STRENGTHEN TO SUCCESS

Vying to qualify for regionals, Meridian boys & girls powerlifters compete at Clifton Tri-Meet after opening season by hosting Yellowjacket Invitational

After opening the 2023 Texas high school powerlifting season with a strong showing at their own Yellowjacket Invitational Jan. 28, Meridian boys and girls powerlifters moved themselves into position to capture berths to the regional championships at the Clifton Tri-Meet last Saturday.

For the second straight week, senior Dustan Bowers won the gold medal in the 165-pound weight class by compiling a total of 1,180 pounds in the three disciplines – squat, bench press and dead lift. And in the process, Bowers moved into second place overall in Texas High School Powerlifting Association Division 4, Region 2 rankings.

“We had several athletes compete at a high level on Saturday, which has set them up to possibly qualify for regionals this weekend,” Meridian powerlifting head coach Jim Kerbow said. “Once again, we had the majority of our lifters set personal bests, which speaks to their efforts in the weightroom.”

The Meridian boys and girls will compete in the Axtell Invitational this Saturday at the Waco Underground Performance Gym in hopes of locking down spots at the regional championships. Athletes must be ranked in the top 12 of their weight class to qualify for regional. The THSWPA Region 2 Championships for the girls will be held Feb. 25 at Bosqueville, while the THSPA Region 2 Boys Championships will be held March 11 in West.

In addition to Bowers, Meridian lifters currently ranked in the region’s top 20 include Austin Pogue (165-pound class) in ninth, Brayden Wehmeyer (148-pound class) in 14th, and Cesar Ramos (114-pound class) in 14th while Lady Jackets lifters include Aletheia Sandley (198-pouind class) in third, Abby Edwards (198-pound class) in fifth, Raechel Ramirez (165-pound class) in eighth and Summer Chen (132-pound class) in 19th.

“Our goal every week is to increase our totals,” Kerbow said. “We have a great group of young men and women competing this year in powerlifting. Our ultimate goal is to be in the top 12 in our weight classes to reach the regional powerlifting meets.”

For the Meridian boys at the Clifton Tri-Meet, Pogue took third place in the 165-pound class with 1,025 pounds, Gauge Chandler captured the silver medal in the 181-pound class with 865 pounds, Wehmeyer placed third in the 148-pound class with 900 pounds, and Dustin Padgett finished in seventh place in the 148-pound class with 760 pounds.

The Lady Jackets placed second as a team in the Clifton Tri-Meet, led by Sandley topping the 198-pound weight class with 790 pounds, Abby Edwards took the silver medal behind her teammate, while Chen placed second in the 132-pound class with 520 pounds, Cortney Lunsford finished in fourth place with 470 pounds, Dyna Potter came in fifth place with 395 pounds and Taylor Rusk placed sixth with 380 pounds. In the 148-pound class, Catherine Lunsford finished in sixth place with 540 pounds

As the saying goes, there’s no place like home. And the old adage proved true for the Meridian boys and girls powerlifting teams as they opened their seasons by hosting the Yellowjacket Invitational Jan. 28.

With 10 teams in the Girls Division and nine more in the Boys Division accounting for 175 total lifters, the Meridian boys claimed three medals while placing fifth as a team, while the Lady Jackets collected three medals and finished sixth as a team.

In a field comprised of mostly larger schools, Maypearl captured the team championship in the Boys Division, followed by runner-up Axtell, Whitney and Clifton, while Clifton won the Girls Division team title ahead of runner-up Maypearl and Whitney.

“The competition was great,” Kerbow said. “There were only Division 3 and Division 4 teams in attendance, which are the divisions we compete in. So, it gave our kids the opportunity to compete with lifters in our region. I feel that our lifters competed very well. We had several athletes medal and many set personal bests.”

Leading the contingent of Meridian boys, Bowers captured the gold medal in the 165-pound class with a total weight of 1,185 pounds in the three events – squat, bench press and deadlift. Damien Woleben claimed the silver medal in the 308-pound class with a total weight of 915 pounds, while Ramos won the bronze medal in the 114-pound class with a total weight of 460 pounds.

For the Lady Jackets, Sandley claimed the gold medal in the 198-pound class with a total weight of 745 pounds, followed by Edwards in third place with a total weight of 600 pounds, and Ramirez took the bronze medal in the 165-pound class with a total weight of 650 pounds.

“We have a great group of young men and women competing this year in powerlifting,”Kerbow said. “We currently have 10 boys and 10 girls that show up every morning at 6:45 a.m. to improve themselves. Both groups have the potential to advance several to the regional meet and a couple have a legitimate chance to qualify for state.

“Powerlifting is beneficial to smaller programs for many reasons. Mainly, it encourages our athletes to increase their strength which in turn improves our other sports. Another reason it is important is that it gives our student athletes another opportunity to compete in the winter.”