little bit, but nothing official,” she said. “They told me that if I ever wanted to go somewhere — or even if I wanted to take a year to go to community college and then transfer — they would take me and I could lift for them. Hesston College was offering me a couple of months back. I feel like there’s some left in the tank. I’m a big family person and don’t want to move away, but if the right offer came, I have a feeling that I would take it. I’d love to see what more I could accomplish.”
Decatur’s Zheztynie Rodriguez, Samantha Gam and Addyson Campbell secured medals at the 2026 Texas High School Women’s Powerlifting Association’s 4A Division I state meet March 20 in Edinburg. Gam won the state title in the 114 class, while Campbell and Rodriguez secured third and fifth-place finishes in the 242 and 97 classes, respectively. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
Led by Gam’s top finish, the Lady Eagles placed sixth at the state meet with 11 points. Port Lavaca Calhoun (33), Beeville Jones (29) and Springtown (28) secured top 3 finishes, while Corpus Christi Tuloso-Midway (14) and Dumas (13) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Decatur brought home two more medals captured by senior lifters.
Addyson Campbell — a 2-time state qualifier — climbed onto the podium, improving six spots to take the bronze in the 242 class with 980 total pounds.
“Last year was really stressful because it was my first time to compete at state,” Campbell said. “I also had to work harder this year because I had ankle surgery in June, which had me in a cast all summer… There are a couple of [Springtown] girls that I’ve competed against my entire career, and they’ve always beaten me. But I was able to finally beat one of them in my last meet.”
Campbell is also hoping to find a home with a college powerlifting program.
“I think I’d really like to do it,” she said. “I’m pretty good at it now. It’s something I’ve done for the past four years, so it’s a big part of my life. I just want to continue getting stronger.”
Making her third trip to state, Zheztynie Rodriguez rounded out the Lady Eagles’ state medalists, lifting 620 pounds to place fifth in the 97 class to take home her second straight medal after a fourth-place finish last season.
“It’s a little bit disappointing that I went from fourth to fifth this year, but I did set a new PR,” Zheztynie said. “I think it just got a little bit more competitive this year — everyone’s stronger every year. There were some girls that dropped down to my weight class to medal, which I didn’t see coming and I should have been prepared for that. But I’m still happy to finish my senior year with another medal.”
Zheztynie said one of the highlights of her career was having the chance to compete on the same team as her twin sister, Lheztynie.
“We’re both in a different weight class, so it really helps us by not having to compete against each other,” Zheztynie said. “We’ve been able to work together to get stronger. Since we have two separate flights, we’ve been able to watch and cheer each other on. I’m glad I got to share this experience with my sister.”
Decatur’s remaining state qualifiers included senior Lheztynie Rodriguez (6th, 105 class, 665 pounds), senior Ayden Colwell (8th, 242+ class, 855 pounds), senior Leona Pointon (9th, 165 class, 885 pounds), junior Faith Knight (11th, 148 class, 780 pounds) and senior Carrie Hamm (12th, 132 class, 710 pounds).
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