Riverhead weightlifter qualifies for American Open after taking first in Connecticut

Two years ago, Riverhead High School alum Erika Moncada got involved with CrossFit, an up-and-coming fitness sport that involves high-intensity interval training, Olympic weightlifting, plyometrics, powerlifting and gymnastics. An athlete through and through, she loved the competitive nature of the sport.

Moncada trained regularly and a hobby became more of a passion.

“It was where I got my escape,” Moncada said. “I always look forward to finishing my job and going to the workouts.”

Though CrossFit is more of an all-around workout, Moncada really thrived in the weightlifting portion of the competition.

“I was always better than everyone else in weightlifting,” Moncada said. “Even better than some of the guys. Not so much with everything else.”

So she figured, why not explore weightlifting on its own? Moncada hooked up with local weightlifting guru Steve Tria who operates out of GymNation in Riverhead. Tria was a competitive powerlifter for many years and was ranked in the top-100 nationally as early as 2008. Instead of continuing to compete in the sport he loved, he decided instead to become a registered coach in USA weightlifting and created a team that would travel all over called Team 13 Fitness. Erika joined three months ago.

“When Erika first showed up, I guess she was looking for a change of pace,” Tria said. “After a week, I could tell she was a very, very strong girl. She was just lacking in her technique.”

Tria explains, that technique is more important than how strong you actually are.

“Weightlifting isn’t a sport where you can get by, by being strong,” he said. “That’s not good enough. If your technique is off that makes the lift that much harder. It’s a technique-driven sport.”

And as the lifts became easier for Moncada, after meticulous critique, Tria threw a curveball at her.

“How about getting into competition?” he asked her.

“She jumped all over it 100 percent,” Tria said. “We came up with a plan to get her lifting at a national level before the next weightlifting event.”

Tria envisioned a plan to get her to where she needed to be. That involved mental preparation, technique, incremental weight advancement, and proper eating habits.

Soon enough, Moncada entered her first competition: the Connecticut Open Weightlifting Competition in Stamford, Connecticut on August 2. The idea was to simply get her name out there. She did a little more than that.

“I went there not really knowing what to expect,” Moncada said. “I’d never did a weightlifting meet before.”

“In CrossFit, your mind is racing, your heart is racing but in weightlifting you just really have to be focused and make sure your mind is up to the task,” she continued.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9seyMjRkS4]So when she finally took the stage, Tria coached her through it. He tried to keep her focused. She had multiple attempts to perfect her lift. The 139-pound, 21-year-old Moncada blew her competition out of the water. She dominated her weight class, finishing in first place.

Moncada snatched 70kg (154 lbs) and cleaned and jerked 91kg (200.2 lbs). Those two numbers are combined for a total score of 161kg. The second place finisher put up a measly 120kg.

The result qualified her for the American Open, a national level meet. She’s only 8kg away from qualifying for the National Championships.

Moncada was named the Best Female Lifter of the competition. She was pound for pound the strongest female competitor at the meet. Not bad for the first time out, eh?

This is just the beginning.

Through daily training, sometimes two times a day, Moncada is motivated like no other.

“I couldn’t believe I was the strongest one there,” Moncada said. “But that’s not something you can let get to your head.”

While they trained, Moncada would joke with Tria, “just get me to the American Open.”

“I didn’t think it would happen,” she said. “Not after three months. I thought I would need to train for over a year. And it’s surreal that I’m actually going.”

The American Open will take place December 3 in Reno, Nevada. Eight kilograms seems like a big jump but Tria knows it’s possible.

“She’s extremely coachable,” Tria said. “She gives all her effort and she listens. With someone like that, it’s easy to achieve success.”

The goal is to make it to the Olympics.

“I need to qualify for the Nationals first,” Moncada said before being interrupted by a fellow competitor.

“You’re going to the Olympics,” he yelled.

“We’ll see,” she laughed. “I hope so.”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i96h7S4vU7o]

Editor’s note: This article was amended after publication to correct an error in the name of the company owned by Steve Tria. It is Team13Fitness, not GymNation.