Four local schools competing in powerlifting

HIGH SCHOOL POWERLIFTING

Four local high schools, including defending Class A state champion Gore, will compete in powerlifting this year.

Sallisaw, Muldrow and Webbers Falls will also participate in meets, which started Jan. 20.

GORE

Gore’s powerlifting season got underway Jan. 20 and head coach Brandon Tyler believes the sport benefits the football players who are not participating in another sport.

“I think it keeps us competing in the offseason,” Tyler said about the benefits of powerlifting. “It lets us go to a few powerlifting meets and be able to still compete and try to get stronger in the weight room and helps us get ready for football next fall. That’s why we do it, just to keep that completion level going and compete at weight meets and try to get stronger doing it.

“We’ll go to four meets and do bench, squat and deadlift. Those are the three main lifts.

“I like it. Now that we’re wrestling we’ve got that and powerlifting so it gives our football guys two options to still do something instead of just lift weights and go home. So now they’ve got the option to go compete again in the winter.”

The Pirates will again compete in the Class A division.

MULDROW

Muldrow’s powerlifting season started Jan. 20 and head coach Brandon Ellis likes the benefits the sport provides to his athletes.

“I guess it had been done here before in the past,” Ellis said. “I think they had been away from it for a while and when I got over here three years ago I asked the administration if that’s something that we could do and they were all on board for it.

“I like to do it because it gives our kids that don’t play other sports a way to compete. It gives them a way to compete in the wintertime. It gives our kids a way to compete while they’re lifting anyway. That’s one of the reasons why we do it.

“We’ll go to three regular meets and then there will be a regional and a state so everybody will compete in four meets. It will be the three in the regular season, the regional and then if you qualify at the regional to go to state then you could possibly have a fifth one.

“In powerlifting we’re in 3A, just like football. “We’re going to have around 32 kids in powerlifting.” WEBBERS FALLS

At Webbers Falls High School powerlifting is becoming more and more popular. It’s a sport that combines strength, fitness and discipline. It’s also a sport where teamwork is essential. In a competition, the medals are divided among multiple weight classes, much like wrestling, so it remains equitable.

One of the benefits of powerlifting is that it can help build strength and muscle. It can also help improve coordination and balance. And of course, it can help athletes maintain their agility and improve their strength during the offseason.

Powerlifting is becoming a sport for everyone so you don’t have to be involved in another sport to participate. It’s perfect for people who want to get fit and build muscle. It’s also good for people who want to learn about the science behind exercises. And, of course, it’s great for people who want to experience competition.

With the 2023 season just around the corner many students are looking forward to their first powerlifting competition. Powerlifting is a sport that combines strength training with an event. It measures lifters from different weight classes and helps ensure everyone has an equal chance of winning.

Each weight class must perform three types of lifts: bench press, squat and deadlift. Athletes have three attempts at each to lift their best, and the total of their best three is combined to determine their total for that event.

SALLISAW

At Sallisaw powerlifting is an important aspect for any high school athlete. By attending weightlifting classes, athletes are given specific workouts tailored to help build needed strength directly related to each athlete’s specific sport.

The powerlifting program can help motivate athletes during the offseason and gives them experience in an event setting. Most importantly it’s a chance for students that only compete in powerlifting to connect with one another and work together toward a common goal.

Sallisaw’s high school powerlifting program is continuing to grow in popularity. Powerlifting is gaining a following and the competition aspect of it is attracting new athletes to the sport.

Although a powerlifting competition can be intense it also teaches participants valuable lessons about hard work and tenacity that pay off when done correctly.

Sallisaw powerlifting head coach Steven Mapp understands this and works to make sure his students are safe and understand the correct method behind each lift. This way, they have confidence in their ability to achieve success in powerlifting competitions. But Mapp wants that confidence to extend to other aspects of their lives.

“I want to make sure that they are getting stronger, but also learn why,” Mapp explained. “We go over the kinesiology and the background behind each lift, what it does and the science behind it.

“For me it’s all about helping others. It’s all about showing these kids that from hard work, discipline and dedication, they can achieve anything in their life.”