Three members of Angelo State University’s Ram Powerlifting Club brought home medals, including one national championship, from the USA Powerlifting Collegiate National Meet held April 7-9 in San Antonio.
Ram Powerlifting Club at USA Powerlifting 2017 Collegiate Nationals
ASU’s Brittany Barksdale of Burnet won first place in Women’s Collegiate Raw 185-pound weight class to claim the national title. Alyssa Gaitan of Kyle and Caitlyn Buck of San Angelo placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Women’s Collegiate Equipped 138-pound weight class.
Equipped contests allow competitors to wear special clothing, including bench shirts, squat suits and knee wraps, that allow them to lift heavier weights. Raw contests are conducted without any special clothing. Lifters complete three attempts each at squat, bench press and deadlift. The qualifying total is the sum of the highest weight lifted in each of the three disciplines.
In all, 12 members of the Ram Powerlifting Club qualified for the national meet and competed against teams from colleges and universities across the U.S. Also competing for ASU were Frank Callahan of Austin, Ethan Coulter of Fort Worth, Josh Fisher of Katy, Kali Mendez of Sonora, Carlos Ochoa of San Antonio, Tori Reyna of Midland, Josh Williams of Azle, Philip Wilson of Pflugerville, and Eddie Zapata of San Antonio.
Unlike intramural teams, ASU club sports teams are registered student organizations that are directed and funded by the Office of Student Life and overseen by the Sports Club Council. Caitlyn Buck is president of the Ram Powerlifting Club, and the faculty sponsor is Dr. Adam Parker, associate professor of kinesiology.
