Viking, Mounder powerlifters come up big at state in Racine
By Cara L. Dempski
There are not many schools in Wisconsin who are able to brag they sent half their teams to state as individuals in a sport, but that is not true for Colfax or Elk Mound.
The Vikings sent eight powerlifters, and Elk Mound sent 32, to the Wisconsin High School Powerlifting State Meet held March 11 and 12 at Racine’s William Horlick High School. Three Colfax lifters returned home with medals, and 19 Mounder lifters came back with top-10 finishes.
Vikings Mikaela Leibfreid and Jezzicka Tweed were the first two Colfax lifters to earn medals at the meet. The duo took second place in their respective classes, with Leibfreid lifting at 114 pounds, and Tweed at 105 pounds.
ELK MOUND POWERLIFTING — The Elk Mound Powerlifting team sent 32 competitors to this year’s state meet held at Racine’s Horlick High School on March 11 and 12. The Mounders were escorted to the county line by Dunn County Deputy Rod Dicus. —photo by Cara L. Dempski
Colfax’s Hailey Durand-Christianson picked up third-place in the 198-pound division during Sunday’s competition. Her teammate, Leibfreid, picked up another award during Sunday’s events. She earned third place honors for the best female lifters.
The Elk Mound squad fared just as well as its Viking rivals. Of the 19 lifters who placed in the top ten for their divisions, 11 earned spots on the podium with finishes of fifth place or better.
Aric Jenson and Clare Hallum earned 10th-place finishes, and Erin DeLong and Kirsten Dutzle each took ninth in their divisions. DeAnna Leon, Maddie Jenson and Sarah Sweeney each finished in seventh place. Senior George Friberg took sixth in his division.
A trio of lifters, Tyler Sahm, Anna Wolgemuth and Alexis Lee, took fifth and earned medals for their lifts at Racine. Rylan Maves, Hunter Burlingame, Allison Lindquist and Austin Owens each lifted enough to place third, and Andrew Benson and Darren Svihovec muscled into second place finishes.
Hunter Gagner earned Elk Mound’s first ever Powerlifting gold on Saturday and took his place atop the state podium. Junior Bryce Kasper nabbed a second first-place medal for the Mounders at 198 pounds on Sunday.
If the individual placings were not enough, the Elk Mound boys earned first place for raw lifting, and took second as equipped lifters. Svihovec picked up third-place honors for boys’ best lifter.
With the state tournament now in the books, the lifters from Colfax and Elk Mound turn their attention to USA Powerlifting’s national meet held March 29 through April 2 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Several lifters from each team have qualified for the event, and fundraising to send lifters to the meet has commenced.