Claire Callender is pictured practicing a dead lift during a recent powerlifting practice at G-A High School.
By Bruce Rolfe
Just three years ago, there wasn’t much interest in powerlifting at Galesburg-Augusta High School.
But a lot has changed since then, especially with the G-A girls powerlifting team.
G-A steadily enjoyed an increase in both the number of lifters and success in the three years that followed.
G-A Powerlifting coach Chuck Hadley said individually, G-A has sent 14 different lifters to the State Meet (11 girls and 3 boys). Of those 14 state meet qualifiers 9 (7 girls and 2 boys) have placed in the top 10.
The girls have had the most success as a team.
In 2025 the G-A JV girls placed 7th as a team at the State Championships. They followed that up with three 2nd place finishes in the their three regional qualifying meets in 2026 and a 7th place finish at the State Championships.
That gives the G-A girls powerlifting team a lot of momentum entering the new season that begins in December.
And interest has really taken off with the girls.
Hadley projects to have 20 powerlifters on the girls team this year.
“I feel like there were more popular influences, like women that were doing it and were like, you should do this with us. They were like, that sounds fun because they were already doing it over the summer for volleyball, basketball or other sports. And then Coach Hadley said you’ve been lifting a lot. You should come power lift with us. And then everybody started working. After our first meet, I was like, this is so fun. I want to continue doing it,” said G-A junior Kirra Puglise.
Practicing a squat lift is Sloan Smith with Kirra Puglise behind as a spotter.
G-A junior Ellesa Callender said powerlifting is appealing for some students who may not want to participate in other sports.
Sloan Smith, a sophomore who also participates in gymnastics, track, and cheerleading, feels powerlifting is beneficial for students who participate in other sports as well.
After experiencing some success last year, the girls have elevated their goals. Puglise said after placing second as a team at the three regional qualifying meets last year the JV girls are aiming for a first place finish as a team at the regionals as well as a higher finish at the state championships.
Hadley said after a practice meet in November, the season starts in December.
The Michigan High School Powerlifting Association (MHSPLA) will host 17 regional qualifying meets across the state during the 2026-2027 powerlifting season. In order for an athlete to qualify for the State meet they must be among the top 22 lifters in their weight class from all the meets combined. There are between 200 and 300 girls and 200-300 boys at each meet, therefore, being among the top 22 and qualifying for States is an accomplishment in and of itself. The G-A powerlifting team will hope to compete at two, possibly three of the qualifying meets. Space is very limited due to the rise in the popularity of the sport exceeding the supply of meets. Hadley said G-A hopes to compete at Grass Lake in December, Schoolcraft in January and Manistee in February. The JV State Finals are the last Saturday in February at Oxford High School and the Varsity State Finals are the first Saturday in March at Lake Orion High School.
With more student-athletes moving up to compete at the varsity level, the girls hope to have more team members qualify for the state finals and an opportunity to place as a team at the varsity meet as well.
“The meets are really fun. I’ve made a lot of friends through it. They are all really nice people. And it makes me feel strong. And it really does help me with my other sports. It’s helped me a lot,” said Puglise.
G-A senior Emily Coleman said she likes the sport because powerlifting helps her stay active and in shape year around for the other sports she participates in (softball, volleyball, and basketball).
Hadley said all lifters on the team compete in other sports, most if not all of them in two or three other sports. Since lifting is extra curricular, coaches in other sports encourage student-athletes get their training lifts in when they can. Some come early in the morning and lift before school. Some lift during the school day in a gym class and others lift after completing a practice for another sport.
Team members on the girls team said they enjoy supporting each other and girls that participate in other sports enjoy lifting together.
Hadley said the girls also like the sport because they can set individual goals that can often be reached.
“Powerlifting takes no prior lifting experience. It is a sport of consistency. If a student is willing to consistently put in the work they will get stronger and have success,” points out Hadley.
At a meet, each lifter gets three attempts at the squat, bench press, and deadlift. The best lift of each of those three disciplines are added up and the lifter with the highest total is the winner.
The G-A coach said the hope is to achieve a new personal best from lift to lift and continue with a new goal for the next meet.
“It’s real measureable. If you’re stronger today then you were a month ago you know you got better. It’s real easy to see that progress,” said the G-A powerlifting coach.
“You can see your improvement,” said one member of the girls powerlifting team.
“It gets everyone excited and everyone’s happy for you,” adds another member of the team when talking about the improvement student-athletes may see from lift to lift.
Hadley said the G-A powerlifting team started almost by accident.
He recalled a small group of athletes were lifting before school to train for their other sports three years ago.
Hadley, who was involved in powerlifting when he coached at Plainwell, said a few years ago he recognized Jaidyn Klimp was pretty strong. He offered to take her to a meet along with a couple G-A boys who were lifting. Jaidyn placed 1st in the regional meet at Edwardsburg and she and Caden Smeltzer both qualified for the State meet. He said Jaidyn and Caden both placed in the top ten at the State meet in 2023 “and we had ourselves a team.”
The G-A powerlifting coach explained powerlifting does not have classes like football or basketball, meaning G-A athletes could compete against any other school in the state, including some with over 2,000 students.
He said powerlifting is available for boys or girls in grades 7-12. There are two divisions JV (7-10) and varsity (11-12). The competitions are also divided into weight classes. The smallest is 105 pounds and under and the biggest is 275 pounds and over.
Hadley said besides helping athletes that participate in other sports, another benefit of powerlifting is the sport is great for developing self-confidence and self-esteem. “There is nothing like standing alone on a platform in a gym full of people and lifting a weight that two or three months ago would have seemed impossible. We are also developing the habit of life long fitness,”
continued the G-A Powerlifting coach.
Hadley emphasized he welcomes both male and female students to join the G-A boys and girls powerlifting teams.
Participating at a recent powerlifting practice are G-A powerlifting team members (front row, left to right) Addie Mezo, Lilli Jones, Audrey Dennis, Jilaya Henry-Phillips, Kaylin Wetzel, and Brooklyn Krontz; along with (back row, left to right) Jeni Klimp, Emily Coleman, Ellesa Callender, Kayla Bortolussi, Claire Callender, Kirra Puglise, Sloan Smith, and Mara Smith.
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