COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- Menlo College Weightlifting backed up its strong showing from the 2025 campaign with another well-rounded performance at the 2026 USAW National Championships and Mountain North WSO Championships. Outgoing senior James Woodley capped off his stellar Oaks with a quality performance, while sophomore Jade Morales picked up her third gold at Menlo.

 
Jade Morales - U25 53kg National Champion
 
Morales, a sophomore from Redwood City, CA, repeated her performance from 2025 with a personal-best 76kg snatch and 100kg clean and jerk. She went a perfect 3-for-3 in snatches, with her first 72kg attempt passing any other competitors' best mark. Just for good measure, Morales one-upped her own performance, with a 74kg snatch on her second opportunity before capping it off at 76kg.
 
In the clean and jerk, Morales missed on her first two attempts at 100kg, but on her third try, cleanly lifted 100kg for a total of 176kg. Her overall performance blew past the competition in her group, with the difference between her final (176kg) and second place (159kg) finishing larger than the gap between second and fifth (142kg).
 

Ryan Padron - U25 79kg First Place
 
Padron, an accomplished member of the senior class from Kihei, HI, placed at the top of his division. Padron went a perfect 6-for-6 between the snatch and clean and jerk, narrowly edging out second place by 1kg. Starting in the snatch at 111kg, Padron continued by increments of 3kg, plateauing at 117kg on his final try.
 
However, it was his showing in the clean and jerk that pushed him over the edge. Opening at 146kg, Padron increased his attempts by 4kg, closing at 154kg on his third and final try. It was just the push he needed to pass Alden Chiu, who finished just one kilogram shy of Padron's mark.
 

Kira Barad - JR 86+kg Second Place
 
Barad's final meet as an underclassman was memorable, finishing second in her division. She went 1-for-3 in the snatch, starting at 69kg before missing on her next two tries, both at 72kg.
 
She had a big leap in the clean and jerk, opening at a successful 85kg before jumping to 90kg. Her 5kg leap was the highest between attempts of anyone in her weight category, helping push her to her 159kg total.
 

Orion Rios - U25 79kg Fourth Place
 
Rios, who came to Menlo by way of Skyline College, lifted 93kg on his first attempt in the snatch and 96kg in his second, before missing on his third try. His 96kg snatch bested his previous Menlo-high set in the Silicon Valley Championships.
 
His personal-best day continued in the clean and jerk, missing on his first attempt but lifting 123kg in his second and 126kg in his third. That mark pushed past his previous high set at the USAWL University National Championships.
 

James Woodley - U25 71kg Fourth Place
 
Capping off an exemplary career at Menlo, Woodley went 4-of-6 overall. After coming out unsuccessful in his first try in the snatch, Woodley lifted 103kg on his second opportunity and 105kg on his third, good for second in his category on the snatch.
 
Woodley had a strong showing in the clean and jerk, lifting 130kg on his first try, the highest mark of his groups' opening round. He followed by lifting 133kg before narrowly missing out on his third at 136kg, for a total of 238kg.
 

While student-athletes like Woodley and Padron saw their Menlo careers end on a high note, the future stays bright with the continued success of Morales and the ever-improving Rios, Barad and a large cohort of student-athletes on head coach Kevin Doherty's roster.