As powerlifting season began, new lifters learned procedure from veterans and coaches at a dual scrimmage with Denver City on Jan. 5.

  “Using our dual meet, we were able to learn and address all of those without having to worry about any disqualification for our new lifters,” Indian Coach John Richmond said. “Naturally it is important to start with a strong base, but we can always grow and improve strength as long as our athletes work hard and do what we ask.”  

  Experienced lifters became examples for new lifters like freshman Karolynn Caballero who looked up to two-time regional qualifier junior Alexia Gonzales.

  “My mentor is Alexia because she does each event very well,” Caballero said. “She is very impressive throughout the meets.”  

  The powerlifting teams saw over a dozen new members.

  “We have a majority of new athletes this year,” Richmond said. “There are a lot of rules and nuances to powerlifting they have to learn.”

  Freshman Audiel Sanchez has practiced to improve the way he performs during meets. 

  “My best event is dead lift,” Sanchez said. “When it come to lifting a lot of weight, dead lift is the event to see how much a person can lift.” 

  One of the trials of a lifter was dealing with the constricting uniforms.

  “The uniform affects a lot because they hurt you,” junior Marc Trevino said. “They are so tight, they help give you the strength to lift. The [leg] wraps were new this year to us, so we had to get used to that.” 

  Senior Karsyn Hogue entered her fourth year on the Maiden team and used the Denver City scrimmage on Jan. 5 to reintroduce herself to procedure. 

  “I’ve done powerlifting since my freshman year, so it wasn’t that new to me,” Hogue said. “I guess it just helped me get back into the routine of meets.”  

  Maiden Coach Will McCallister is training and improving lifters to perform better. 

  “This is because you have to know what your limits are so that you can go past them when you work hard,” McCallister said. “For our experienced lifters, it’s been a year since they have had competition, so a reminder on procedures is huge for them to accomplish what they need.” 

  The coaches motivated both new lifters and veterans like Gonzales. 

  “Both of my coaches help me by always being happy and always pushing everyone to do their best,” Gonzales said. “They are absolutely amazing coaches.” 

  Caballero said that McCallister has helped her a lot.

   “He is good at teaching others,” Caballero said. “He is calm while explaining what I need to do.”  

    The scrimmage was a necessary dry run for Caballero. 

  “The practice meet let me learn because this was my first time trying out powerlifting,” Caballero said. “I signed up because I thought it was very interesting. I really enjoy it.” 

  The first meet for the Indians and Maidens was Jan. 19 in Slaton where the Indians took fourth and the Maidens took fifth.

Powerlifting results from Jan. 19 in Slaton

Maidens–fourth overall with 22 points

Individually–114-pound division: sophomore Stephanie Whitsitt-3rd (squat 185 pounds+bench 55 pounds+dead lift-210 pounds=450 pounds), sophomore Azaya Navarro-4th (squat-175+bench-65+dead lift-175=415 pounds); 123-pound division: sophomore Caimbrien Jones-4th (squat-120+bench-75+dead lift-170=365 pounds); 132-pound division: sophomore Sara Guenther Harms-2nd (squat-120+bench-60+dead lift-165=345 pounds); 181-pound division: junior Alexia Gonzales-1st (squat-365+bench-200+dead lift-325=890 pounds);259-pound division: freshman Nancy Guenther Harms-3rd (squat-60+bench-85+dead lift-170=315 pounds) 

Indians–fifth overall with 19 points

Individually–165-pound division: freshman Evan Schmitt-6th (squat-315+bench-175+dead lift-385=875 pounds), senior Josh Woody-9th (squat-310+bench-170+dead lift-265=745 pounds); 181-pound division: senior Jordan Giesbrecht-11th (squat-365+bench-205+dead lift-365=935 pounds), junior Dillon Gretch-14th (squat-325+bench-155+dead lift-380=860 pounds), freshman Halen Hadley-18th (squat-250+bench-135+dead lift-280=665 pounds); 220-pound division: freshman Audiel Sanchez-3rd (squat-405+bench-195+dead lift-435=1,035 pounds); 242-pound division: senior Jake Sumrow-first (squat-375+bench-245+dead lift-455=1,075 pounds), sophomore Brenden Garcia-2nd (squat-275+bench-175+dead lift-300=750 pounds), freshman Noah Franco-3rd (squat-165+bench-90+dead lift-230=485 pounds); 275-pound division: sophomore Owen Call-5th (squat-375+bench-165+dead lift-405=945 pounds), sophomore Garrett Sellers-7th (squat-320+bench-200+dead lift-310=830 pounds), junior Carsen Cox-8th (squat-405+bench-240+dead lift-0=645 pounds)