The new powerlifting season has arrived. Powerlifting is already showing growth, setting the tone for a new season built on effort, hard work and something to prove.
“The season is going well, there is great participation from the girls and the boys, both teams have success,” Coach Lisenbea said. “The goal in every meet is to have everybody increase their total from the previous meet by at least 5 pounds. I want everybody to compete with themselves. The boys placed 3rd at the Giddings invitation and placed 3rd out of 12 teams at the Palacios invitation, which was a big accomplishment for the boys. Both of these meets were successful,” Coach Lisenbea said.
As the team continues to show improvement early in the season, individual lifters are also seeing progress and setting personal goals.
“I feel the season is going well. We had two meets where I placed 3rd, one for the 198 weight class and one for the 181 weight class. I’m slowly progressing in my lifts. My goal is to gain at least 20 pounds in each lift. I would improve by staying at the gym, workout, have good rest, sleep well and eat well,” junior Jacob Spangerberg said.
One athlete who has already reached an important milestone this season is sophomore Kensley Gilliam.
“I feel very good about the season. I have hit the regional qualifying total for my class, and I’m ready to improve more this season. My goal is to improve my total now that I have hit the regional qualifying total and to hit the state total. Currently being 15 pounds away from it. I can improve on it in practice. I could focus more on deadlifting and improve my weight. I have won one medal from the last 3 meets, and I earned it by getting all of my white flags on all of my lifts and having a better total than the other lifters,” Gilliam said.
With athletes continuing to set new goals and push themselves at every meet, the powerlifting season is going to be a successful one. With upperclassmen continuing to lead and be a role model.
“I feel like we have accomplished a lot so far with most of our boys placing top 3 in their weight classes these past couple of meets. Our goals as a team include coaching each other to the best of our abilities, learning from each other’s mistakes and successes, and obviously, we want to get as many boys and girls to regionals as possible. Being a senior is being a role model to the younger lifters. I think I could coach them up better and cheer them on when they do well. At the recent Palacios meet, I was awarded 2nd place in my 275lb weight class. It wasn’t a great meet for me and a lot of my teammates, but I expect to see better numbers next meet,” senior Kash Mozisek said.
As the season continues, the team looks to build on its success through its hard work and dedication. The team would continue to grow, showing that effort in and out of the gym is paying off this season.
