Falcon Director of Athletic Performance, Carmen Pata, has won the 2013 USA Master's +105 kilogram class Pan American Masters Championship.

The event was held June 14-16 in Chicago, Ill. 

He had a lift of 275 pounds n his first snatch lift and a lift of 286 pounds in his second snatch lift. In the clean and jerk portion he had lifts of 341 and 357 pounds. He finished with a total of 643 pounds.

"Nineteen countries were at the meet including competitors from Ecuador, Venezuela and the United States," said Pata. "It's a different atmosphere in that we support and encourage each other during the competition. It's not like playing an intercollegiate sport. I've heard from several UWRF student-athletes who have been very supportive."

The win at the Masters Championship means that Pata will now compete in the World Masters Games. That event will be held Aug. 2-10 in Torino, Italy. There will be around 20,000 people at that event competing in 30 sports. "The biggest thing is competing against myself at the Games," said Pata. "Every indicator is very positive that I will have a good day and I'm hoping to medal. I'm excited about the opportunity to represent UWRF, the state of Wisconsin and the United States on this world stage."

Pata also won the 2012 National Championship in a meet held in Savannah, Ga. 

Ini addition, his lift of 643 pounds at the Pan American Masters Championships means that Pata is eligible to try out for the US Olympic Weightlifting team. He had to lift 638 pounds at the Pan American games to gain the chance to try out for the Olympic team. The site and dates for that event have not been set. 

Pata has established a blog that will keep fans informed on his trip to Italy. "With all the support I've received from everyone I wanted a way to keep in contact as we travel, so I started a blog. In addition to the travel and competition updates, I'll be posting my thoughts about coaching, training and life along the way," said Pata. The blog site is: http://carmenpata.blogspot.com/

Fans can also follow Pata on his Twitter (https://twitter.com/Carmen Pata) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/carmen.pata.1?fref=ts) pages.