PORTALES POWERLIFTERS HEAD INTO STATE WITH A HEAVY HEART
Multiple communities around the state of New Mexico have recently suffered the tragic loss of a high school student, and this weekend the Portales High School powerlifters head into the state championships with a heavy heart. Just this past weekend, Portales multi-sport student-athlete Xavier Lujan was killed in a car accident. “We are all hurting,” said Portales powerlifting coach Nathan Chavez. “It happened just four days out from the state meet; our kids are determined to compete hard and dedicate the state meet to him.”
Xavier was a junior at Portales High School who competed in football, powerlifting, and track and field. “When he was a freshman, our freshman football coach gave him the nickname Smiley,” said Chavez. “He would smile every day, that’s the kind of kid he was, a happy kid. He loved being around his teachers, had a great personality, a big kid, just happy to be alive.”
Lujan’s death was the second time within a week the Portales community had suffered the loss of a student. “It’s rough because we had another kid lose their life earlier in the week,” explained Chavez. “She touched a certain community of the school, she was an athlete and drama kid, then this happened, and put us to the floor. Our kids are struggling.”
The Portales community is not going through the struggle alone. The outpouring of support from all over the state has been overwhelming. Schools from Albuquerque to Artesia, and all parts in between, have posted messages on social media in support of the Portales community. On Tuesday, several schools also wore red in solidarity of the Rams. “Many wore red to honor us,” said Chavez. “I just came from a track meet and Artesia and Dexter’s busses had messages written on the windows for us, they’re a couple of class schools.”
When the boys and girls from Portales High School put the extra weight on the bar this weekend at the 2025 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and National Electrical Contractors Association State Powerlifting Championships, they will do so with a heart full of grief. Their coach believes they are more than able to rise up in the middle of dealing with this tragedy. “This is not the first time we’ve had incidents like this,” said Chavez. “It happens, but our kids can make it through it.”
