Devine athletes are enjoying the start of their powerlifting season. The last two meets have been very successful. The boys received 5^th the last meet at Holy Cross and the girls received 6^th. The powerlifters plan to improve their skills by giving themselves their own goals to meet.

“My biggest goal is to get 350 on squat and to compete at regionals,” junior Colton Bean said.

It takes a lot of mental toughness for a powerlifter to overcome fear and do well at meets. Junior Molly Fuller has recently recovered from a back injury from deadlifting.

“The biggest obstacle I need to get over this season is breaking my mental barriers and worrying that I will hurt myself again,” Fuller said.

The meets are the biggest excitement for the powerlifters. It’s the same process every time but it never gets less exciting for them.

“First we do squat and we get three attempts,” senior Erica Hewtty said. “After that we do bench and then we move on to deadlift. Waiting for the results to be posted is such a nerve wracking part of the meet.”

Coach Gomez’s relationship with the athletes is strong due to the time spent together and the hard work they all put in.

“Coach Gomez and I have a close bond because he was there for my older brother JP and now he’s guiding me through my second year,” sophomore Chase Dubose said.

As long as everyone works hard, everyone is expected to do very well this season.

“The Somerset meet coming up is a big meet,” coach Gomez said. “This is a varsity, JV and freshmen meet so there is a lot of competition. As a team both boys and girls do very well at meets, so this Saturday I’m expecting big things.”