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Ram Powerlifting Club Excels at Longhorn Open

November 22, 2016

Angelo State University’s Ram Powerlifting Club brought home a host of awards from the U.S.A. Powerlifting 2016 Longhorn Open competition held Nov. 19 at the University of Texas at Austin.

Ram Powerlifting Club: (Back, L to R) Haddan Stokes, Bronson Burks, Josh Fisher, Nate Guzman, Carlos Ochoa, Phillip Holguin, Austin Rodri... Ram Powerlifting Club: (Back, L to R) Haddan Stokes, Bronson Burks, Josh Fisher, Nate Guzman, Carlos Ochoa, Phillip Holguin, Austin Rodriguez (Middle, L to R) Phillip Wilson, James Meador, Caitlyn Buck, Rhiannon Howard, Kelsey Wheadon, Donald Baker, Eddie Zapata, Josh Ontiveros (Front, L to R) Greg Johnson, Ashley Kemp, Brittany Barksdale, Josh Williams, Anita Zelt, Tori
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Competing against teams from colleges and universities across Texas, the ASU team notched nine individual first-place finishes and four second-places in various categories of both “equipped” and “raw” contests. 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. 

ASU’s top finishers by category and weight class were: 

Men

Women

Additionally, Gaitan was named Best Female Lightweight Raw Lifter, and Barksdale was named Best Female Heavyweight Raw Lifter. 

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. Graduate student Caitlyn Buck is president of the Ram Powerlifting Club, and the faculty sponsor is Dr. Adam Parker, assistant professor of kinesiology.