A civil engineering freshman and a mechanical engineering senior won first place in the women’s and men’s divisions of University Recreation’s second annual Top Rope Climbing Competition last Thursday.
The event is part of the intramurals program that the department hosts. The competition took place on the Rockwall at the UREC on the Edinburg campus.
Recreation Program Coordinator Alex Hintz said the purpose of the event is to introduce people to rock climbing and to the facility.
Other universities also have rockwall competitions, but the difference at UTRGV is that the contest is open to all UREC members.
In the competition, there are five ropes. Each rope has a different route and points that are added to each participant’s individual score. If they complete the routes, they earn the points, but if they fall, the judges decide how many points they earned, depending on how far they climbed.
Ten people competed. In the women’s division, civil engineering freshman Martina Garcia placed first with 1,600 points; social work senior Genesis Rodriguez, second place, 1,100 points; and biology junior Gabriela Chaverria, third place, 900 points.
In the men’s division, mechanical engineering senior Osmar Sanchez earned first place with 5,200 points; software developer Mark Lagunez, second place, 4,600 points; and marine biology freshman Gaspar Najera, third place, 3,300 points.
Garcia shared the routines and exercises she practiced to win the competition.
“I usually come here every single day,” she said. “I try to climb more than twice a day. I do workouts outside to help out my strength, too.”
Garcia has a message for those interested in participating in upcoming climbing competitions.
“It’s scary and intimidating to come and see the wall,” she said. “But once you try your first route, you’ll get the hype and the energy of it, and you’ll want to continue coming.”
