On Saturday, January 21st, Fair Grove Quarterback Club hosted their fourth annual powerlifting meet with over 180 athletes competing. Weigh-in began at 8:00 a.m. while lifting began at 9:30 a.m. The cost to participate in the meet was $15 and t-shirts were sold for $5 with free admission for spectators. Over the last few years the money that was raised from the meet went towards buying various weight room equipment. After the weight meet, the Fair Grove coaches got together to discuss and determine where improvements are needed the most.
Eight schools committed to attending, but they had fully expected a few to show up who did not communicate with them. Altogether 10 schools attended. Coach Mark Talbert commented, ¨Last year we only had 7 schools attending. We have added, and dropped a couple. My guess is that some of the schools that came last year just didn’t let us know that they weren’t attending yet. Coaches sometimes don’t want to commit until they know for sure that they will have enough athletes to make it worth their time.¨
Each athlete is separated into a weight classification group. There are three main lifts, squat, bench press, and deadlift. Everyone is given three chances to lift the most for each category. To determine the athlete’s strength index and place, the judges take the total weight of each lift they completed and divide it by the athlete’s actual weight. Senior Leah Wahlquist commented, “I placed eighth out of thirty-two girls in my weight class. I also set a personal record for deadlift.”
Juniors Noah Sandridge, Isaac Mauldin, and Brent Church all placed third in their individual classes. Freshman Garrett Cross took second and Gavin Peterie took third in their weight class. McDonald County won the meet with 48 points followed by Glendale with 43 and Marshfield with 41. The next scheduled weight meets will both take place at Glendale High School on February 11th and March 11th.