Loretto Academy recently held a ceremony in honor of its newly renovated weight room on April 8, celebrating a major upgrade to the school’s athletic facilities. 

The updated space now includes squat racks, dumbbells, barbells, and a variety of new equipment designed to support strength training and overall athletic development for student athletes across all sports.

The renovation represents a significant step forward for Loretto’s athletic program, giving students access to more modern and effective training resources. 

With the improved setup, athletes are now able to focus more on building strength, improving performance, and preventing injuries in a safer and more professional environment.

A key driving force behind this project was Athletic Director Mr. Oscar Nieto, whose vision helped bring the transformation to life. 

Mr. Nieto said, “ I feel that just having a space period for athletes to develop and get stronger was the biggest thing that the school was missing.”

He emphasized that being a private Catholic high school should never limit the quality of athletic programs or equipment available to students. 

He was inspired to do this project because of Mr. Kennedy, a huge voice for women in sports in the El Paso community, began the planning process for the weight room.

For the ceremony, all Loretto’s team captains were present and chosen to represent Loretto in a strong manner.

The weight room video was played before the audience featuring all team captains demonstrating their fitness utilizing the weight room.

The cheerleaders cheered on the sidelines as the ribbon was cut in anticipation to see the newly renovated weight room.

Mr. Nieto also said, “ In the near future I would like to start renovating the locker room so that our athletes can have a place to get ready, have team meetings, and store their sports bags.”