Powerlifting is in full swing and the teams are bigger than ever, heading to meets on Wednesday afternoons to try to set new records and qualify for regional competition. The Bison team has hosted two meets itself, the last one this past Wednesday after being postponed a week due to the ice storm.

Athletes are working each meet to keep their totals up so they can meet the top-12 cut-off for regional qualification.

Sophomore Micheal Brauer is new to powerlifting this year and was excited for meets to start to see how he would do.

“I was really excited to figure out how strong I was in our first meet,”  Brauer said. “I always knew I was strong, but didnt think I could squat almost 500 pounds.”

Brauer isn’t the only lifter making significant progress. Maylene Caceres topped out with a squat of 355 last year and made 405 at the first meet of the year.

“I was ecstatic when I went up on my squat,” Caceras said. “My goal for next year is to hit 500 pounds.”

Newcomers Kylenne Terry and Gracie Taylor have also made progress since starting athletics back in September. 

“When we first maxed out back in September I was only squatting 115 pounds, and now I squat 135,” Taylor said. “I could probably squat more but I haven’t pushed myself that far yet.”

Last Wednesday’s meet saw several Bison and Lady Bison finishing the evening with medals around their necks. For the Lady Bison, Yuliet Gonzalez placed first in the 148 weight group, Alexis O’Daniel first in the 198 group, and Caceres first in the 220 group with a 920 total – 425 pounds on the squat. 

For the Bison, Porter West was first and Trevor Grissett second in the 114 weight group, Brauer was first in the 275s with a 1300 total (500 on deadlift) and Joe Caceres placed third in the 308s.