(Photo by: Marissa Derouso)

Photo by: Marissa Derouso

Powerlifting Continues: Rocket Pride and Team Spirit Soars

January 29, 2023

Powerlifters have been participating in easy and hard practices, openers for meets, and crowd-pulling events such as the Intrasquad Meet, Winneconne Meet, Neenah Invite, State, and finally, Nationals.

Begin with a focus on the events that have already taken place: the Intrasquad Meet and the Winneconne Meet.

The Intrasquad meet is the first meet of the Powerlifting season and it is the perfect chance for rookies to get a feel for how a meet would normally function and look. The Winneconne Meet is another good meet to get the feel of since it is the first big meet in which a rookie participates. 

 During a typical meet, there will be a certain amount of platforms and flights that will take place, depending on how many lifters are competing.

Platforms are the lifting areas where the competition takes place. Each platform includes two stands for the weights, a large wooden square (the platform; typically has carpet) for the bench, rack, and bar, and the bar jack for exchanging plates (45lbs) and bumpers (rubber 10, 25, 35, 45lbs in plate shape) when deadlift is the lift at stake.

Flights are basically the group of lifters going at a given time. For example, during the Intrasquad Meet, there were three different flights (Flights A, B, C), and each flight consisted of lifters based on their experience in lifting (rookies, intermediates, veterans).

Photo by: Jodi Gostas

During the Winneconne Meet, there were seven flights (Flights A-G) and the flights were based on weight class. If put into the 123 weight class, lifters would be one of the first flights; if put into the 181 weight class, they would be one of the last flights to lift. The flights stay the same for each lift and for the meet as a whole.

Though the meets mentioned (Intrasquad Meet, Winneconne Meet) are over and done with, any supporter of Neenah Powerlifting can show up for the next big meet, taking place in the fieldhouse, the Neenah Invite. Like the Winneconne Meet, multiple schools within Wisconsin will be competing here at the high school.

 

 

 

 

The dates follow:

Intrasquad Meet – Dec. 10, 2022 

Winneconne Meet – Jan. 7 

Neenah Invite – Jan. 28 

 

Lifting for the Neenah Invite will start at 8 a.m. and will go throughout the rest of the day, so there is no planned end time.

The Neenah Powerlifting team is also collecting donations for the Special Olympics of Wisconsin, which will help specific team members to do the Polar Plunge on Feb. 11. Any students or teachers willing to donate may visit this webpage to find a team member who is looking for donations. Any donation will help on two levels: 1) the Special Olympics of Wisconsin and 2) any team member looking forward to plunging in the Polar Plunge.

Lastly, Jesse Gostas, a freshman and first-year powerlifter, agreed to participate in a Q&A.  He reflects on his first two meets of his powerlifting career.

Photo by: Marissa Derouso

Q: What made you want to do powerlifting?
A: To just push myself out of my comfort zone and just to meet new people . . .  become a better person.

Q: How did you feel about your first meet – that being the Intrasquad Meet?
A: I was nervous, but it was a lot of fun. I improved quite a bit in terms of lifting.

Q: How would you compare the Intrasquad Meet to the Winneconne Meet?
A: Intrasquad Meet was much smaller and it was less nerve-racking.

Q: Which meet did you feel you were most satisfied with and why?
A: Winneconne, I reached most of my goals, and I improved a lot more than what I did in the Intrasquad Meet.

Q: How do you feel about the Neenah Invite coming up soon?
A: I’m nervous, and I’m really hoping I can make it to State. I hope it’s not larger than the Winneconne Meet.

Q: Do you feel more confident with the Neenah Invite over the other meets?
A: Yeah, I’m much more confident in my ability to successfully do the lifts.

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