Students show strength and determination at powerlifting competition

Students showed off their strength in a powerlifting competition organized by the Students’ Association on March 7 in the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre.

Students competed in three different competitions: squats, bench press and deadlift.

The competition showcased impressive feats of strength and determination from both first-time and seasoned competitors.

Ashley Driscoll, a third-year bachelor of early learning and community development student, and Malcolm Whittle, a second-year business student, dominated in the squatting competition lifting 250 pounds and 405 pounds, respectively.

“It’s my first meet that I’ve ever done. Even though it’s not an official, like CPU (Canadian Powerlifting Union) or anything like that,” said Whittle. “I was just really looking forward to the opportunity to be able to compete for my first time and kind of challenge myself.”

Whittle explained how he prepared for the competition.

“I prepped for about two months, I would say. I’ve never done powerlifting before. I made a lot of friends in powerlifting at the gym and they helped me out a lot,” Whittle said. “I matched my old personal record and it moved a lot better today. Just there’s some things I need a tweak. I went for 425 pounds. It didn’t work, but once I tweak it, I’ll get it.”

Driscoll, also a first-time competitor, had a goal of just having fun.

“I have a lot of anxieties, so I just kind of wanted to do a fun little school meet to kind of get over it and see what I can do, do my best,” Driscoll said.

Driscoll added: “I didn’t stress too much. I just wrote myself a program and just stayed consistent, did my best and went every day.

“This wasn’t a personal record. I went down in weight. This is a personal record because I’m 133 pounds and last time I did 250 pounds, I was like 160 pounds, so yeah, definitely an improvement,” Driscoll said.

Driscoll not only found victory in the squatting competition, but in bench press as well, lifting 145 pounds.

“My mindset was just to have fun and to do my best. My pre-lifting rituals are definitely listening to music and eating a lot of food, and be happy with myself,” Driscoll said.

Sebastien Ellis, a first-year fitness and health student, came in first place for the men’s bench press, lifting an impressive 385 pounds.

“My goal was just to have fun. Malcolm, my buddy, wanted me to compete. I was just trying to have as much fun as I could,” Ellis said.

Ellis explained how he prepared for the competition.

“Well I stopped benching for a few days. Usually, you know, I lift three times a week. 
So I took a chill and didn’t do anything crazy. I ate my Wheaties in the morning, so it was good.”

Luisa Fernanda Fernandez Gutierrez and Serhan Akbulut dominated in the deadlift competition lifting 275 pounds and 475 pounds, respectively.