At 2:45 p.m. every Monday through Thursday, the powerlifting group lines up in four lines in the cafeteria to do exercises. Then they go to the weight room. Freshman Isaac Reifshneider looks at the board and checks what he has to start off with in his workout. Today it is upper body, but tomorrow it could be legs. Then he finishes his workout with a cooldown hoping that the workout he just sweated through will help him improve his lifting tomorrow. 

The powerlifting team has been put on hold indefinitely until the football off-season. In the meantime, anyone who is interested in getting stronger is working in the weight room. They are still practicing and they are doing the same routines a powerlifting team would but with different workouts focused on improving form and getting better reps. 

“Personally I want to get strong and be fit to be good at football. Powerlifting will help me get stronger and try to be the best one out there,” said sophomore Dominic Hoeppner. “Because I’m playing D line, I just need to be strong in the legs. You know, to try to break through the line and get the running back and quarterback.”

With powerlifting becoming a new after school activity, people are joining for different reasons. Some students and parents are wondering why students want to join it and what the powerlifters want to improve.

“I’m looking for a better season next year for football,” Reifchneider said.

While the joy of powerlifting has risen, the goal is to build the program so the powerlifting team can compete. 

“I see powerlifting as an opportunity to compete against yourself,” powerlifting coach Benjamin Kruse said, “But, it’s a large time commitment.”