SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Hesston College powerlifting team brought home several pieces of hardware from this year’s Powerlifting America Collegiate Nationals from April 9 to 12 with one individual championship, a pair of individual runners-up and two team runners-up finishes. In only their second season of competition, the Larks have brought home a total of nine individual national championships.
Beth Whitney (freshman, Maize, Kan.) put up an impressive 362.5 kg total to take down the 69 kg equipped national championship, her second national title of the season after winning the 69 kg weight class at Bench Nationals back in January.
John Patterson (freshman, Newton, Kan.) and Zachery Graham (freshman, Derby, Kan.) joined Whitney as All-Americans with runner-up finishes in their respective weight classes. Patterson placed second in the 93 kg equipped class with a total of 620 kg, while Graham posted a total of 535 kg in the equipped 83 kg weight class.
With these placement’s the Larks finished as runners-up with tier equipped men’s and women’s teams.
George Bates (freshman, Newton, Kan.) and Logan Britton (freshman, Yale, Okla.) each finished in sixth place in their respective weight class. Bates put up a 735 kg total in the 93 kg raw class while Britton put up a 750 kg total in the 120+ kg raw class. Britton also posted the second highest squat mark in the entire meet with a top mark of 350 kg. Jaden Watson (sophomore, Clayton, Del.) finished in seventh place in the 83 kg raw weight class with a total of 655 kg.
Misty Grimaldo (freshman, Wichita, Kan.) and Aiko Keanaaina (sophomore, Kahuku, Hawaii) placed 10th and 12th in the 84+ kg weight class with totals of 400 kg and 392.5 kg respectively.
Connor Bear (senior, Sequim, Wash.) and Ryun Cole (freshman, Gardner, Kan.) rounded out the competition for the Larks. Bear finished 11th in the 105 kg raw class with a total of 660 kg while Cole finished 17th in the 74 kg raw class with a total of 517.5 kg.
“I am really proud of how the team competed,” said Powerlifting Head Coach Chase Ohm. “It was great to come home with three All-Americans including Beth winning her second national championship of the year. I have loved seeing our program continue to grow and succeed on the national stage.”
