Onaway power lifting state champs

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

An often-overlooked female sport at Onaway High School has a pair of state champions. Seniors Heather Hoffmeyer and Payton Lupu won their respective weight classes at the power lifting state finals last weekend at Grand Rapids Community College.

Hoffmeyer, the daughter of Tony and Sandi Hoffmeyer, won the 181-pound weight division, while Lupu, the daughter of Tom and Theresa Lupu, took the 220-pound weight class.

The sport involves three categories: squat, bench press and dead lift. Each athlete gets three reps.

?THE GIRL IN my weight class,? said Hoffmeyer, ?if she would have got her last dead lift, I would have had to get my last dead lift to win. She didn?t get hers, so I knew that I had won.?

Her squat was 240; press, 110; and dead lift, 290. ?The dead lift is by far my best lift,? said Hoffmeyer. ?I worked so hard for four years. I was bawling, I was so excited.?

Lupu?s final numb

ers were: squat, 250; press, 135; and dead lift, 325. ?It was really fun going down there,? said Lupu, who admitted she improved on her lifts from the previous weekend. ?I had three girls in my weight class. There was good camaraderie and everybody was supporting each other.? Lupu credits the extra work she put in in the weight room.

EARL FLYNN, head football coach/physical education teacher, and the driving force behind the high intensity training program going on during the school day, initiated competitive weight lifting at the school. He said the accomplishments of Hoffmeyer and Lupu are ?awesome.?

He said it speaks well of the female athletes at the school, who have put in the work. ?The bottom line is, the girls are putting the effort into it right now,? said Flynn. ?You can see it in all sports. Guys need to start stepping up to the plate a little bit. If they start putting a little time and effort into it, we?ll start winning and being successful.? Hoffmeyer and Lupu will graduate as honor students at the end of May.