Story by North Platte High School IronDawgs
The North Platte High School IronDawgs powerlifting team competed this past week in the Powerlifting-America High School Nationals tournament in Omaha. Lifters from more than 15 states competed in this federation's annual high school national championship, which was a first for the IronDawgs. Coach Arttie Parker explained, "We've never competed in a Powerlifting-America event before, as we typically stick to the USAPL federation events outside of the Nebraska High School Powerlifting Federation competition. But, with P-A's national championship being held in Omaha, it was too tempting to pass up for several of our lifters. And, it was a real challenge for us, as there were no lifters at this meet that we had faced in prior meets this year, so we weren't really sure what to expect. There were also some technical rules we aren't used to working with, so to do as well as we did is a huge statement about the strength and grit of this team."
The temptation to compete worked out extremely well for the eight IronDawgs, as the girls' team brought home the runner up banner for the Girls' Raw Division, while the boys' team snagged a tie for third place in the Boy's Raw Division. Additionally, the IronDawgs had one of their lifters crowned as National Champion, as senior Lauren Bowers took first in her division.
"I couldn't be happier for Lauren," Parker said. "Lauren came to us this year as a senior, having never been involved in the sport of powerlifting, and her season got off to a very rocky start as she really struggled with some of the technical requirements of powerlifting at her first meet. The fact that she stuck with it, constantly worked to improve, and ultimately walked away with a National Champion gold medal from a well-respected federation is a huge statement about her character, as well as her strength! It's been amazing to watch her grow and tackle challenges head-on in this sport." Bowers set a new school record in the deadlift at this meet, pulling 342 pounds from the floor, on her way to the title. Also medaling for the girls was Grace Wilke, who took third in her division. Katie Titus finished fourth, and Carlie Berliner grabbed 7th place, as well.
For the boys, Alex Valdivia set school records in the squat and deadlift on his way to a third place finish on the podium, while Aadyn Smith set the school record in the bench press for his weight division, as he would finish fourth. Mason Stine returned from injury to compete in his first event in nearly two months, and finished in seventh, and Cole Tomlinson broke the school record in the squat at heavyweight.
The IronDawgs will be off from competition for the next six weeks as they prepare to compete at the IDFPA Student World Championships in Tampa, Florida at the end of May.