Athletes weigh in on strengths of rapidly growing high school sport
Squatting 500 pounds seems almost impossible for a high schooler, unless that student happens to double as a powerlifter. Powerlifting is an intense sport on the rise at the high school level after the recent addition to the paralympic games. The nationally recognized sport contains one repetition each in a series of three lifts: squat, deadlift, and bench. Athletes compete to see who can lift the most weight in their weight class.
As an avid lifter, junior Case Balke has been involved with the up-and-coming high school sport for quite some time.
"I first got into powerlifting towards the end of my freshman year," he said. "My brother introduced it to me and I just fell in love with the sport.”
While some may guess meets feature manic, Spartan bouts of training, they actually start as nothing special.
“A normal meet day is taking a brief shower to wake myself up, getting something to eat, weighing in, and then the rest of the day is lifting and eating,” Balke said.
Since West does not have a powerlifting team, Balke competes for Winneconne High School. Recently, he qualified for nationals and placed tenth, lifting a whopping total of 1,169 pounds.
Balke enjoys the excitement of being able to compete on the national stage in front of some of the biggest names in the game.
“The experience as a whole was amazing,” he said. “It was down in Chicago at this really nice venue. One of the judges was an eight time world champion and another judge holds the female bench world record.”
The thrill and excitement pushes the junior to continue. Not only is it beneficial for his muscle growth, but it brings him joy throughout a long day and provides something for him to look forward to.
“My favorite part about the sport is the environment at competitions," he said. "Everybody is rooting for one another. Even parents from rival teams are cheering for you while you're trying to muscle up."
That exhilarating feeling is one that many powerlifters experience. Kristen Patterson, a senior at Winneconne High School, has been powerlifting since her freshman year. She is on the same team as Balke and finds happiness in the grind.
“I would say my favorite part is the people that I get to work with and be around,” she said. “Especially seeing younger lifters achieve their goals that they have worked so hard for.”
Winneconne has worked hard to build an amazing powerlifting program. At a young age, Patterson felt inspired by older powerlifters and decided to get involved.
“When I was in middle school, I saw all the high school girls that did powerlifting and thought they looked so cool and strong,” she said. “I wanted to be like that, so I decided to join, and I have loved it ever since.”
The sport Balke and Patterson fell in love with is one that many find shocking. This year at state, Patterson placed third and Balke hit a personal record on squat. Even when times get hard and they aren't lifting the way they want to, the lifters find a way to persevere.
"Sometimes
during training you'll hit a little plateau and it gets degrading because you make so much progress and then you just hit this mark where you can't make any more progress," he said. ''It doesn't last long but just hitting it is degrading."
Just like any athlete, Patterson faces doubts about themselves and whether they are doing well enough.
“I think trying to overcome my own doubts about myself and my insecurities regarding how good or bad I am at lifting has been the biggest struggle for me,” Patterson said.
By Sophie Carlin
Oshkosh West Index Volume 118 Issue 7
April 25th, 2022