By Dan Shriner
Review Editor
He may not wear a cape, leap over tall buildings and no one thinks he’s faster than a speeding bullet but that thing about being more powerful than a locomotive might not be too far off for Lake Orion’s superman Trenton Elkins.
The Lake Orion High School senior recently competed in the state high school powerlifting championships and not only set four state records but he annihilated the previous marks.
Lake Orion’s boys and girls powerlifting teams had great showings in the tournament. The boys? team finished fourth in the state out of 44 teams and the girls were ninth out of 41 teams.
Powerlifting is a sport that combines scores from each lifter in three different disciplines. There is a dead lift, a bench press and a squat lift. The lifters compete in weight classes.
Elkins won his individual championship in the 242 weight class, even though he weighed slightly more than 230 pounds.
Lake Orion Coach Eric Jennings said the sport combines individual and team competition.
‘It’s an individual sport and a team sport. Our boys support the girls and the girls support the boys.?
Superman Trenton Elkins provided the excitement of the tournament.
He set state records in all three disciplines and then his total of all three set his fourth state record. His new bests shattered his own state records from last year.
The quadruple-record-setting day was something of legends for the Dragon strongman.
He set a state record in the squat, with 605 pounds. He broke that record by 50 pounds.
He had a bench press of 425 pounds, which bettered the prior record by 70 pounds. His deadlift of 615 pounds beat his prior record by 25 pounds.
So, of course, his total of 1,640 pounds is also a state record and may stand for a very long time, since no lifter in any weight class is close to that. Trenton held the previous state record combined totaling three disciplines and shattered it by 140 pounds.
Trenton credited his training and preparation for his impressive showing.
‘We had it in mind to train and peak at the perfect time. I was ready to peak at that time,? he said, in an understatement.
Trenton also plays football and was a middle guard on the Dragon’s football team. Next year he plans to take his strength and talent to Adrian to play football.
Even though it was Trenton who put on the superman show at the state championships, the entire boys and girls teams did very well.
‘We had a surprisingly good season considering we were very young, ‘Jennings said. ‘We had several freshman and sophomore lifters and then I had Trenton and a few veterans who helped us along the way. I don’t think we were expected to do so well.?
The boys? finished second in two regional meets and then was fourth in the state out of 42 teams.
‘We worked very hard but to finish in the top five in the state was great and was not expected.
The girls? team finished ninth out of 41 teams. That, also a very nice surprise. They did a great job also.?
Jenni Fix, Mary Cech, Madison Brinker, Katie Morgan, Alexis Kennedy were all named to the girls? all-state team.
In addition to Trenton, Jacob Erker, Roger White, Austin Arnold, Luke Arend, Austin Shugar were named to the boys? all-state team.
Roger White, is a freshman, Jennings said, and surprised everyone by finishing fifth in the state in the 155 pound weight class.
‘That was remarkable considering he was competing against seniors,? Jennings said.
Here are the members of both the girls and boys teams:
Girls Powerlfiting Team Members:?
Rachele Pozzo, Mary Cech, Jenna Wolf, Katie Bell, Jackie Whitus, Makalia Reginek, Lily Paxton, Alexis Kennedy, Katie Morgan, Jenni Fix, Emily Bronikowski, Elise Moore, Lindsey Brent, Madison Brinker, Rachel Eaton, Emily Peters, Samantha Paquette
Boys Powerlifting Team Members
Tom Guinana, Jake Keefer, Zakee Miller, Zach Serzo, Sean Mercier, Christian Escobedo, Rob Valin, Chad Crousore, Ethan Beckman, Tom Babich, Austin Jones, Ryan Gould, Nick French, Jacob Erker, Nick Rose, Austin Arnold, Luke Arend, Shane Barnard, Clayton Lang, Nick Vaillancourt, Cam Kostiz, Spencer Cottrill, Jake Wakai, Aaron Hughes, Jack McClear, Mike Hokenstad, Kyle Wells, Trenton Elkins, Ryan Solarczyk, Griffin VanLear, Luke Helmstetter, Garett Scheppelmann, Roger White, Peter Weglarz, Austin Shugars, Brendan Thompson
State Qualifiers – Girls
Emily Bronikowski, Rachele Pozzo, Jenna Wolf, Katie Bell, Mary Cech, Samantha Paquette, Lindsey Brent, Madison Brinker, Alexis Kennedy, Katie Morgan, Jenni Fix, Jackie Whitus
State Qualifiers – Boys
Austin Shugar, Brendan Thompson, Austin Arnold, Luke Arend, Roger White, Cam Kostiz, Zach Serzo, Tom Babich, Jacob Erker, Trenton Elkins