When Eudora’s powerlifters pull into the school parking lot for their early-morning lifts, they are motivated by two things: personal improvement and the ring of a cowbell.
The cowbell, which the team rings when someone achieves a new personal best, is helping drive them to improve, one 6:30 a.m. practice at a time.
As the powerlifting team looks ahead to the end of its season, the goal is for each lifter to peak on March 2 at the state championship. Coach Scott Russell said the season has been successful so far, with a couple of key lifters seeing sustained success.
Senior Madison Karten is coming off a first-place finish in all three of her lifts at Royal Valley’s meet last weekend. It was the third meet where Karten placed in the top 3 of all girls.
On the boys’ side, Russell described senior Braylen Hoobler’s lifting this year as mind-boggling. His combined weight for his bench press, squat and clean is now over 1,000 pounds.
“His numbers are surpassing some of my own personal numbers in my training career,” Russell said. “So I’m like, he’s a freak.”
Senior Brennan Moeckel said the team has nearly doubled from last year and is using those numbers to help fuel their success.
“It’s just like absolute motivation to have your teammates around you cheering for you even in training,” Moeckel said. “But especially like when we’re at meets and we have all of our teammates around yelling and cheering us on, it really helps everybody.”
Karten said the team cheers each other on as they try to reach their goals and ring the bell.
“It really shows everybody’s, like, enjoying being in the room in the mornings,” Karten said.
For all the personal success powerlifting brings, it never overshadows the lifters’ support for each other.
“Nobody’s selfish,” Hoobler said. “Everybody wants everybody to do good. And that’s what I love about it.”
The cowbell shows the heart of powerlifting, Russell said. It’s an individual sport where athletes are trying to reach their personal goals. But when the bell starts ringing, you can see the camaraderie of the group as they celebrate their teammate’s personal best.
“Things like that, where you get an opportunity to kind of let them shine and let them have their moment, it’s kind of a big thing for me,” Russell said about the cowbell. “And that’s really what it’s about for me, is providing a competitive opportunity for them outside of what else they do.”
Russell said the 6:30 a.m. team lifts might deter some students from choosing to join the team. But, it shows how the ones who do show up bright and early are all the more committed. Commitment and teamwork are a key part of what he wants to instill in the team as it rounds out its second year.
“I want you to be able to go back to your teammates and know that the people on your team, you can look them in the eyes and know they’ve done everything themselves to be successful for you,” Russell said.
Despite the early lifts, the team is still growing in size and skill. Multiple lifters credited that to the energy Russell brings.
“Not every day you’re gonna hit a PR, not every day you’re gonna match your PR,” sophomore Ethan Winton said. “And so a lot of times people will get down on themselves and I’ve been a culprit to that. But coach is always like, ‘Next lift, hey, you still did 95% of what you usually do, that’s all we can ask for, you tried your best.’ Just bringing that positive attitude and looking forward.”
As the lifters prepare for the state championship, they know they’re facing teams that have been around for longer and feature larger rosters, but they aren’t letting that distract them.
Even Hoobler, who Russell said is more shy about ringing the cowbell for his personal best, is looking ahead to see what he can achieve during the last month.
“I’m excited just to get to be there,” Hoobler said. “I mean, take it slow, one day at a time. We don’t have to look forward to anything, just to the next day. That’s how I approach it.”
And if Hoobler wins at state, Russell said, he’ll be ringing the cowbell loud and proud.
Reach reporter Cuyler Dunn at [email protected]
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