Most people try to lighten the load on their shoulders as the school year approaches its ending, doing all they can to keep from being weighed down so that they can better reach their future goals. However, the boys and girls powerlifting teams are doing just the opposite in order to achieve their goals for this season.

Several members of the girls team traveled to Edna last week to compete at the Regional meet. While there, freshman Ceideah Walker placed sixth in the 105 weight class with a total of 336 lbs, senior Alexia Williams placed eighth in the 132 weight class with a total of 520 lbs, sophomore Alexis Trichell placed ninth in the 132 weight class with a total of 500 lbs, sophomore Sarah Bates placed seventh in the 181 weight class with a total of 520 lbs and senior Breana Dyson placed fourth in the 259+ weight class with a total of 665 lbs.

According to Dyson, one of her biggest goals this season was to simply improve her performance, and coaches David Kendrick and Kim Levens helped her do just that.

“Coach Kendrick always believes I can do more after every attempt and keeps me focused on the weight and blocking everything out,” she said.

Dyson, along with the other girl powerlifters, had a successful season. The team placed third at the Hamshire-Fannett meet on Feb. 2 and placed fourth at the LCM meet on Feb. 9. They also brought home second place at the Orangefield meet on Feb. 16. Dyson and Walker placed first in their weight classes at all three meets. Other girl lifters who have done well and placed this season are: Sh’Layla Rogers, Anna Broussard, Sydney McGraw, and Krystal Alicea.

The boys team has also had a successful season and will send several powerlifters to the Regional meet this week. The team placed first at three meets this season: Silsbee, Hamshire-Fannett and LCM. Lifters who have placed throughout the season include: Hunter Angelo, Brett Keele, Victor Davila, Ethan McKay, Lucas Russell, Trent Brown, Malik Griffin, Colt Lebleu, Grant Lacour, Jeremiah Armstrong, Alex Reed, Jordan Parks, and Chris Dyson. Each member of the team has become increasingly motivated with each victory, leading them to push themselves further as they get closer to Regionals.

“I train every day except for on Wednesdays and Saturdays,” Angelo said. “On Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays training starts at 6:30, Sunday it starts at 2:00 and lasts between an hour and a half to two hours.”

Angelo placed first in his weight class at Hamshire-Fannett, LCM and Silsbee, and said he stays motivated by watching the progress of other lifters throughout the state and trying to beat their lift totals every week. One of his goals for this season is to advance and place at the State meet.

“I have four trainers and they all push me to better myself while working out or lifting in meets,” Angelo said.

To these athletes, powerlifting is more than just lifting weights or seeing how much they can bench press. Powerlifting also gives them the opportunity to meet new people, travel to different places, and lets them spend more time with those of the same interest. Each member is inspired by some aspect that drives them to do well.

“When I was in 6th grade my brother Troy started lifting,” Angelo said. “Troy started training and it looked fun so I asked ‘can I start’ and I just went from there. I have been power lifting for six years now. And when I was in 7th grade I qualified for the WPC Worlds Powerlifting meet in Las Vegas. I won first and got to meet a lot of different kids from different countries.”

Angelo and the other boy qualifiers will compete at the Regional meet this Friday, March 10 in Anahuac.