Thursday, March 27, 2025
With powerlifting season just getting underway, Gatesville area programs are gearing up for what promises to be another good year on the weights.
Gatesville High School Powerlifting Coach Jason Moffett said on the girl's side, things are shaping up especially well.
“We have a very experienced group of lifters returning for our girls team,” Moffett said. “They are mostly juniors and a couple of seniors. Both of the seniors (Emma Davidson and Shaylie Teague) were state meet qualifiers last year and finished in fourth and sixth place respectively in their weight classes. We have a total of 11 regional qualifiers returning this year.”
On the boys side, Gatesville will have to deal with some inexperience, but Moffett said he has a strong returning core and some up-and-coming talent that make him optimistic.
“Our boys team graduated pretty heavily last year, as we had several seniors on the squad,” Moffett said. “I am optimistic about the chance to get some young lifters ready to take the reins this year and prove what they can do. I do have two returning regional qualifiers (seniors Dutch Nielsen and Brayden Mills) who are both outstanding lifters and should provide much-needed leadership for our younger lifters.”
Moffett said to have a successful season his lifters need to be committed.
“Success in powerlifting really comes down to how hard these kids are ready to work and how technically sound we are in the rack,” Moffett said. “We have to avoid technical mistakes that will cost us lifts and put us behind schedule. The weight room is a place where you get instant feedback every time you load a bar and attempt a new weight. For our girls, we have a goal of finishing as a team in the top three at the regional meet. For our boys, the goal is to set new PRs and hit better total's each week.”
The Gatesville boys and girls both finished in fourth place at their regional meets last year.
Jonesboro Powerlifting
Over at Jonesboro, coach Tori Smith said she is pleased with what she and her husband Ben have seen so far from their teams.
“We are off to a great start this season,” Smith said. “Both my husband, Ben Smith and I are new to Jonesboro this year but have been coaching powerlifting for 12 years now. It is a passion we both have from growing up in the weight room and having that sense of character and physical and mental strength you get from your powerlifting accomplishments. We now strive to instill that same mentality in our athletes so that they may truly understand what their body is capable of.”
Smith said the workouts are rigorous.
“Monday through Wednesday we get our day started with a 6 a.m. lift and finish with an after-school lift until 5 p.m.,” Smith said. “So, it is safe to say that these athletes are spending a lot of their time in the weight room. Most of our lifters that are not participating in basketball started hitting the weight room well before the Christmas break.”
And with good results.
Jonesboro's first invitational powerlifting meet was this past weekend in Dublin.
Adalyna Andrade medaled in the 132lb weight class with a total of 520 lbs and Alyssa Whisenhunt medaled in the 148 lb weight class with a total of 480 lbs.
“There are only two returning lifters this year,” Smith said. “Junior Alyssa Whisenhunt and Senior Austin Massingill, so this was a great first meet for all our new lifters. They were not sure what to expect at first, but after Saturday's meet and being in that environment, they now understand what it will take to qualify for regionals. We have 10 lifters this year and are extremely happy with those numbers for a 1A school. Last year, there were four lifters with one being a regional and state qualifier.”
Smith said Andrade, Junior Sam Lawrence, Freshman Adison Lopez, and Whisenhunt, are currently sitting in good standings to qualify for regionals with several meets to go.
Evant Powerlifting
For the Evant powerlifting team, coach Brandon Young may not have a lot of depth this season, but is quite confident in what, or rather who, he does have.
“We only have one lifter, junior Cash Standford,” Young said. “It’s his first year ever to do it, but he’s a determined kid that wants to excel in this sport. He’ll be successful, I’m sure of it. He placed fifth in the 242 lb class last weekend in Hico.”
